Seafood Jambalaya

I can already feel the spiciness stinging my tongue.

But if you don’t like spicy foods, don’t quit just yet. This dish can be just as satisfying without the added spices.

I’ve found one of the most underrated foods is rice. It’s often thought of as something your salmon or chicken sit under, but it’s so much more than that. From a young age, one of my most memorable meals was risotto.

This isn’t quite risotto. But I like to think of it as a combination of risotto, paella and jambalaya — I know there’s a lot to unpack there, so hear me out.

It has the rice base of risotto, fused with the flavourful ingredients of a seafood paella, imbued with spices unique to jambalaya to give it that extra kick.

You could call it risaellalaya. Or there’s jambaellisotto. But to keep it simple, I call this one: seafood jambalaya.

Prep time | 20 mins.
Cook time | 35 mins.
Serves | 2-4 people

INGREDIENTS 

  • 12 ounces fresh or frozen peeled and deveined large shrimp
  • 2 cups of scallops 
  • Olive oil, drizzled
  • 2 sweet peppers, diced (orange, yellow or red to add colour to the dish)
  • 2 tomatoes, diced
  • 1/2 cup of onion, diced
  • 1/2 cup of celery, chopped
  • 3/4 cup of uncooked long grain white rice
  • 4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 cups of water
  • 1 tbsp paprika
  • 1 tbsp cayenne pepper

INSTRUCTIONS 

  1. To prep for this meal, dice all your vegetables (pepper, tomato, onion, celery and garlic) and thaw (and peel if needed) the shrimp as well as the scallops. 
  2. In a large pot, boil the rice for 5 minutes (not fully) and drain the water. Then in a bowl, set the rice aside. 
  3. In a medium pan, cook the shrimp in olive oil over medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes or until shrimp are just opaque, turning once halfway through cooking. Transfer shrimp to a plate and set aside.
  4. In a medium pan, cook the scallops in olive oil over medium-high heat for about 5 mins or until they are cooked. (Careful not to overcook scallops, as they can become chewy if overcooked.) When cooked, transfer the scallops to a plate and set aside. 
  5. In a large pan, add olive oil along with the pepper, tomato, onion and celery. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.
  6. Add rice, garlic and cayenne pepper to the large pan. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. 
  7. In the large pan, stir in the water and bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat. 
  8. On low heat, the mixture will begin to simmer. Cover the pan and let it cook for 15 minutes, until the rice is tender, and the liquid is absorbed.
  9. After the 15 minutes, add the cooked shrimp, scallops and paprika to the large pan. If you want it extra spicy, add another tablespoon of cayenne pepper.
  10. Cook for 1-2 minutes more, then serve your meal while still hot.