Friday, February 3, 2012

Jambalaya with Andouille Sausage and Shrimp Marinated in Ranchero Sauce from Cinco de Mayo Salsas


Jambalaya with Andouille Sausage and Shrimp Marinated in Ranchero Sauce from Cinco de Mayo Salsas
Jambalaya with Andouille Sausage and Shrimp Marinated in Ranchero Sauce
from Cinco de Mayo Salsas

On one trip to visit the Salsa Man in the Pittsburgh Public Market a few weeks ago, he convinced me to try marinating shrimp in his spicy Ranchero Sauce, made with tomatoes, garlic, onions, and arbol peppers.  I thought that sounded like a pretty good idea, but what would I pair the shrimp with?

One of my earliest blog posts featured a Jambalaya with Shrimp and Andouille Sausage recipe from Cooking Light.  I thought it might be fun to spice up this jambalaya recipe with some Ranchero-marinated shrimp, and also to try the recipe with fresh plum tomatoes (plus a little more tomato paste) instead of canned ones.  I also dumped the spicy Ranchero sauce right into the jambalaya along with the shrimp, so was able to omit the hot sauce from the original list of ingredients.  Below is the modified recipe; parts taken directly from the original Cooking Light recipe are in black, while my own modifications are in red:
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
6 ounces andouille sausage, sliced
1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 bay leaf
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup water
3 tablespoon tomato paste
6 plum tomatoes, puree 3 and chop the rest
1/2 pound large shrimp
1 (8 oz) container of Ranchero Sauce from Cinco de Mayo Salsa
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Directions
In a large Ziploc baggie, marinate shrimp in Ranchero sauce in the refrigerator for a few hours.
Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, chopped bell pepper, minced garlic, and sausage; sauté 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
Add rice and the next 7 ingredients (through bay leaf); cook 2 minutes. Add broth, water, tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, and Ranchero sauce marinate (but hold off on the shrimp for now); bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Add shrimp; cook 5 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Stir in parsley.
I loved the result, and it added a much spicier kick to the jambalaya than the original recipe.  I think Cinco de Mayo's Ranchero Sauce definitely helped to improve an already solid recipe from Cooking Light!

Click here for more recipes using Cinco de Mayo Salsas, available at the Pittsburgh Public Market during the winter and all around town during the farmers market season.