Creole-Style Vegetarian Jambalaya

Submitted by Miss Annie

"This is a pretty good recipe and using eggplant in this dish is a good idea. This dish has lots of room for you to improvise and create your own jambalaya. This recipe is Creole-style, with a tomato base, but you may omit the tomato paste and tomatoes if you want country-style jambalaya. Serve with a salad and ice cold beer."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 25mins
• Ingredients: 20
• Serves: 12

ingredients

• 1⁄2 cup olive oil
• 2 cups yellow onions, small dice
• 1 cup red onion, small dice
• 1 cup bell pepper, small dice
• 1 cup celery, small dice
• 2 cups eggplants, small, diced
• 1 cup yellow squash, diced
• 1 cup zucchini, diced
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons shallots, chopped
• 3 cups tomatoes, chopped
• salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1⁄2 - 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste
• 2 teaspoons creole seasoning, to taste
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3 bay leaves
• 4 cups long grain rice
• 1 cup tomato paste
• 8 cups vegetable stock
• 1 cup green onion, chopped

directions

1. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat.
2. Add the onions, shallots, celery, bell peppers and garlic and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the eggplant, squash, and zucchini, and saute until they're tender, about other 5 minutes or so.
4. Add the tomatoes.
5. Season with salt, Creole seasoning, and additional cayenne, if desired.
6. Add the bay leaves.
7. Add the rice and stir for 2 to 3 minutes.
8. Heat the tomato paste in a non-stick pan and stir, making sure it doesn't stick or burn, until the sugars in the paste begin to caramelize, and the paste begins to turn a deep mahogany color.
9. Deglaze with some of the vegetable stock, stir and combine thoroughly.
10. Add the tomato paste to the rest of the vegetable stock and stir until well-blended.
11. Add the vegetable stock/tomato mixture to vegetables, stir and cover.
12. Cook for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed.
13. Do not stir the jambalaya while it's cooking.
14. Remove from heat and let stand for 2-3 minutes.
15. Add the green onions and mix thoroughly.
16. Garnish with some fresh long chives, and serve with a salad and good beer.

Reviews

[Sackville]

This was very tasty. A dish that has just the right amount of heat and isn't hard to make either. It only took me about 45 minutes to make the meal, although I scaled the recipe down for two people, so that could have affected the cooking time. The only caution I'd add is that I did have to add a bit more water than indicated, so keep an eye on the pot -- you don't want to burn it!

 

[ratherbeswimmin]

Wow, Miss Annie!! This jambalaya was fabulous. I love that it is vegetarian and full of all my favorite vegetables. The flavor was top-notch with all that creole spiciness. This made a large amount so I put what we didn't eat tonight in the freezer for later. So glad that you shared this recipe.

 

[Karlouise]

This was very good. I made 1/2 the recipe as one of the other reviews stated that it made a lot. 1/2 recipe was the right amount for us although next time I will make the whole recipe and freeze the leftovers in vacuum boiling bags for camping. I also had to add a bit more water for the rice to cook fully. I look forward to adding sweet potatoes next time. I have added this to my cookbook and will definitely make it again. Thanks

 

[The Silly Goose]

We love this. I Even though we have not had Jambalaya before it felt like comfort food. I doubled the creole seasoning (could have been the recipe for creole seasonging that was not as strong) and omitted the cayenne pepper. The amount of water and the time was just right. I cut the recipe in half and there is still a ton. I will freeze some as suggested. I also used diced tomatoes.

 

[Spectatrix]

Best way I've found yet to use up eggplant and summer squash from my CSA box! This was delicious and a big hit with my bf, despite having some veggies in it that he doesn't usually like. I halved the recipe, but kept the full amount of tomatoes. Otherwise, I kept the recipe pretty much as written. Half the recipe made 4 servings for us, which I served with some good crusty bread. :)