Summer Squash Jambalaya
Jambalaya is traditionally made with a rich stew of tomatoes, peppers, rice, shrimp and smoked sausage. We doubled down on the sausage and swapped in a bunch of chopped summer squash (we used zucchini and patty pan, but almost any variety would work.) We also used spelt berries instead of rice for a totally local take. Inspired by Food 52's Brown Rice Jambalaya-ish.
You'll need two pots for this recipe: a large, oven-safe pot (like an enameled Dutch Oven, 4.5-6 quarts) and a small sauce pot.
In the smaller pot, heat up the stock and the tomatoes to a simmer. Chop all your veggies: the onion and celery finely diced, the garlic minced, the green pepper in a slightly larger dice and the zucchini and summer squash into almost bite-sized chunks. Slice smoked sausage into small rounds and set aside.
Add enough oil to coat the bottom of the large pot and set over medium heat. Add the onion and cook alone for 2-5 minutes, then add in the celery, green pepper and garlic and spice blend for 5 additional minutes. Stir well to fully distribute the spices and allow them to bloom (smell the pot-- your kitchen is starting to take on a little bayou!)
Using a wooden spoon, move all the veggies and spices to the sides of the pot making a well in the center. Dump in all the Sumer squash and zucchini, cover the pot and allow to steam for 5 minutes.
Pour in the heated tomatoes/stock and the sausage. If using uncooked (but pre-soaked) spelt berries, add in here. Cover and cook 25 min. If using fully cooked spelt berries, cook the soup for the first 25 minutes and then add them and cook additional 20 min (the soup needs to cook for 50 min to an hour total.)
A great meal to make as a "big batch" on the weekend and eat all week for lunch!
The broth was delicious, but the spelt berries don't soak up as much as rice, so at the end it was a little soupy. In the original recipe, they used 2 tbsp of flour, added in with the spice blend on the aromatics, to help thicken it up. Might be a helpful step and when we make this again we'll try doing that! But if you have a nice, crusty baguette, you could just mop up the tasty sauce instead (highly recommend.)
Ingredients
Directions
You'll need two pots for this recipe: a large, oven-safe pot (like an enameled Dutch Oven, 4.5-6 quarts) and a small sauce pot.
In the smaller pot, heat up the stock and the tomatoes to a simmer. Chop all your veggies: the onion and celery finely diced, the garlic minced, the green pepper in a slightly larger dice and the zucchini and summer squash into almost bite-sized chunks. Slice smoked sausage into small rounds and set aside.
Add enough oil to coat the bottom of the large pot and set over medium heat. Add the onion and cook alone for 2-5 minutes, then add in the celery, green pepper and garlic and spice blend for 5 additional minutes. Stir well to fully distribute the spices and allow them to bloom (smell the pot-- your kitchen is starting to take on a little bayou!)
Using a wooden spoon, move all the veggies and spices to the sides of the pot making a well in the center. Dump in all the Sumer squash and zucchini, cover the pot and allow to steam for 5 minutes.
Pour in the heated tomatoes/stock and the sausage. If using uncooked (but pre-soaked) spelt berries, add in here. Cover and cook 25 min. If using fully cooked spelt berries, cook the soup for the first 25 minutes and then add them and cook additional 20 min (the soup needs to cook for 50 min to an hour total.)
A great meal to make as a "big batch" on the weekend and eat all week for lunch!