This started as an Internet recipe, probably from The Food Network or similar. The creole seasoning is Emeril Lagasse’s so it would stand to reason the recipe is too. It was made on the stove in a large sauté pan and started with the vegetables, then stock, then rice with the seasoned (raw) meat added in the latter stages to cook in the rice. The issue I had with the recipe is that I couldn’t leave the dish alone and often stirred it too much, which made the rice a bit mushy.

Eventually I came across a 3.9L cast iron enamel braiser at a very affordable price. It was this beautiful mustard yellow colour and the brand was “Chuck Hughes” which is a lot of fun to say. 🙂 My first thought was, this would be awesome for paella and/or jambalaya. We brought it home and I explained my thinking to Gavin and he helped me adapt the original recipe to leverage our new braiser. By starting the dish on the stove and then transitioning to the oven, the over stirring problem is solved.

Ingredients:

• 6 – 8 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (optional)
• 4 – 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 – 3 tablespoon Creole seasoning (adjust to your spice tolerance)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small chopped onion
• 1 chopped green bell pepper
• 3/4 cup chopped celery
• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 1 cup diced tomatoes (fresh or canned)
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1 cup Bomba rice
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 pound Andouille or mild Italian sausage cut into bite-sized pieces
• Salt and pepper

Creole Seasoning:

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Directions:

1. Add chicken, sausage and 1 tablespoon creole spice to a mixing bowl, mix well and set in fridge for 30 mins (I cut the sausage and chicken with kitchen scissors).
2. On the stove, heat your sauté pan / braiser with two tablespoons olive oil under medium high heat. Once up to temperature, brown the meat. If your meat has a lot of moisture, it may be easier to brown it in batches. While it’s browning in the pan, I wash the original bowl so I can return the cooked meat to it. Set the meat aside once cooked.
3. Preheat your oven to 375.
4. Add another tablespoon of oil to your pan and then add the onions, followed by the celery, peppers, garlic and finally tomatoes. Add 1 tablespoon of creole spice, bay leaves, Worcestershire and hot sauce.
5. Add Bomba rice and toast a couple minutes before adding chicken stock. Bring to an aggressive simmer then cover and place in the oven for approximately 10 mins.
6. After ten minutes, remove, add chicken and sausage, stir then return to the oven for an additional 5 – 10 mins (if you’re adding shrimp I would add them now).
7. Remove from the oven and check to ensure the stock has been mostly absorbed into the dish and the rice is cooked. Enjoy!

Notes:

• Bomba rice is a modification to the recipe. Normally used to make paella, it has the fairly unique property of being able to absorb three times it’s volume in cooking liquid without getting mushy (hence the 1 cup Bomba / 3 cups chicken stock). You can certainly use regular white rice but you’ll need to adjust your chicken stock or you’ll end up with creole-flavoured porridge.
• If you are just making this recipe, scale down the creole spice recipe to make the 2 – 3 tablespoons you need. In our house we make a full batch and keep it in a Mason jar in the pantry because we use the same spice mixture when we make Gumbo.