Jambalaya with prawns, scampi and chorizo

Serves 10

Jambalaya with prawns, scampi and chorizo (Jason Lowe)

You may have come across this tasty Cajun rice dish if you have visited New Orleans – as its name suggests, it does consist of a mishmash of ingredients, sometimes just using seafood and sometimes using a combination of meat and fish.

2tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled, halved and finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 stick of celery, peeled if necessary and cut into 1cm dice
1 small green pepper, seeded, halved and finely chopped
1 green chilli, finely chopped
100-120g grilling chorizo, cut into rough 1cm dice
2tsp tomato purée
200g long grain rice
200ml chicken or fish stock
100-120g raw prawns
100-120g raw scampi tails
1tbsp chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based saucepan, add the onion, garlic, celery, green pepper, chilli and chorizo and cook very gently without colouring and with a lid on for 10 minutes, stirring every so often.

Stir in the rice, add the tomato purée and the stock and season, cover and cook on a very low heat (a simmer plate works well for this), stirring every so often until the rice is almost cooked.

Stir in the prawns and scampi and parsley and continue cooking for 4-5 minutes until the rice is just cooked and the liquid has more or less evaporated and the rice is still moist. If not, just stir in a little more stock. Serve immediately.