Last night the hubby asked me "I want something hot & spicy... something like Jambalaya. Can we have anything like that on the diet?"
Jambalaya, for those who may not be familiar with it, is a spicy dish made with Andouille Sausage - a hot Lousiana sausage - chicken thighs, shrimp, and white rice, all in a tomato based sauce. It's wonderful, but full of all those things we can't eat. To top it off, my husband is allergic to shrimp, so I can't even use those.
With a little improvisation I came up with something that isn't quite Jambalaya, but fit the bill well enough to make him happy. It was more of a hearty soup than a rice dish, not being able to use rice and all. If you're in the mood for something spicy, try it!
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 pound scallops (you can use shrimp if you're not allergic)
1 red bell pepper, cleaned & quartered
1 stalk celery, cut in 4 pieces
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken stock
½ cup clam juice or fish stock
1 medium head of cauliflower, cleaned and cut into tiny florets.
Olive oil
Cayenne pepper (about ½ teaspoon for mild, more if you like it spicy)
Tabasco sauce (to taste)
Salt & Pepper
- heat a large skillet to medium hot. Add about 2 teaspoons of olive oil, swirl to coat pan. Add the chicken breasts, and brown on all sides – about 2 minutes per side.
- Put the red bell pepper, celery, onion, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor and process until finely chopped. Don’t over process – you want it chopped, not a paste.
- When the chicken breasts are browned, remove from the pan and cut into bite-sized pieces
- Add the vegetable mixture to the pan after removing the chicken. Saute for a few minutes, until hot. Add Cayenne pepper to taste (don’t use too much unless you like things hot!) and some salt and pepper. Add the can of tomatoes, the chicken stock, and the clam juice or fish stock.
- When the vegetable/stock mixture comes to a light boil, add the chicken and the cauliflower. Cover and allow to cook for about 10 minutes, or until the chicken and cauliflower are cooked.
- Add the shrimp or scallops and Tabasco to taste. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes, until seafood is done. Uncover, add salt and pepper to taste, and serve.
Almost Jambalaya
