Pan Chicharron

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During my last trip to the book store, I couldn't resist entering the cookbook aisle.  Venturing into that corner of the store is usually a bad idea for me, or rather my wallet, because I always end up going home with more books than I intially meant to buy.

This trip was no exception to the rule. When I saw Julie Schwob's book "Breakfast du Monde" (Breakfasts of the world) and started leafing through it, I knew I had to take this one home with me. So many interesting ideas and recipes in there, that I couldn't wait to try out. 

First try-out : the Peruvian Pan Chicharron.

Jambalaya

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A dish I make on a regular basis and which is always highly appreciated by those who get to taste it : straight out of the Creole cuisine,  Jambalaya.

Undoubtedly there are as many versions of Jambalaya as there are cooks in Louisiana and beyond. But this is the version I usually made, coincidentally also a rather skinny version of the dish.

Ingredients for 4 servings:

* 160g lean breakfast bacon (can be replaced by chicken as well)
* 1 red onion
* 2 garlic cloves
* 250g mushrooms
* 1 sweet ramiro pepper
* 1 tsp olive oil
* 125g brown rice (uncooked)

* 400g sifted tomatoes

* 150ml vegetable stock

* 400g gambas (pre cooked)

* 1 Tbsp parsley
* a pinch of sugar
* to taste : salt, pepper, thyme (and if you like spicy, you can add tabasco sauce as well)

Dice the bacon, the onion, the garlic cloves, the mushrooms and the bell pepper.

Bake the bacon in the teaspoon of olive oil, add the vegetables and stew.

Add the uncooked rice, tomatoes and vegetable stock.  Season with salt, pepper, a pinch of sugar (and tabasco if you want) and cook for 15 minutes.

Add the gambas and heat for an additional 5 minutes, finish with the tablespoon of parsley (and thyme).