Recipe: Sarah’s Shrimp, Baby Clam and Kielbasa Jambalaya

This is my personal jambalaya recipe. Leftovers are fantastic because the flavors meld together soooo well. Be sure to post your favorite jambalaya story in the comments! Enjoy!

If it’s cooked correctly, you can cook the whole thing in one pot – a large Dutch Oven with a lid.

Ingredients
(Grouped into bowls by order of use to make adding the ingredients easier as you cook.)

BOWL 1 – Seafood + Kielbasa:
2 lbs medium raw shrimp (Save the peels to make broth)
1 – 10 oz can Bumblebee Fancy Whole Baby Clams (they are fully cooked)
1 pkg. Kielbasa Sausage – cut longways and then sliced into bite sized pieces.

BOWL 2 – Veggies:
1 large chopped onion
1 green bell pepper chopped
1/2 c. chopped celery
1 heaping tsp. minced garlic

BOWL 3 – Spices:
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. salt
1 bay leaf
1/3 tsp. dried thyme

BOWL 4 – Tomatoes & Broth:
Shrimp Broth (Set aside)
3 – 10 oz cans stewed tomatoes chopped

Misc. Ingredients (added individually):

3 c. Basmati or other long-grain rice, uncooked.

2 tbsp. minced fresh parsley

Tabasco Sauce

Directions:

1. Peel shrimp. As you peel, put the raw shrimp in a large bowl. Put the peels directly in a large Dutch Oven.
2. Add the baby clams to the bowl of raw shrimp. Set aside.
3. Add 3 cups of water to the shrimp peels in the pot. Simmer for 7 minutes to make a shrimp broth. Strain out the peels. Set the broth aside in bowl with tomatoes.
4. In the Dutch Oven, sauté veggies until soft.
5. Add Kielbasa to the veggies.
6. Add spices to the meat and veggie mixture.
7. Add shrimp broth and tomatoes.
8. Add uncooked rice to the mixture and add enough water to cover the mixture by 1/4 inch (enough liquid for the rice to cook).
9. Bring to a low simmer. Cover with a lid. Cook for about 30 minutes or until the rice is done. You can add more water to moisten if the water is gone but the rice is still chewy.
10. Stir in shrimp, clams, fresh parsley. Cover again and cook till the shrimp turns pink – about 15 minutes.
11. Add Tabasco sauce to taste.

The kids like it without the Tabasco sauce – so I put it on the table as a condiment for those who like their Jambalaya hot.

Also, you can get HOT spicy Kielbasa, as opposed to mild, for extra heat.