Mardi Gras a little early. We should have worn our beads at dinner.

The organic farm I get my meat from makes a great andouille and I had some in my freezer. While I’m not a huge fan of highly spiced foods my husband loves the heat. I decided to use my andouille and some shrimp I also had in the freezer and make a jambalaya.   Cooking for me is almost always about improvising…putting my own spin on things. Improvising also becomes a necessity when you don’t have all the ingredients a recipe calls for and the grocery is a 30 minute drive.

Ingredients:

3 T olive or canola oil (divided)

4 links of andouille sausage

2 doz shrimp with tails

1 large onion rough chopped

1 orange sweet pepper rough chopped

3 stalks of celery rough chopped

3-4 cloves of garlic sliced

1 pint stewed tomatoes

8 oz bottle clam juice

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup flour

2 T franks hot sauce

1 14 oz can red beans

Spice Mix:

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

salt to taste

In a large heavy skillet heat 1 T of the oil over medium high heat.  Slice the sausage and sear both sides.

Once the sausage has been seared on both sides put on a plate and set aside.  Put broth, clam juice and tomatoes in a saucepan and heat.  Add remaining oil to the skillet with the pan drippings and heat. Whisk in flour to make a roux. Continue whisking over medium heat until the roux turns a golden brown taking care not to burn. Whisk about 10 minutes.

Add the celery, onion and pepper to the roux and continue stirring over medium heat.

Slowly pour in the sauce pan of clam juice, tomatoes and broth continually stirring until gravy begins to thicken. Stir in the spice mixture and salt to taste. Add the andouille and red beans and simmer uncovered over low heat for about 15 minutes.

Add the shrimp and simmer for a couple of minutes until the shrimp is heated through.  I used pre-cooked shrimp. Uncooked shrimp will require a couple more minutes to cook through.

Ladle your jambalaya into bowls and top with rice. Garnish with fresh parsley or sliced green onions and enjoy!

For those that want additional heat put the Franks or Tabasco on the table. But this had plenty of kick for me.  Tasted really great with a nice cold beer.

NOTE:  I used long grain rice and cooked it in chicken broth for a little extra flavor.