Real Cajun Pastalaya Recipes

CHEF NINO'S PASTALAYA

Steps:

• In a large Dutch oven, brown sausage over medium high heat, stirring constantly so that it does not burn, about 10 minutes. Drain off excess fat. Add the thigh meat to the sausage and cook, stirring constantly, until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and add the onions celery, bell pepper and garlic to the pot and cook until softened, stirring occasionally, 6 to 7 minutes. Scrape the bottom of the pot to keep the vegetables sticking. Add the tasso, thyme, basil and Cajun seasoning and cook until tasso is lightly browned, about 5 minutes Add the chicken stock. Bring mixture to a boil. Stir in the pasta - this will keep it from sticking to the bottom. After mixture returns to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook until pasta is al dente, about 20 minutes. If you are looking you ain't cooking....don't remove the lid and don't stir while cooking. Add green onions and parsley before serving.

REAL CAJUN PASTALAYA

Steps:

• In a heavy pot that is NOT nonstick (I use Magnalite) brown sausage.
• After sausage is browned, remove from pot and add onions and bell pepper. Cook on medium-high heat in fat rendered from sausage (add butter or olive oil if needed) until wilted; about 5 minutes.
• Add garlic and cook a few more minutes.
• Add sausage back to pot along with chicken or which ever protein you choose, except if using shrimp).
• Add all remaining ingredients except green onions and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn't stick to bottom. Reduce heat, cover, simmer for about 25 minutes, until pasta is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed. If using shrimp, add it at this point.
• Remove from heat, stir in green onions. Serve hot. French bread is delicious with it and you can sop up the sauce.

CAJUN PASTALAYA

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage and cook for 2 minutes. Add celery, onion, bell pepper, and garlic; cook until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink inside and juices run clear, 5 to 7 minutes more. Add tomatoes, paprika, Creole seasoning, and cayenne pepper; bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
• Add broth to the pot and return to a simmer. Add penne and simmer for 8 minutes. Add shrimp. Continue to simmer, stirring constantly, until pasta is tender but firm to the bite and shrimp are cooked through, about 7 minutes more.
• Stir in cream. Stir in thyme, oregano, and basil. Cook until just heated through, 3 to 5 minutes more. Serve topped with green onions and Parmesan cheese.

PASTALAYA

Steps:

• In a large Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add chicken and sausage; cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
• Add Trinity to pot and cook until softened, stirring occasionally, 6 to 7 minutes.
• Add chicken and sausage, tomatoes, chicken broth, garlic, and Creole Seasoning to pan. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.
• Stir in cooked pasta and green onion.
• In a medium bowl, combine onion, bell pepper, and celery. Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months.
• In a medium bowl, combine paprika, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, basil, white pepper, thyme, celery seeds, cayenne, and black pepper. Store in an airtight container.

CAJUN PASTALAYA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta to al dente. Reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta liquid.
• Melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Season shrimp with salt and pepper and add shrimp to skillet. Sauté 2-3 minutes. Remove shrimp and set aside.
• Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to skillet. Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to skillet. Cook until no longer pink in the middle, stirring once or twice, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from skillet and place with shrimp.
• Add 1 tablespoon butter and Andouille sausage, onion, green pepper, red pepper, and celery. Cook 4 to 5 minutes, until Andouille is browned and vegetables are softened.
• Add garlic, paprika, garlic powder, oregano, and thyme and cook 30 seconds. Then add Worcestershire sauce, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and chicken broth. Let simmer 3 minutes.
• Add cream and simmer 3 minutes. Return shrimp and chicken and add cooked pasta plus reserved cooking liquid. Simmer another 2-3 minutes. Check for seasoning and add salt to taste.
• To serve, top with green onions.

CAJUN PASTALAYA RECIPE

Steps:

• In medium deep skillet, cook sliced sausage 3-4 minutes until browned.
• Remove sausage to drain in colander.
• Add diced peppers and onions to skillet with the excess oil, and saute mixture until slightly translucent.
• Add sausage back to pan along with spices. Cook 1-2 minutes longer.
• Add Rotini and prepared tomato broth. Bring mixture to boil over medium-high heat.
• Reduce heat to medium and cook about 20 minutes until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
• Garnish with parsley and a bit of Parmesan cheese.

JAMBALASTA

Steps:

• Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the linguine, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat; cook and stir the onion in the oil until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken, shrimp, sugar, Cajun seasoning, paprika, garlic powder, oregano, salt, and hot sauce and cook until the chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the kielbasa and diced tomatoes. Whisk together the cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl until smooth; pour into the skillet. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Ladle over the linguine.

CREAMY CAJUN PASTALAYA

Steps:

• Cook the pasta according to package instructions.
• Season the shrimp with about 1/2 tbsp of the cajun seasoning and set aside.
• In a large skillet or Dutch oven heat the olive oil. Add the shrimp and cook on both sides until it turns pink, about 2 min per side, could be less depending on the size of your shrimp. Remove the shrimp from the pot and set aside.
• Add the chicken and sausage to the pot, and sprinkle about 1 tbsp of the cajun seasoning over the chicken. Stir everything together and cook until the chicken is no longer pink and is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
• Add the onion, celery and garlic to the skillet and cook until the onion becomes translucent, about 3 minutes.
• Add all the peppers and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 tbsp of cajun seasoning over the peppers, stir well and cook for another 3 minutes.
• Add the chicken broth and heavy cream to the skillet, stir and season with salt and pepper if needed. Add the shrimp back to the pot. Bring the sauce to a boil, then add the cooked pasta and about 1/2 cup of the shredded Fontina cheese. Stir everything together.
• Remove from heat, then garnish with the remaining Fontina cheese, green onions and parsley. The pasta will continue to soak up the sauce.
• Serve immediately. Refrigerate leftover for up to 3 days.