Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp                  Oil for sauté, avocado and grape seed work great

  1                            Onion, medium chopped

• 1                            Bell pepper, chopped

• 2 Stalks                Celery, chopped

• 3-5 cloves          Garlic, minced

• 2 tsp                  Imperial Blackened Seasoning

• ½ tsp                    Thyme, crushed

• 1 tsp                     Worcestershire sauce, vegan

• 1-2tsp                  Hot Sauce, (recommend Louisiana Brand)

• 1 14oz can          Tomatoes, crushed

• 1 Tbsp                 Tomato paste

• 1 14oz can          Kidney Beans (optional)

• 2 cups                Rice, long grained, uncooked

• 3 cups                Veggie Stock

  Chopped green onion to garnish

Method:

1. Heat oil on medium low in a medium sized pot 3-4 quart pot.  Add onion and sauté until clear about 10 minutes.  Add bell pepper and celery and sauté an additional 10 minutes.  Add garlic and Imperial Blackened Seasoning and sauté another 5 minutes so that all vegetables are tender and spiced. 

2. Increase heat, add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, beans, thyme, Worcestershire, hot sauce, and stock, and bring to a simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Stir in the rice and bring back up to a simmer. 

3. Once simmering, cover and turn to low heat.  Let the rice steam for approximately 20-25 minutes until cooked.  Gently fluff with a fork. 

4. Serve and garnish with chopped parsley.

Notes:

• Jambalaya is very similar to the Spanish paella and preparations vary along with ingredients. Fun fact: a traditional paella has something from the air, the land, and the sea. I was told this is why the traditional jambalaya has sausage, poultry, and shrimp.

• I grew up with a “red” jambalaya which is one that uses tomatoes. Other variations use less tomato or eliminate entirely. As I understand, tomatoes were more common in New Orleans with their use being less and less the farther away from the city one went. A Cajun jambalaya uses no tomatoes with a brownish color being derived from the “sucs”, which is the French term for the bits of meat left at the bottom of the pan after cooking the meat and commonly used in pan sauces.

• One style of preparation is to sauté the onions first until they start to caramelize.  This will add a bit more of a flavor dynamic.

• Another approach is to sauté the trinity in whatever method is preferred, add crushed tomatoes, the garlic, the rice, and the seasonings, and begin a slow sauté gradually adding stock and stirring as one might do when making a paella. Stirring the rice as it cooks creates a bit of a creamy texture from the starches that the rice is releasing as it is stirred. This method will likely require additional stock as it will be steaming off as you stir. I recommend making jambalaya regularly and using different methods until you find a favorite.

• This Jambalaya, being a vegan alternative, does not focus on any specific protein and only recommends the kidney beans, which I like because they are quick, simple, and remind me of Red Beans and Rice. While a traditional jambalaya may use poultry, sausage, shrimp, or a combination.  Other options would be to use one recipe Imperial Blackened Tofu, or any other plant-based protein alternative you may enjoy. Try the range of vegan sausages and chicken substitutes on the market. I would recommend pan searing first to get a bit of caramelization that would imitate the “sucs” mentioned in the above.

• You might notice in the picture, that the rice used in this recipe is brown as I happened to be out of white rice. I think it is fine to use whatever rice you enjoy, and brown rice is healthier, but for myself and many people that grew up eating jambalaya made with Louisiana long grained white rice, brown rice does not cut it.