Cooking class: a musttry spicy Creole-style rice

Jambalaya in a jiffy

Our hearty Creole-style, all-in-one rice dish is easy enough for midweek dinner and smart enough for weekend entertaining. Good-looking and bursting with flavour, it’s a must-try recipe. Jambalaya SERVES 4 PREP + COOK TIME 55 MINUTES (+ STANDING TIME)

1/4 cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil 4 (800g) chicken thighs cutlets

250g cured chorizo sausage, sliced 2 medium (300g) brown onions, chopped 3-4 cloves garlic, crushed

2 (300g) celery stalks trimmed, sliced 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning 2 teaspoons sweet paprika

1 medium (200g) red capsicum, chopped 1 medium (200g) green capsicum, chopped 400g canned diced tomatoes

2 cups (500ml) chicken stock

1½ cups (300g) long grain white rice 8 large (560g) uncooked prawns

¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley lemon wedges, for serving

1 Season chicken with salt and freshly ground pepper. Heat half the oil in a large, deep frying pan over medium heat; cook chicken for 10 minutes or until well browned all over. Remove from pan; cover to keep warm. 2 Add chorizo, onion, garlic, celery, Cajun seasoning and paprika to same pan; cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until vegetables are softened. Stir in the capsicum. 3 Return chicken to pan with tomatoes and stock; bring to the boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or until capsicum is tender. Add rice; cook, covered, for 12 minutes. 4 Shell and devein prawns, leaving tails intact. 5 Add prawns to pan; cook, covered, for 3 minutes or until prawns are cooked through. Remove from heat; stand for 5 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork; season to taste. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with lemon wedges.

Top Tips

In step 1, instead of seasoning chicken, you can impart extra flavour by brushing the chicken pieces all over with Kikkoman Soy Sauce before cooking.

Storage

Store any leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator and consume within 1 or 2 days.