Cajun Pastalaya

Updated at: Wed, 31 Jul 2024 19:48:43 GMT

Step 1

1. Cut sausage and chicken into bite-sized pieces, trimming excess fat from chicken thighs.

Step 2

2. Sauté sausage over medium heat in olive oil in a wide pan or dutch oven until nicely browned. Remove sausage to a bowl using a slotted spoon; set aside. Pro tip: once in the bowl, carefully pour excess oil from the bowl back to the pan. The seasoned oil gives the dish tons of flavor and color.

Step 3

3. Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Working in 2-3 batches (so not to overcrowd the pan), add chicken to pan then cook over medium-high or high heat until nicely browned (we want to brown the chicken as much as we can without burning the bottom of the pan). There should be plenty of oil in the pan but add more if necessary. Remove chicken from pan using a slotted spoon; set aside.

Step 4

4. Reduce heat to medium then add butter, celery, bell pepper and onion. Sauté for 10 minutes. Add garlic then continue cooking for 2 minutes. Stir in flour then continue cooking for 5 minutes. The bottom of the pan should be dark golden brown and veggies very tender.

Step 5

5. Add chicken broth, water, 2 tablespoons Cajun or Creole seasoning and pepper then increase heat to medium-high. Stir with a whisk until smooth, scraping up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Taste for seasoning then add more seasoning until broth is as salty as you’d like the pasta to be. Add cayenne pepper for extra heat if you’d like.

Step 6

6. Once the broth starts to simmer, stir in pasta, sausage and chicken. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover then cook until pasta is just tender (usually the time indicated on the box), stirring occasionally. Do not overcook the pasta.

Step 7

7. Remove from heat, uncover then let rest 10 minutes. Gently stir in heavy cream then serve.

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