Ingredients:
¼ Cup cooking oil or bacon fat
2 lb. Cajun-style smoked sausage, thinly sliced **
3 large Onions diced (approx. 4 Cups)
1 ½ Tablespoons Cajun Seasoning or to taste
(suggest Tony Chachere’s Cajun Spice)
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
8 oz. can Mushrooms, drained
1 ten-ounce can of original Rotel tomatoes
¼ cup bell pepper, diced
¼ cup green onion tops, sliced
2 teaspoons dried parsley, optional
¼ cup catsup
4¼ cups water
3 cups regular uncooked white rice
** If you can’t find a good smoky Cajun sausage, 1 tsp Liquid Smoke, along with the regular sausage will add flavor.
Directions:
Coat the bottom of a slightly pre-heated six-quart black iron pot (or other heavy pot) with the oil or bacon fat. On medium heat, sauté sliced sausage ‘til it begins to reduce. Remove sausage and replace with the chopped onions. Saute them until they begin to caramelize, approximately 15 min., stirring often to insure that they don’t burn. Add the drained mushrooms and cook another 5 minutes. Add the Rotel tomatoes and continue cooking. (The old folks say to continue cooking “Until the oil runs clear” in a hole of the ingredients that you make in the center of the pot).
To this, add diced bell pepper, green onion tops sliced, ¼ cup of water and the catsup. Add the sliced sautéed sausage back to the pot and simmer 5 minutes. Add the rice, stir thoroughly, then add the 4 remaining cups of water and the dried parsley. Bring to a boil, and let it boil 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly, then reduce to very low heat, cover and simmer approximately 15 minutes or until rice is cooked.
This is a Creole-style Jambalaya served throughout rural South Louisiana. When money is tight, the mushrooms are omitted, and sliced wieners or cubed Spam is often substituted.
