Rachael Ray's Jambasta

I love Rachael Ray, I don't care what other people say. My loyalty may be due in part to the fact that she got her start on my local upstate NY TV channel!

On the menu this week for Wednesday night was Jambasta- Rachael's take on jambalaya.
I made some modifications to her recipe, so I will note them.

I really liked this meal, I prefer a thicker sauce, but the recipe was for a thin/soupy one. Next time I think that I will thicken it more, just so that it sticks to the noodles and isn't a "stewp".



Rachael Ray's Jambasta

• Salt
• 1 pound penne rigate, pasta with lines (I used rotini, because that's what I had)
  
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 pound andouille sausage, any brand, casing removed and diced (I used sweet Italian turkey sausage- I put the sausages on a cookie sheet, drizzled some olive oil on them and stuck them in the oven at 350 for maybe 10 minutes, so that they were "solid" enough that I could slice them)
  
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 poblano pepper, seeded and chopped or thinly sliced (1 large jalapeno my be substituted) (I substituted a green bell pepper- I married a guy afraid of spicy things)
  
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 ribs celery from the heart with greens, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup beer, 1/2 bottle (Omitted)
  
• 1 cup chicken stock (Added another cup to replace the beer that was omitted)
  
• 1 (14-ounce) can, crushed tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons hot sauce (recommended: Franks Red Hot or Tabasco) eyeball it (Omitted- see above)
  
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped (Omitted- I don't like thyme)
  
• 1/2 pound chicken breast, diced into small pieces (Omitted- I didn't want to add even more meat to the dish & increase its cost)
  
• 1/2 pound medium shrimp, cleaned and tails removed
• 1/4 cup heavy cream, eyeball it (I used a splash of skim milk)
  
• 2 scallions, sliced (Omitted)
  

Stick the sausages onto a cookie sheet, drizzle with EVOO (is IS a Rachael recipe!) and put in the oven at 350 for about 5-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and slice the sausages.

Heat a pot of water to a boil for pasta and add salt to it then pasta. Cook to al dente and drain.

While pasta works, heat a deep skillet over medium high heat.

Add extra-virgin olive oil, butter and andouille. Brown the sausage 2 to 3 minutes to render the fat. Remove with a slotted spoon.

Add garlic, peppers, celery and onions. Saute the veggies for 5 to 6minutes.

Season the mixture with salt and pepper and add flour to the pan.

Cook flour with veggies 2 minutes more then whisk in beer. Cook beer out, 2 minutes. Add chicken stock, tomatoes, hot sauce and thyme.

Bring liquid to a bubble and add chicken and shrimp.

Cook 6 to 7 minutes until chicken is firm and shrimp are opaque and firm.

Stir to mix in cooking juices then add in cream.

Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Ladle up the jambasta and top with chopped scallions (I garnished instead with chives) and reserved crispy andouille.