Mardi Gras Jambalaya Pizza
New Orleans-style jambalaya (with brown rice, tomatoes, bay leaves, crimini mushrooms, green bell peppers, onions, Creole seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, red kidney beans), crispy fried chorizo sausage, oven-roasted okra, buffalo mozzarella
Recipe
Ingredients: 1 ball of pizza dough olive oil flour for dusting
semolina flour for pizza stone salt & pepper 1 cooked chorizo sausage, sliced about 12 whole okra, tops cut off (above the ridge, so slime doesn’t ooze out) 1 ball buffalo mozzarella
For the jambalaya: 1 cup long grain or medium grain brown rice 2 cups vegetable broth 1 (14.5 ounce) can roasted diced tomatoes 2 bay leaves 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 ½ cups sliced crimini (baby bella) mushrooms 1 green bell pepper, diced 1 small white onion, finely diced 1 tablespoon Creole or Cajun seasoning (if you can’t find this, combine a mixture of paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, dried oregano, dried thyme, salt & pepper) ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1 (15 ounce) can red kidney beans, drained
Directions: Preheat your oven to 425° F. In a large saucepan, combine the rice, broth, tomatoes, bay leaves & some salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low, cover, and let simmer for about half an hour.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet, and add the mushrooms, onion, pepper, Creole seasoning & Worcestershire sauce and saute for about 10-15 minutes, until the mushrooms are fully wilted.
When the oven is hot, toss the okra in a bowl with olive oil, salt & pepper, and then place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for about 10-15 minutes, turning over halfway. When they are brown and wrinkly, take them out and increase the oven temperature to 550° F.
When the rice has cooked for 30 minutes, stir in the beans and the mushroom mixture. Cover and continue to cook for about 20 more minutes, then remove from the heat and let stand for another 5 minutes or so.
Next you can fry the chorizo. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter in a pan over medium heat, and fry the chorizo slices on each side until they develop a nice crust. Set aside on a paper towel to drain the excess oil.
Now it’s time to prepare the dough, using the instructions on the right. When it’s baked for a minute, take it out and brush it lightly with olive oil. Spoon out the jambalaya in an even layer over the dough, careful not to add so much that it makes the pizza too heavy to hold.
Next add the okra and chorizo, and tear off shreds of the buffalo mozzarella. Pop it in the oven and bake until the cheese is melty and the crust is a nice golden brown. Then take it out and enjoy your Fat (Pizza) Tuesday masterpiece!