Jambalaya aka Yumbalaya

The first time I made this recipe, Chad called it “yumbalaya” and the name has stuck. I’ve been tweaking this recipe for the last year and finally got it just right.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 – 3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more, to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more, to taste
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 lbs diced, chicken andouille sausage
3 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
1 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions, peppers and garlic and saute until they begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Add 1 tbsp tomato paste and cook until it turns a rust red color, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Mix the remaining ingredients except for rice and shrimp. Bring to a boil. Stir in the rice, cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 25 minutes, or until rice is done and most of the liquid is absorbed. Stir in the shrimp and cook, covered, for 5 minutes more, or until shrimp is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.