Jambalaya
Recipe by Thibault Robert
Ingredients
Chicken thighs x6
One pack of andouille sausage
Canola oil (half cup)
Flour (half cup)
2 bell peppers (diced)
2 sweet onions (diced)
4 sticks of celery (diced)
3 cloves minced garlic
Chicken stock (6 cups)
White rice (2 Cups)
Butter 2 or 3x Tbs
Salt, pepper, smoked paprika and cayenne to taste
Directions
Season chicken on both sides with a lot of salt and pepper
Brown both sides in frying pan, then set aside
Add half cup of oil and half cup of flour to a pot, turn heat on very low and stir till it looks like melted Hershey chocolate (be careful not to let any part of the roux burn! That means constantly stir, and don’t overcook it. Be a boss and take that shit right to edge, but don’t burn)
Add peppers, celery and onions and a generous spoonful of salt. Gently stir and allow to cook together for 1 minute
Add garlic, paprika and cayenne pepper, cook for another minute until fragrant
Slowly add six cups of chicken stock, stir and add more salt and pepper
Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Add andouille, two cups of rice, and nestle chicken thighs on top
Cover and place in oven for 30 minutes
Remove from oven, (if using bone in thighs remove the chicken from pot and mash, discarding bones or set aside for your stock, put pulled chicken meat back into the pot) stir in butter, plate and add salt+pepper, smoked paprika and scallions to taste
Note from Jack
Thibault has been one of my closest friends since middle school. I remember cooking this recipe at his first apartment in NYC (a city he has since taken by a storm and achieved handsome success in the fine dining world and beyond). That night, just like any other time I’ve had the pleasure of cooking with him, he was able to point out some crucial aspect of cooking that I will genuinely never forget. For this recipe, he told me to focus on the roux, the base of so many mouth watering soulful dishes. I hope you follow Thibault’s advice and get it to the color of Hershey chocolate. A time consuming and dangerous game, pushing it right to the edge without allowing it to burn.
