Gumbo Pot Jambalaya

Gumbo Pot Jambalaya
Source: Recipe courtesy of The Gumbo Pot, Los Angeles, CA

2 tablespoons garlic, minced
1 tablespoon crushed red chile flakes
4 bay leaves
1/2 cup canola oil
8 ounces tomato puree
1 (32 ounce) can tomatoes, diced in puree
1 (32 ounce) can tomatoes, diced
1 pound andouille or other hot, smoked sausage
1 quart chicken stock
4 cups green peppers, diced
4 cups yellow onions, diced
Cooked rice
1 pound chicken, boned and cubed
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup scallions, diced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Saute the garlic, chiles, and bay leaves in the oil. Once the garlic is fragrant, add all the tomato products and simmer, stirring for about 45 minutes. Slice and roast the sausage for about 20 minutes. Drain the fat off.

Add to the tomatoes, chicken stock, sausage, green peppers, and onions and simmer another 1 to 1 1/2 hours, add salt and pepper. The jambalaya is finished when it has thickened and turned brick color, without any more oil coming to the surface. At this point, cook a big pot of rice to mix with the sauce (equal amounts of rice to the sauce) and add any meats you want to the jambalaya sauce (chicken pieces, shrimp, alligator, veal etc.) Poach the meat in the sauce to cook it. Add scallions at the last minute for color.

To make vegetarian jambalaya, smoke the tomatoes first, in a home smoker, or place them in the oven with a pie plate of smoking chips for 1/2 hour. This gives the sauce the same flavor as adding sausage. Then use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock and add any vegetables of your choice at the end.

Servings: 20