Every once in awhile, I get a real need for some jambalaya. My favorite part of this concoction is that there is not "purist" recipe--it's whatever you like or have on hand. For this batch, I looked at the freezer and fridge and came up with an all-fish type. I also decided to use grits instead of rice. That buttery, salty taste of grits just seemed like it would go well with the types of fish I cooked in the jambalaya. So...here we go:
I started with the two trinities, i.e. a bell pepper, an onion, a stalk of celery one as well as a couple of tablespoons of parsley,a couple of bay leaves (since I used a little bit of hot peppers diced up, I didn't add the third spice-- cayenne pepper). A can of chicken broth went into the pot, followed by the veggie trinity diced coarsely, and the spices. To this I had a bit of frozen okra, so in it went as well, making a nice thickening agent.
While the vegetables were simmering, I pulled some raw shrimp, cod, and flounder out of the freezer and dropped their little frozen carcasses into some lukewarm water to get the chill off. Once this was taken care of, I went back to the simmering pot and added some fresh tomato chunks. Then in went the now thawed fish and shrimp once it was coarsely diced as well. From there, it was on its own to simmer slowly and gain richer and richer flavor. The aroma was great as it did this.
I skimped on the grits and used the instant type; they work great. Once everything was done, I let the jambalaya cool just a bit so I could get a good taste and see if it needed any salt/pepper adjustment. With all the good flavors, it needed very little.
Once again, a good way to cook an easy filling meal--and clean out the freezer and fridge which is always a handy thing to do :).
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