Vegetarian Jambalaya

I saw some Cajun seasoning in the supermarket this week and bought it as an impulse buy. I then had to find something to use it in, and decided on a one pot vegetarian jambalaya. Having scoured my recipe books with no luck, I turned to the internet. I found two recipes which sounded like they might work, (a meaty but simple one from Netmums, and a veggie one from Gumbo Pages which serves 12 people) so I picked the best bits from both and came up with this recipe to serve 4.

• 4 vegetarian/vegan sausages or chicken-style fillets, defrosted and diced/sliced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• ¼ butternut squash peeled, seeded and diced (or a large sweet potato)
• 1 courgette/zucchini, diced
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup long grain rice
• 2-3 cups hot vegetable stock
• 1-2 tsp smoked paprika powder
• 1-2 tsp Cajun/Creole seasoning*
• ½ tsp dried thyme/1 tsp fresh chopped thyme

Heat the oil in a large pan.
Add the onion and squash, cook for a few minutes on a medium heat. Stir in the herbs and spices to taste (I used 2 tsp each of smoked paprika and Cajun seasoning).
Add the garlic, bell pepper, courgette and chopped sausage to the pan, and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Stir in the rice and then add the tinned tomatoes and 2 cups of stock.
Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer.
Put the lid on the pan and simmer on a low heat for around 20 minutes, or until the rice is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed. (You may need to add some of the extra stock as the rice is cooking.)

Alternative: Swap the veggie sausage for a tin of drained red kidney beans or chickpeas.

*To make your own seasoning, mix equal quantities of ground cumin, coriander, cayenne, dried oregano, black pepper and sweet paprika.