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Jambalaya is a wonderful Louisiana rice dish - a sort of Creole paella. Our version cuts down on the fat, but maintains all the spicy flavour.

Serves 6

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Prep time 15 mins

Cooking time 35 mins

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Ingredients

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

100g chorizo (we like picante)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, roughly chopped

4 slender celery sticks, cut into 1cm slices

2 small green peppers, deseeded & cut into 2cm chunks

5 large ripe vine tomatoes (about 475g)

3 garlic cloves, peeled & crushed

1 tbsp paprika

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried oregano

2 bay leaves

200g long-grain rice (we often use the easy-cook version)

450ml chicken stock, made with 1 chicken stock cube

100g cooked peeled king prawns, thawed if frozen

6 spring onions, sliced (including lots of green)

flaked sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

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Method

Cut the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces, removing any excess fat, & season them with salt & pepper.

Skin the sausage & cut it into 5mm slices.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan or non-stick sauté pan & fry the chicken for 3 minutes over a medium heat until lightly coloured.

Add the chorizo & cook for 30 seconds more, then transfer the chicken & chorizo with tongs to a large plate or tray.

Tip most of the oil out of the frying pan & chuck it away. Return the empty pan to the heat & turn the heat down to low.

Stir in the onion, celery & green peppers & cook for 8–10 minutes until well softened, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, skin the tomatoes – see top tip below. Cut them in half & remove the green stem ends, then roughly chop the rest of the flesh – no need to deseed.

Stir the crushed garlic, paprika, cayenne, thyme, oregano & bay leaves into the frying pan & cook for 20–30 seconds, stirring.

Increase the heat & add the chopped tomatoes & any juice that has collected on the board. Cook for 5 minutes or until the tomatoes are well softened, stirring regularly.

Return the chicken & chorizo to the pan, add the rice & cook for about a minute, stirring.

Pour over the stock, season with a pinch of salt & lots of black pepper.

Bring to a simmer & cook for about 10 minutes or until the rice is just tender & most of the liquid has evaporated or been absorbed by the rice, stirring occasionally. The rice should still be pretty saucy at this point, so if your rice takes longer to cook, you may need to add a little more stock.

Stir in the prawns & spring onions & cook for about 2 minutes more or until the prawns are hot, stirring regularly, then serve.

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Top Tip

To skin tomatoes, make a small cross in the base of each with the tip of a knife & then put them in a heatproof bowl & cover with boiled water. Leave the toms to stand for a minute until the skins begin to wrinkle & once cool enough to handle, strip off those skins.