This is another one of my favorite recipes made vegetarian. It's rich, smokey, and quite delicious. It's pretty far from authentic Cajun food, but I love it all the same!
The original recipe with meat: Jambalaya Pasta
The recipe for a 1/2 batch is here (feel free to double it to feed 4-6 people), and pictures of the process are below:
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. olive/canola oil
3/4 cup white/yellow onion, diced
1 1/2 cup diced bell peppers (I like red and yellow)
200 g/6 oz. vegetarian andouille or kielbasa sausage, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 tsp. Cajun seasoning
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 cup cooked and rinsed chickpeas (or other chicken substitute)
Freshly ground black pepper
5 oz. penne/short noodle
2 cups vegetable broth
3/4 cup (7 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup heavy cream
Parsley, chopped (for garnish)
Directions:
Chop, cut, and prepare all ingredients beforehand to make the cooking process easier.
Heat olive oil in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add the onions and bell peppers and increase heat to medium high to sauté.
Cook the vegetables ~8-10 minutes and cook them so they start to char a little. Scrape any glaze that forms on bottom as you stir. The charring really helps improve the flavor.
When the vegetables are charred (see picture below), Add the sausage and cook until well browned, but not burnt (~10 minutes).
Stir in the garlic, chickpeas, cajun seasoning, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Mix and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Mix in the dry penne, diced tomatoes, and chicken broth and simmer until the pasta is al dente and almost all of the liquid is absorbed, about 10-20 minutes (see picture below).
Stir in the heavy cream and cheddar cheese.
Garnish with parsley (optional) and serve.
3-4 servings, tastes even better the next day!
I recommend trying a DIFFERENT brand than this. This was not very good.
Before sauteing the onion and bell pepper until lightly charred.
After sauteing the onion and bell pepper until lightly charred.
Then add in your vegetarian sausage...
...and cook the sausage until lightly charred.
After adding in the chickpeas, seasonings, and garlic and before cooking for about 30 seconds.
After cooking down the last additions you add in the broth, tomatoes, and noodles. Then let it simmer about 10-20 minutes until the noodles are cooked.
After simmering. The noodles are done!
Then you just need to add in you heavy cream and cheese...
...after mixing them in you're ready to serve!
All done!