Recipe: Learn to Make Mardi Gras Jambalaya & King Cake

As Louis Armstrong would ask, “do you know what it means to miss New Orleans?” Well, I do! 

Mardi Gras season is a time of celebration before Lent. It begins on the Epiphany, January 6, 12 days after Christmas, the day commemorating the three wise men’s visit to baby Jesus. Mardi Gras is celebrated up until Fat Tuesday, March 4, the day before Ash Wednesday. 

New Orleans’s Bourbon Street has become known for its Mardi Gras debauchery but the season is more than Bourbon Street. It’s about family and friends being together. Enjoying true “Nawlins” cooking like crawfish boils and jambalaya. Watching local parades and kids catching beads. Eating the traditional “King Cake” and waiting to see who gets the little plastic baby hidden inside, a sign that you must host the next Mardi Gras party. 

I was lucky to live in New Orleans for a few years and worked for a company headquartered there. I have been a regular visitor for over thirty years, spending time with friends who are like family to me and introducing countless people to the charms of the city. Over the years, I learned about their way of life especially their cooking. 

Every year, I guest chef at a local restaurant Bobbique on Fat Tuesday to share some “Nawlins” cooking with our community. But you can easily do it at home. Read on for a simple Jambalaya and a shortcut for a King Cake.

Jambalaya 

Ingredients

2 tablespoons avocado oil
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
10 ounces smoked beef or turkey sausage (andouille, if you can find it) sliced into rounds
chicken breasts 1 pound, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 medium onion, diced
1 small green bell pepper, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (16 ounce) can crushed Italian tomatoes
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce of choice
3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons of dried or fresh thyme
2 teaspoons of fresh or dried parsley
1 ½ cups uncooked white rice
2 ½ cups chicken broth

Directions

Heat 1 tablespoon of avocado oil in a large heavy Dutch oven over medium heat. Season sausage and chicken pieces with Cajun seasoning. Sauté sausage and chicken until browned. Remove with slotted spoon, and set aside.

In the same pot, sauté onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic until tender.

Stir in crushed tomatoes, with black pepper, hot pepper sauce and Worcestershire sauce,.

Stir in chicken and sausage. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the rice and chicken broth, thyme and parsley.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed. Serve with a simple green salad and some toasty garlic bread!