When I made this for the first time, not having the slightest idea what jambalaya was, it looked quite complex, however, having made it many times now I now think it is probably one of the easiest recipes around. It is also a brilliant recipe to adapt to your own personal taste. It is also the ideal ‘fridge cleaner’ to sue up all those odd that you have lying around. Just follow a few basic steps and you will be able to make you own version of this recipe. Rinse the rice in cold running water first. Fry the onions, garlic and vegetables first, plus any meat that might need more cooking than the rice does. Ensure the rice is well coated in the oil before adding any stock. Measure the stock by doubling the volume of the rice (4 cups of water to 2 cups of rice, etc.)

Don’t add all of the stock at once, add more if it looks as though it will dry out before the rice is done. If you have ingredients that don’t need much cooking (prawns etc.) or vegetables that you want to serve with a bit of a crunch then add them during the last five minutes of cooking.