Jambalaya |

Preparation time: 45 min

Preheat your oven at 350 °F

• Prep

  Dice your onion, bell pepper and celery stalks.

  Chop finely your garlic cloves.

  Roughly dice your chorizo.

  Chop your green onions.

• Roux

  ATTENTION! 

  - Make sure you have done all your cuts before you start your roux.

  - Have also the beer and chicken broth on hand.

  - Use only oil with a high smoke point (canola, sunflower, grape seed for example...)

  1st method

  Over medium-high heat, pour the oil into your casserole (oven safe) and pour in your flour all at once. Mix with a whisk to homogenize and cook your roux until you get a nice milk chocolate color. It is important to constantly stir your roux to prevent it from burning. 

  This method is best if you are not familiar with cooking a roux. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of time.

  2nd method

  Over medium-high heat, pour your oil into an ovenproof casserole dish and wait for a slight smoke to emerge. At this point, pour in your flour all at once. Mix until homogenized with a whisk, the roux will blond quickly, continue to mix until obtaining a milk chocolate color. 

  If it goes a little fast for you, you can always remove the pan from the heat to lower the temperature a little. It is very important to keep stirring so as not to burn your roux.

  This method is much faster but requires much more attention and concentration. 

• Cooking

  Once your roux has reached a nice milk chocolate color, add the onion, bell pepper and celery. Stir to sweat your vegetables (the roux is very hot so this is a quick process). Add the chopped garlic and bay leaves. Stir for another minute and then deglaze with 1/2 cup of beer. Stir, scraping the bottom to loosen the fond, and pour in your broth gently while stirring to avoid lumps. 

  Bring to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes. 

  Meanwhile, cook your chicken thighs (seasoned with salt and pepper) in a pan with a little oil over medium-high heat. We want to brown the meat on both sides to develop more flavour.

  Once browned, deglaze your pan with the other half cup of beer, let it boil for 30 seconds while scraping the bottom of the pan and add it to your casserole. 

  Add the chorizo, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, oregano and rice. Mix well, cover and put in the oven for 30 minutes.

• Finishing touches

  After 30 minutes, remove the casserole from the oven, adjust the seasoning if necessary and serve in bowls. 

  Garnish with your chopped green onions.