Spicy Gumbo Laya Food

JAMBALAYA

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon of peanut oil in a large heavy Dutch oven over medium heat. Season the sausage and chicken pieces with Cajun seasoning. Saute sausage until browned. Remove with slotted spoon, and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon peanut oil, and saute chicken pieces until lightly browned on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon, and set aside.
• In the same pot, saute onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic until tender. Stir in crushed tomatoes, and season with red pepper, black pepper, salt, hot pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce and file powder. Stir in chicken and sausage. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in the rice and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed.

GUMBO-LAYA (GUMBO + JAMBALYA)

Steps:

• Place a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, and add the olive oil.
• Once the oil is hot, add the sliced sausage in, and allow it to caramelize and brown for a few minutes; once well browned, remove the sausage from the pot, and set it aside.
• Add the chicken pieces into the pot along with a sprinkle or two of salt and pepper, and allow them to brown in the oil/sausage drippings for about 2-3 minutes; remove the chicken pieces from the pot, and set aside.
• Add in the diced celery, onion and bell pepper, and caramelize it for about 2-3 minutes in the oil, then add in the bay leaves, the Creole seasoning, the cayenne pepper, ½ teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of black pepper, and stir to combine.
• Add in the garlic and stir, and once it becomes aromatic, add in the tomato paste, and cook for about 1 minute to richen the tomato flavor.
• Add in the sliced fresh or frozen okra, the diced tomatoes with juice, the hot chicken stock, and the browned sausage and chicken, and stir to combine, and allow the stew to simmer gently on low/medium-low, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
• Now, add in the shrimp (you can season it with a sprinkle of salt/pepper if you wish), and simmer for only 2 minutes more as to not overcook the shrimp.
• Finish by stirring in the chopped parsley and cilantro, and serve over the Fragrant Garlic Rice, with file powder, some additional spice/heat options like hot sauce, red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper, if desired.
• Fragrant Garlic Rice:.
• 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• 2 large cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press.
• 2 cups jasmine rice.
• 1 teaspoon sea salt.
• ¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper.
• 3 cups water.
• Place a medium pot over medium-high heat, and add in the olive oil; once hot, add in the pressed garlic, and stir to combine; once the garlic becomes fragrant, add in the rice, the salt and the pepper and stir, and allow the rice to "toast" in the garlic oil for about 2 minutes.
• Add in the water, stir, and simmer the rice, covered, for about 20 minutes, or until tender; turn off the heat, and after 5 minutes, fluff with fork and serve.

SPICY GUMBO-LAYA

Steps:

• Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add chicken and sausage and sauté until brown, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer mixture to bowl. Add onion and bell pepper to pot. Sauté until soft and brown, about 6 minutes. Add flour and stir until golden, about 5 minutes. Gradually whisk in chicken broth, then diced tomatoes with their juices. Bring to boil. Mix in chicken mixture, okra and rice. Reduce heat to medium; cook uncovered until rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.
• Mix scallops and shrimp into pot. Cover and cook until seafood is cooked through, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with cayenne, salt and pepper.

DARK GUMBO COUNTRY STYLE, WITH SPARERIBS AND ANDOUILLE

Steps:

• Place the oil in a large, heavy stockpot over high heat. Lightly salt the spareribs and add them to the pot. Sear the meat on both sides until it's golden brown, about 4 minutes per side.
• Add the chicken stock to the pot, scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon to loosen any crusty bits, Add the garlic clove: Bring to a boil, remove any scum on top by skimming with a large spoon, then turn the heat down to medium. Cook at a lightly rolling simmer for 2 hours. When done, the pork should be tender and you should have about 8 cups of stock. Remove the spareribs from the stock with a slotted spoon and reserve. Measure the stock; if there's less than 8 cups, add water to bring it up to 8 cups. Keep the stock hot.
• Start the roux after the pork has simmered for about 1 hour. Place the butter in a large, heavy pot over medium-low heat. When it's melted, add 1/2 cup of flour all at once, stirring vigorously into the melted butter with a wooden spoon. When it's incorporated, repeat with another 1/2 cup of flour. When that's incorporated, gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup of flour; you will need most of it, but you may not need it all. Stop adding flour as soon as the roux begins to clump up and is on the verge of turning solid; it should remain a very thick, but runny, paste. Continue to cook the roux over medium-low heat, stirring often and monitoring its color, for about an hour. It will darken as it cooks, finally reaching a color like dark mahogany or rich fudge. Don't let the roux get too dark (as dark as black coffee, say), because it can burn.
• When the roux is cooked, stir the green peppers into the roux and cook for 30 seconds. Immediately add the jalapeños, onion, 3 scallions, and celery. Stir into the roux, and cook for 30 seconds.
• Add the hot stock all at once to the roux. Turn the heat up to medium-high. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the roux melts entirely and thickens the stock. Reduce the heat to medium.
• Add the thyme, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, crushed red pepper, black pepper, allspice, and bay leaf. Remove the pork meat from the bones; break it into walnut-sized chunks with your fingers. Discard the bones and add the meat to the gumbo. Simmer for 20 minutes, partially covered.
• Add the andouille. Cover the pot, and turn the heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes more. You can make the gumbo to this step a day ahead.
• When you're ready to serve, add the gumbo file, taste for seasoning, and adjust. Fill a small teacup with hot white rice and invert it into a wide, shallow soup bowl; the rice should sit in a mound in the center of the bowl. Ladle the hot gumbo with chunks of pork and slices of andouille around the rice, garnish with a little chopped scallion, and serve immediately. Keep plating until 12 bowls altogether are served.