Superhearty Superbowl Jambalaya

Chill the beer. Fry up the finger foods. And put on your loose eatin' pants. There's going to be a whole lot of mindless eating this Superbowl Sunday. Just how much? Check out these figures from treehugger.com:

8 million pounds of popcorn consumed on Super Bowl Sunday

28 million pounds of potato chips

53.5 million pounds of avocados

1 billion chicken wings

325.5 million gallons of beer imbibed by Americans 

Not surprisingly, there is a reported 20% increase in ant-acid sales the Monday after the game. And 7 million employees will not show up to work.

An estimated 105 million people will tune in to the Superbowl, including yours truly. I will be comfortably parked in my La-Z-boy watching the halftime show and the commercials. 


I'll take a pass on the chips and wings. Instead, just pass the thick and chunky jambalaya please. This is a Louisiana style , smokey stew recipe I've adapted by combining several other recipes. The key ingredient is the andouille sausage. The smoked pork gives a wallop of flavour. I found some excellent andouille sausage at the Butchery in Ottawa's Bells Corners neighbourhood. If you can't find andouille, try spicy cajun sausage. This recipe yields a lot of jambalaya, more than enough to satisfy your Superbowl munchies. 

Jambalaya

Jambalaya
4 links andouille sausage 
1  28-ounce can plum tomatoes
3 cups stock
1 green bell pepper diced
1 red bell pepper diced
2 celery stalks diced
2 large onions diced
4 cloves garlic chopped
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon oregano
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons chili flakes
1 bay leaf
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup uncooked rice
24 raw shrimp (shelled and deveined)
24 raw mussels (cleaned well)


Brown the sausages in a large heavy pot. 
When cooked, place the sausages on a plate to cool and keep the pot on the stove.
Using that same heavy pot and fat from the sausages, fry the peppers, onions, celery, garlic.
Toss in the seasonings and stir.
Slice sausages and throw into the pot.
Add the canned tomatoes and broth and bring to a simmer.
Stir in the rice. 
Cover pot and let simmer over low heat for about 25 minutes.
Once the rice is al dente, add shrimp and mussels.
Continue to cook for about 2 -3 minutes or until the mussels open and the shrimp turn pink.     


This dish will be a guaranteed touchdown with your Superbowl guests.