Jambalaya

Method

1. Cut the chicken into 2–3 cm pieces and slice the sausage 1 cm thick. Dice the onion, celery and pepper into 1 cm pieces (this trio is the 'holy trinity') and mince the garlic. Don't rinse the rice; the surface starch helps it cook up just right here.

2. Heat the oil in a 24 cm heavy pot over medium-high heat and cook the sausage for 3 min until the fat runs and the edges brown. Add the chicken and part of the salt and cook for 5 min more until lightly golden outside; it finishes cooking with the rice.

   Add in this stepVegetable oil 1 tbspSmoked sausage (andouille or kielbasa) 150 gBoneless chicken thighs 240 gSalt ¼ tsp

   medium-high heat

3. Turn the heat down to medium heat, add the onion, celery, pepper and garlic and cook for 6 min, scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pot with the moisture from the vegetables, until the onion is translucent.

   Add in this stepOnion 1Celery stalks 1Green bell pepper ½Garlic cloves 2

   medium heat

4. Stir in the paprika, cayenne, thyme, oregano, bay leaves and black pepper and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the tomatoes, rice, stock and the rest of the salt, stir well and bring to a lively boil over high heat for 4 min.

   Add in this stepPaprika 1 tspCayenne pepper 2 pinchDried thyme ½ tspDried oregano ½ tspBay leaves 1Black pepper ¼ tspCanned diced tomatoes 200 gLong-grain white rice 160 gChicken stock 380 mlSalt ½ tsp

   high heat

5. Give it one good stir right to the bottom, turn the heat down to low heat, cover and cook for 18 min. Don't lift the lid or stir: stirring makes the rice gummy and lets the bottom catch.

   low heat

6. Scatter the shrimp over the top, cover again and cook on low heat for 5 min more, until the shrimp are pink and opaque and the rice is tender. Turn off the heat and leave it covered for 5 min to steam.

   Add in this stepShrimp, peeled and deveined 120 g

   low heat

7. Remove the bay leaves and fluff the rice gently with a fork. Scatter with sliced scallions and pass the hot sauce at the table.

   Add in this stepScallions 2Hot sauce, to serve to taste