One of our favorite things to do is to combine ingredients that you normally would not put together. Last time we checked, the words ‘pasta’ and ‘cajun’ normally do not lie in the same sentence or recipe. However, the richness of the Cajun jambalaya mixture pairs quite well with a wide noodle (like fettuccine). The starch from the pasta acts as a great thickening agent and makes for a rather delectable, seemingly very rich, yet quite light sauce.



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Following the status quo is not our forte and so you will find in this recipe ingredients that might not normally going in a Cajun jambalaya. Things like Jamaican allspice and crab meat make an appearance to give this dish its own particular characteristics.

And, what better to go with a spicy dish than a spicy beer? Fortunately for us, we had a bottle of Billy’s Chillies from Twisted Pine in Boulder, CO, on hand. Now, understandably, this beer is not available outside of the Denver metro area. However, there are countless other chile beers out there that I am sure you can get your hands on. One thing to keep in mind here is that you want a lighter chile beer. Billy’s Chilies is perfect because it has a very light base with a kick of pepper to keep you on your toes. I would steer away from a porter or stout with chilies added since the bulky mouth feel from the roasted malts will overpower the dish.

We hope you find it as enjoyable as we did.

Chorizo and shrimp browning in the dutch oven.

The three bell peppers are chopped along with some dice fresh tomatoes, a beautiful orange habanero, a mound of scallions and some minced garlic.

The jambalya mixture is simmering away.

This is how we served the dish. However, feel free to garnish with whatever you may like and don’t forget to grab that chile beer out of the fridge!

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