I know from personal experience that eating soups for most or all meals can become routine and unappealing. So I have been looking for soup recipes with unique tastes or flavor profiles to shake things up.
I’ve never really had traditionally made jambalaya so I’m not sure how well this stacks up but it is delicious! It’s legal on Stage 4 of the GAPS Diet as long as you are tolerating nightshades (tomatoes and peppers.)
One of the most important ways to replenish a malnourished body is to eat a variety of nutrients that come from a variety of sources. Depending on where you live (i.e. a landlocked state like Colorado) seafood may not be a class of food you commonly partake in. When you purchase seafood, it should always be wild caught and sourced from a location that is not off the coast of China. When seafood is fresh, it tastes very mild. As it ages, it will become more and more “fishy.” Flash frozen seafood is often the best because was preserved in the freshest state possible.
Jambalaya is traditionally served over rice. While rice isn’t GAPS Legal, if it is something you are tolerating or eating currently, I have a blog post on how to properly prepare rice here. If you are on full GAPS, wild rice is legal and you can learn how to properly prepare wild rice here. I think it’s delicious to eat this jambalaya on it’s own and don’t miss the rice.
Ingredients for Jambalaya:
3 tbsp Lard
7 cups of Stock
2 Chicken Breasts, cubed
1 lb. Scallops
10 oz. Salmon
2 lb Jumbo Shrimp
9-10 Medium Tomatoes
3 Stalks of Celery
½ Large Onion
2 Bell Pepper
2 ½ tbsp Salt
1 tbsp Paprika
1 tbsp Cayenne Pepper
1 tbsp Freshly Ground Pepper
1 tbsp Dried Oregano
⅛ cup parsley
Directions for How to Prepare Jambalaya:
In a large stock pot, add 2 tbsp of lard and heat on medium high heat. Add chicken once it’s heated and stir to cook in lard.
In a bowl, combine the spices. Roughly chop the parsley.
Generously coat the chicken with a few shakes of the spice mixture.
Remove the chicken pieces from the pan while leaving the juices in the pot.
Roughly chop the tomatoes. Add them to the pot. Add 1 - 2 tsp of the spice mixture. Simmer for about 10 - 15 minutes until soft. Stir constantly to prevent sticking. Immersion blend them tomatoes slightly. You still want a few chunks in.
Pour the stock into the pot with the tomatoes. Add in chopped parsley.
Chop celery into small half moons. Add the celery to the pot with the tomato and stock mixture.
Chop the onions into bite size pieces. Cut the bell pepper into chunks.
In a cast iron skillet, heat 1 tbsp of lard. When it’s melted, add the onions and bell peppers to fry. Sprinkle with 1 - 2 tsp of seasoning mixture.
Mince the garlic. Add to the pan with the onions and bell peppers. Cook for about a minute.
Add the chicken back into the tomato mixture pot.
If necessary, remove the skin from the salmon. Cube the salmon into chunks. Add the salmon to the onion and bell pepper mixture.
Rinse the scallops with filtered water. Add the scallops to the onion and bell pepper mixture. Sprinkle the remaining seasoning mixture over the top of the scallops and stir. Let cook for a few minutes.
Rinse the jumbo shrimp. Add them directly to the pot of the tomato mixture.
After a few minutes, add the scallops, salmon, onions, and bell pepper mixture to the large stock pot with the tomatoes.
Simmer everything for about 15 to 20 minutes to allow the seafood to cook and the flavors to meld. Be careful to not overcook your seafood.
Enjoy!
Easy Jambalaya
Ingredients:
- 3 tbsp Lard
- 7 cups of Stock
- 2 Chicken Breasts, cubed
- 1 lb. Scallops
- 10 oz. Salmon
- 2 lb Jumbo Shrimp
- 9-10 Medium Tomatoes
- 3 Stalks of Celery
- ½ Large Onion
- 2 Bell Pepper
- 2 ½ tbsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Paprika
- 1 tbsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1 tbsp Freshly Ground Pepper
- 1 tbsp Dried Oregano
- ⅛ cup parsley
Instructions:
How to cook Easy Jambalaya
- In a large stock pot, add 2 tbsp of lard and heat on medium high heat. Add chicken once it’s heated and stir to cook in lard.
- In a bowl, combine the spices. Roughly chop the parsley.
- Generously coat the chicken with a few shakes of the spice mixture.
- Remove the chicken pieces from the pan while leaving the juices in the pot.
- Roughly chop the tomatoes. Add them to the pot. Add 1 - 2 tsp of the spice mixture. Simmer for about 10 - 15 minutes until soft. Stir constantly to prevent sticking. Immersion blend them tomatoes slightly. You still want a few chunks in.
- Pour the stock into the pot with the tomatoes. Add in chopped parsley.
- Cop celery into small half moons. Add the celery to the pot with the tomato and stock mixture.
- Chop the onions into bite size pieces. Cut the bell pepper into chunks.
- In a cast iron skillet, heat 1 tbsp of lard. When it’s melted, add the onions and bell peppers to fry. Sprinkle with 1 - 2 tsp of seasoning mixture.
- Mince the garlic. Add to the pan with the onions and bell peppers. Cook for about a minute.
- Add the chicken back into the tomato mixture pot.
- If necessary, remove the skin from the salmon. Cube the salmon into chunks. Add the salmon to the onion and bell pepper mixture.
- Rinse the scallops with filtered water. Add the scallops to the onion and bell pepper mixture. Sprinkle the remaining seasoning mixture over the top of the scallops and stir. Let cook for a few minutes.
- Rinse the jumbo shrimp. Add them directly to the pot of the tomato mixture.
- After a few minutes, add the scallops, salmon, onions, and bell pepper mixture to the large stock pot with the tomatoes.
- Simmer everything for about 15 to 20 minutes to allow the seafood to cook and the flavors to meld. Be careful to not overcook your seafood.
- Enjoy!