SAUSAGE & KALE JAMBALAYA
1 h 30 min
1 h 30 min
Approx. 10 ×
⅔ c. extra virgin olive oil
½ lb. bacon
2 lbs. andouille sausage (smoked), sliced
2 bunches bunches fresh kale, washed, stemmed, coarsely chopped
2 yellow onions, chopped
2 stalks celery, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
4 c. brown rice
7 c. chicken stock
2 Tbsp. Creole seasoning
½ tsp. salt
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 c. panko bread crumbs
Preparation
Combine 1/3 cup olive oil and bacon in a Dutch oven or heavy ovenproof pot over medium heat. Once bacon fat has rendered, after 10 minutes or so, add sausage and cook until the edges start to brown. Leaving the fat in pot, remove meat and reserve. Add the onions, celery, pepper, garlic, salt and bay leaf to the pot. Cook until the onions are translucent, soft and fragrant, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in all the spices and let them cook together a couple minutes. Fold in kale. Add in batches if necessary, because kale will cook down a lot. Stir well to coat with fat and seasoning. Once everything has started to soften, add stock, rice and reserved sausage and bacon. Bring everything to a simmer, stir in butter and reduce heat to low. Cover pot and let rice cook until tender and all stock has been absorbed by rice, 35-45 minutes. If by the time the rice appears cooked, there’s still a lot of liquid in the pot, increase heat to medium and cook for a few additional minutes without lid. Remove bay leaf. Cover pot again and set aside off heat to rest while topping is prepared. Heat oven to 500°F and set rack at top, as close as possible to the heating element. Mix remaining 1/3 cup olive oil and bread crumbs. Sprinkle mixture in a thin, even layer over top of the jambalaya and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the crust is deeply golden. Serve with cornbread. (**For more traditional jambalaya, diced chicken and/or shrimp can be added to stock pot while rice is cooking.)
