This week I’m posting a Cajun recipe to get ready for Mardi Gras next week. Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, is a celebration, typically of feasting and celebrating, before the fasting of Lent. While the original celebration has religious roots, and is celebrated in many countries, it has also become a regional celebration in the United States. Most people think of New Orleans when they hear Mardi Gras, however it is also celebrated in other areas of the United States, primarily the South Eastern states. Because of this, delicious Cajun cultural food has been passed down for generations, all over the country. Growing up, my family always had a delicious rotation of Cajun dishes throughout the year, including Mardi Gras.

One of my favorite Cajun dishes is also one of the easiest to make, dirty rice. So, why is it called dirty rice? Well, as simple as it sounds, because it looks dirty. Traditionally it is made with; a ground meat and liver, the trinity (green bell pepper, onion, and celery), a delicious complex blend of spices (Cajun seasoning), and rice.

This recipe does not call for liver. I personally am not overly fond of liver, but I have used it in dirty rice in the past. The added ingredient adds a deeper flavor profile. If you also don’t care for liver, this is actually a good dish to try it in. I also didn’t include it in mine this week, because it is hard to find right now. I would normally use chicken livers, and chop it up as finely as possible. If you do decide to use it, simply cook it with the ground meat of your choice. Although ground beef is the typical choice, you could also use ground turkey, ground pork, or sausage.

I’m going to break this recipe into three parts this week. First, if you can’t find a gluten-free Cajun seasoning, I have a recipe for you. Secondly, the trinity. As I said above the trinity is; green bell pepper, onion, and celery. It is the base of most Cajun dishes, and an important step. You will be cooking it first and setting it aside before cooking the meat. Last we will combine all of the components together to make the dirty rice.

Cajun Seasoning

You can make your Cajun seasoning as spicy or as mild as you like. Typically I would use cayenne pepper, but I could not find it this week, so I used ground, dried jalapeños from my garden. I would highly encourage you to only add 1/4 of a teaspoon of whatever spicy pepper you choose at a time, unless you have a good idea of your heat tolerance level. I added 1 full teaspoon to mine since I was using ground jalapeño instead of cayenne, and it was still quite warm, and because of that did not add much to my dirty rice. Also, I would have preferred onion powder over dehydrated onion, but my store was also out of the regular onion powder. If you have celiac, or a severe gluten intolerance, make sure the spices you are using are gluten free. This recipe will make enough to store in your spice cabinet. You can store it in a glass jar, plastic container, or even a food storage bag.

• 2 tsp salt
• 1 _^1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp dehydrated onion
• 1/4 tsp celery seed
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp (more or less depending on your heat preference) of cayenne or dried, finely-ground jalapeño. I highly encourage you to only add 1/4 tsp of whichever pepper you choose at a time.

The trinity

As I mentioned above, the trinity is the base of most Cajun dishes, therefore the reverent title. As fancy as it sounds, it is actually pretty simple. This recipe can make enough to go in two dishes, depending on your preference level for the components. If it seems like you have too much for one recipe, I would recommend freezing the ingredients prior to cooking, simply because the trinity gives the Cajun dishes their aromatics, cooking it the day of should give your Cajun dishes a better flavor. Of course, this isn’t a rule, if you cook all of it and decide it is too much, simply keep it in your fridge and incorporate it into something later in the week, or freeze it.

• one white onion
• one green bell pepper
• one bunch of celery
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 2Tbs olive oil

1. Dice the onion and bell pepper.
2. Finely slice the celery.
3. In a medium-hot skillet (I prefer cast iron) pour in the 2 Tbs olive oil.
4. Add the onion, bell pepper, and celery to the pan.
5. Add all spices to the vegetable mixture and stir.
6. Cook on medium-high heat until the onions are almost translucent.
7. Set the trinity mixture to the side in a separate bowl. You will add it to your recipe later.

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Dirty Rice

Now, for the main dish, dirty rice. You are only going to use 1/2 of the trinity mixture listed above. The rest of the ingredients and steps will be listed below. Remember, you can add liver to this if you desire (as it is traditionally made). If you do decide to use liver, I would cut it as small as possible. Bon Appétit!

• Oven safe skillet (I highly recommend cast)
• 1 lb ground beef ( for this I used an 80/20 fat content beef) or ground meat of your choice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 of the trinity as written in the above recipe
• 1 cup rice ( I used Jasmine rice, but long grain white rice is what it’s typically used)
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
• 3 bay leaves

1. Pre-heat your oven to 375°F
2. First you are going to prepare your trinity. (Look at the recipe above for reference) You are only going to use half of the trinity as listed above. Or, you can use 1/2 of an onion, 1/2 of a bell pepper, and 3 celery stalks.
3. Once your trinity is cooked, set it aside in a separate bowl.
4. Now you are going to cook your ground beef or ground meat of your choice. (If you decided to also use liver, go ahead and add it too)
5. Add your ground meat to the skillet you cooked your trinity in.
6. Add the salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and dried oregano.
7. Cook beef until it is fully done.
8. Once the beef is cooked remove from the skillet and add to a bowl with a paper towel to remove any extra grease.
9. Add one cup of rice to the skillet you cooked your trinity and ground meat in.
10. Heat the rice until it has gathered any remaining grease, or is a solid white color. You could also cook it to a light golden brown, but I would not let it go past that.
11. To the pan with the rice, add back in your meat, and trinity. Stir until all 3 are combined.
12. Sprinkle in the desired amount of Cajun seasoning (recipe above). I only added 1/2 a teaspoon to my entire pan. This gave it plenty of flavor without making it too spicy.
13. Stir all ingredients together again.
14. Add 2 cups of chicken broth.
15. Add 3 bay leaves into the mixture
16. Cover the pan. (I use foil on mine)
17. With an oven mitt, carefully place the oven safe skillet on the top rack of your oven.
18. Bake, covered, for 35 minutes, or until rice is fully cooked, and all liquid is absorbed.