Breakfast Jambalaya

Hello my dears!  

Are you enjoying this extended slow space between Christmas and the new year?  It feels like a luxurious amount of space.  Enough time to stretch and be lazy.  Enough time to put off taking down the Christmas tree.  Enough time for me to figure out how to incorporate the oranges I handmade for my tree (like a maniac) into a Mardi Gras headpiece.  Enough time to sit still and realize that Mardi Gras is basically tomorrow. It’s ok… let’s just dive right in. 

This is a recipe I’m going to cart back out for Mardi Gras week, but I thought I’d leave it here for your weekend.  It’s just the kind of comforting and grounding brunch recipe that might fit nicely into your (hopefully) lazy first weekend of January.  

Happy New Year!  Here’s to many more kitchen adventures together this year!

Here’s what you’ll need for this breakfast: 

•  breakfast sausage or whatever sort of breakfast meat you’d prefer. 

•  the trinity: onions, celery, and green bell pepper + garlic, too. 

•  salt, pepper, and smoked paprika + fresh thyme, too. 

•  rice and chicken stock

•  crushed tomatoes (not everyone adds tomatoes to their jambalaya but today, I do.) 

•  frozen shredded hash browns and eggs – the makings of most great breakfasts. 

Start by browning the breakfast sausage in a bit of oil.  I went for an aggressive brown because I like the little gnarly bits of well done sausage.  You’ll cook it up just the way you like it. 

Move the sausage from the bowl and, in the fat left in the pan from the sausage, saute the trinity – adding the garlic just at the end.  

You’ll notice that the hash browns are well… browned. 

I fried them up in a nonstick skillet.  Trying to cook them in anything other than a non-stick pan is, plainly put, a true pain. 

To the vegetables add the rice and spices.  Toasting both will make everything more delicious. 

Add the tomatoes and chicken stock. 

And stir the sausage back in.  

Place the lid on the pot a simmer real low until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. 

If the top layer of rice is a little crunchy after 20 minutes, stir the mixture well, place the lid back on the pot and allow the mixture to steam for several minutes. It’ll all even out.  

Stir in the large chunks of the browned hash browns and scrambled eggs.  

Top with green onions and parsley and wow – enjoy! 

I highly recommend hot sauce, and a second helping. It’s comfort exactly. 

Photos with my friend Jon Melendez.
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Breakfast Jambalaya

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Ingredients

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• 6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 pound breakfast sausage, uncooked and uncased
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 3/4 cup chopped bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 cups long grain rice
• 1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 16-ounce bag shredded hash browns
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• a few tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley for garnish

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Instructions

1. In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat; add breakfast sausage and cook about 7 minutes, crumbling with a wooden spoon until cooked through and well browned. Remove the cooked sausage from the pan and place in a small bowl.
2. Reduce heat to medium and add onion, bell pepper, and celery to the pan with the hot sausage grease and cook, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic, stirring for about 1 minute until fragrant. Add rice, and stir about 3 minutes until lightly toasted.
3. Add the thyme, salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne. Add the crushed tomatoes and stir until the juices absorb.
4. Add the chicken stock and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low, cover and allow to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until most of the liquid has absorbed and the rice is softened. If the top layer of jambalaya rice feels a little more uncooked than the bottom layer. Stir the mixture, cover again, and allow the mixture to steam. Try to resist adding more liquid.
5. While the jambalaya simmers, cook the hash brows and the eggs.
6. In a medium-size, non-stick skillet heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook the shredded hash browns until well browned on both sides. Set aside on a medium plate.
7. In the same medium skillet, reduce heat to medium and heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the beaten eggs and cook until well scrambled.
8. When the jambalaya has cooked through, break the hash browns browns into large chunks and stir into the mixture along with the scrambled eggs. Top with parsley and serve warm.

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