February is Mardi Gras month, which means we’ll be flying down South to party or wishing that we were. If you’re celebrating the season at home (we suggest a large gathering of friends and family, as Louisianans do), it’s good to have a flavorful dish on hand that evokes the rich flavors of the Pelican State — and a good place to start is with a crowd-pleasing jambalaya. Chef David Guas is the person to ask for a foolproof recipe — the chef and owner of Arlington’s Bayou Bakery, Coffee Bar & Eatery has been making the classic dish since he was 10 years old, he says.
“This is basically a one-pot meal. That’s what I love about it,” Guas says about his Gulf Shrimp Jambalaya. “I just find it to be a very easy dish.” He advises using an ovenproof pot so all the flavor stays in, and you can move it right from the stove into the oven. And, he says, you can always add more spices at the end if the heat level is not to your liking.
There are two major categories of jambalaya in Louisiana. While Cajun cooking tends to stick to a “brown” variety without tomato, Guas favors a Creole-style “red” jambalaya in this case: “I prefer, when I’m doing heavier seafood dishes, to add an element of tomato … because it adds an element of depth and sweetness and acid that you wouldn’t get from the brown.”
When Guas isn’t cooking up Louisiana fare, spending time with his wife and two boys, or adding names to his ever-evolving doc of New Orleans restaurant recommendations, he’s hard at work on the launch of a new concept — a full-service restaurant in McLean called Neutral Ground Bar + Kitchen, set to open in April. It won’t be Louisiana food, but it’s bound to have plenty of Southern hospitality.
What: Mardi Pardi
When: February 13 (Fat Tuesday), in the evening
Where: Bayou Bakery, Coffee Bar & Eatery, 1515 N. Courthouse Rd., Arlington
What to Expect: Parade food specials and live music. Celebratory drinks like classic hurricanes, king cake daiquiris, and Abita beer. Mardi Gras fare such as Gulf Shrimp Jambalaya, gumbo, red beans and rice, “Muff-a-Lottas” (the bakery’s take on the classic New Orleans sandwich), and à la carte desserts like slices of king cake, pralines, and beignets.
Chef David Guas’ Gulf Shrimp Jambalaya
Yield: 6–8 servings
Ingredients
- 0.25 cup cooking oil (for sautéing)
- 2.5 cups sweet onion, diced
- 1 cup green bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup celery, diced small
- 1.5 tablespoons garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1.5 teaspoons black pepper, ground
- 1 teaspoon cayenne
- 2 cups tomato purée
- 4 cups rice, raw (parboiled)
- 0.25 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup green onion, chopped (reserve 0.5 cup for garnishing finished portions)
- 0.5 cup fresh flat leaf Italian parsley, chopped
- 2.5 quarts shrimp stock (heated, see recipe below)
- 2 pounds Gulf shrimp (26/30 size, peeled and deveined)
Procedure
Start by sautéing holy trinity (onion, bell pepper, and celery), garlic, and spices in 0.25 cup cooking oil (grapeseed, canola, or vegetable) in an 8-quart stock pot with an ovenproof lid on medium-high until the veggies are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add tomato purée, rice, and Worcestershire sauce, stir well, then add 0.5 cups of green onion, parsley, shrimp, and warm shrimp stock. Cover with lid and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and place in an oven at 350 degrees with the lid on for 50 to 55 minutes. Remove from oven, remove the lid and, using a fork, rake the jambalaya to fluff the rice a bit.
Assembly
Serve immediately and garnish with sliced green onions.
For the Shrimp Stock:
Ingredients
- Shrimp shells (from the 2-pounds of shrimp, prepped for jambalaya — see above)
- 1 sweet onion, roughly chopped
- 2 ribs celery, roughly chopped and leaves
- 2–4 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns, whole
- 4 quarts water, cold
Procedure
Sauté the raw shells in cooking oil (canola, vegetable, or grapeseed) on medium-high heat, until they have an orange color, about 5 minutes. Then add the veggies, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Add enough cold water to fill pot. Simmer gently on medium heat for a minimum of 1 hour. Strain and reserve hot for the jambalaya.
Feature image by Rey Lopez
This story originally ran in our February issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
