Well, we were having some friends over for dinner, absolutely, so I was guaranteed to be cooking *something* good. And, sure, this has been the first February in a few years that I haven't gone away anywhere, so I was feeling a bit blue.
But really, I had been planning on making some curry and possibly some samosas- when the urge for red beans and cornbread snuck out from behind the Mardi Gras beads of yesteryear and planted a smooch on my kisser.
Jambalaya it had to be.
The thing I have found with cooking southern food is that it's hard to go wrong if you start with the Holy Trinity- onions, bell peppers and celery. But, jambalaya is traditionally a meat, seafood and fat heavy dish that relies on the fats to seduce the rich blend of flavours into co-mingling over hours in a heavy pot or slow cooker. What to do when one is a fat-consicous vegan foodie?
First, you're going to spend hours reading different jambalaya recipes- some meatie, some veggie. If I want to get a handle on making something, I always prefer to do a bunch of research and then make up my own recipe based on food science, rather than someone else's kitchen funtimes. I want my own kitchen funtimes!
So I can spare you the hours of squinting at pictures of food and contemplating cajun herb blends. Here's what I made. You'll need a 4 quart slow cooker, and heavy bottomed fry pan and patience.
Nicole's Slowcooker Sunday Jambalaya Jamboree Dinner.
1 large white onion chopped fine.
2 tofurkey sausages (optional).
2 stalks celery, chopped fine.
1 green pepper, chopped fine. (Sense the pattern?)
1/2 can tomato paste (one day I will make my own. One day.)
5 roma tomatoes...chopped fine
1 medium zucchini, chopped into half moon slices.
1 cup organic brown rice
2 cups kidney beans (you could add more if you're not using the tofurkey).
1/2 cup cheap port
6-8 cups veggie broth
1 T olive oil.
cajun seasoning. (I used 1T thyme, 1/2t black pepper, 1/2t white pepper, 1t oregano, 1T cayenne, a bay leaf, a spash of cumin, a pinch of sea salt,
Get into your time machine and put the beans on to soak the night before. You'll want two cups post-soaking, so use 2.5 cups pre-soaking because you'll want to use the rest to make red beans and rice with. If you don't have a time machine, simply rinse the beans really well, throw them in a large pot well covered in water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour. Drain and rinse again.
slice and saute the tofurkey sausage in 1/2 T olive oil until brown on all sides. Remove from the pan, replace the other 1/2 T of oil and saute the chopped onions, celery and green peppers until the onions are translucent. Add the tomato paste, stir through and saute for another minute or so until the paste starts to turn from red to brown. Add the cheap port and deglaze the pan, stir throroughly. Add the rice and once again, stir it through and cook for a minute or two. Add the whole mess to the slow cooker, along with the diced tomatoes, beans and tofurkey and The Herbs. Top up with veggie broth until you're about 2 inches below the rim of the slow cooker.
cook on high for 4+ hours, then turn to low for 2 hours. Stir once an hour, or every damn time you walk through the kitchen (like me.)
Serve with fresh homemade corn bread, green salad, red beans and rice and good company. The recipes for the corn bread and red beans will come tonight!!
