Fuel My Friday: Cheng’s Cajun Chicken Chambalaya

Take it away Eden…

Jambalaya is an amazing dish on so many levels - high in protein and other nutrients, gluten free and most of all its super yummy.

Before I tell you how to whip up this tasty pot of food, here’s a little bit of background courtesy of google!!

“Jambalaya means 'mixed up' in French, therefore you can throw anything into it; different vegetables, you can swap the chicken for other meats and change the spices around too.”

If you're not a huge spicy-food fan, you can make a great Italian style jambalaya recipe using some mixed herbs, a little balsamic vinegar and maybe swapping the sweetcorn for some courgettes. Basically you just have a lot of freedom.

 

Ingredients:

•  1 tsp coconut or olive oil
•  500 g chicken breast, chopped into small cubes
•  1 onion, diced
•  2 garlic cloves, crushed
•  1 green pepper, diced
•  1 red pepper, diced
•  150 g sweetcorn, drained
•  300 g brown rice
•  400 g can of chopped tomatoes
•  2 tsp Cajun spice
•  1 tsp chilli flakes
•  700 ml stock
•  Pinch of black pepper

Method:

1. First step for me is to get everything prepared so make sure all your ingredients are chopped, sliced, diced or close by ready for cooking.
2. Get yourself a big pan on the hob with the coconut oil on a medium heat.
3. Throw in the onions and peppers, they need to gently fry for about 5 minutes, then sprinkle in the garlic and let it fry for another minute or so.
4. Time for a few more ingredients to head into the pan. Add the chicken, the Cajun spice (I recommend two tsp but if you want more keep tipping it in) and also the chilli flakes. This all needs to gook together until the chunks of chicken are lightly browned.
5. Next, you guessed it, more ingredients need adding – into the pan goes the uncooked rice, the chopped tomatoes, the stock, black pepper and sweetcorn. Give it a big stir and mix.
6. Reduce the heat down to low, cover and simmer for 30- 40 minutes until the majority of the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is cooked through.
7. Serve and enjoy!

Made too much? This is a great meal for portioning up and freezing so that at the end of a busy day you’ve got a healthy homemade meal at your fingertips.