It’s important to control the heat of the pan: you don’t want it to be so slow nothing’s happening, or so fast that things are catching and burning. Photograph: Felicity Cloake/The Guardian. Give it all a good stir, then put the lid on. But there are some constants, whatever else you chuck in there … and one of them is that, like Jamie Oliver and his paella (or indeed his jollof rice, whatever I do), it won’t be how your momma made it. McDonald and Matthew “Dee” Gautreau of Gonzales Louisiana, winner of the 1978 World Chicken Jambalaya championship (history does not record how many other countries competed) both use spring onions as well, whose greener, more herbaceous flavour complements the green pepper perfectly – I particularly like McDonald’s use of the green tops as garnish, adding colour to what otherwise can be a rather beige dish. Pour a couple of lugs of oil into a large casserole type pan and brown the chicken pieces and sliced sausage over a medium heat. And similarly, you can adapt it to whatever your local butcher or fishmonger happens to have. Toast the peppercorns, paprika and cayenne in a small dry pan over a high heat until they smell toasty, then tip into a pestle and mortar and grind until smooth. Originally, any Louisiana ‘critter’ unlucky enough to get caught would have gone into this: rabbit, duck, squirrel, frog, alligator. A cajun jambalaya, I’m reliably informed, should be somewhat dry, even slightly browned on the bottom, which rules out the soupier, wetter texture of those creole versions using tomatoes (Oliver advises cooks to aim for a “porridgey” consistency). These are, it seems, the backbone of most cajun-spice mixes, along with thyme (which Oliver uses fresh) and paprika, which gives dishes colour and a mellow heat. Stir, then fry on a medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes stirring every now and again. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. McDonald also adds tomato powder, ground from dehydrated fruit, onion powder, oregano and celery seeds, while Prudhomme goes for cumin, mustard and file powder, a ground root often used to thicken gumbo (always gratifying to get some use out of my tub after lugging it across the Atlantic). Cook on both sides until golden brown, then put on to a fresh plate. ½ tsp white peppercorns½ tsp black peppercorns1 tsp paprika1 tsp cayenne (or more if using a very mild sausage)1 tsp dried thyme2 bay leaves½ tsp salt2 tbsp neutral oil2 smoked pork sausages, ideally andouille, but fresh Polish smoked sausages, smoked chorizo or Toulouse would also do, cut into thick slices4 bone-in chicken thighs1 onion, finely chopped1 green pepper, finely chopped1 celery stick, finely chopped4 spring onions, chopped, green and white parts separated3 garlic cloves, crushed800ml chicken or pork stock1 tsp Tabasco or other hot sauce, plus extra to serve300g long grain rice300g large raw prawns. Jambalaya: to tomato or not to tomato, is seafood and meat sacrilege – and which other southern classics hit the spot for you in cooler weather? Meanwhile, shred the chicken. Once browned, add onion, peppers, celery, bay, thyme, salt and pepper. In any case, clam juice is ridiculously hard to find here – I end up having to decant the liquid from a jar of clams – so if you do yearn for a more savoury flavour, a shake of fish sauce or a tiny amount of anchovy paste will have a similar effect. Cook for 4 minutes, or until just tender. It is, though, heavily seasoned with African and French influences, and no doubt many others too. The holy trinity of cajun and creole cookery is onion, celery and green pepper: only Cook’s Illustrated is daring enough to meddle with it, on the basis that “after sampling bitter-acting green peppers … side by side with sweet red peppers, we unabashedly chose the red” – but, for our testers, there’s no contest. . Season the chicken with sea salt, black pepper and a pinch of cayenne. . Prudhomme recommends starting the jambalaya with margarine, and McDonald butter, but a neutral oil feels like the most authentic bayou choice – topped up with sausage and chicken fat, naturally. Delia Smith, and others, recommend basmati, but I find the slim grains too delicate, and the aromatic flavour gets lost. Fold into the rested jambalaya, taste and season with salt and more hot sauce if necessary. The fluffiest, plumpest rice comes from Gautreau, who parboils the rice before steaming it in a tightly sealed pan, and then letting it sit for 10 minutes before serving, a method I’m inclined to copy wholesale. In a large pot over medium heat, heat oil.