New Orleans Gumbo with Shrimp and Sausage
Ingredients:
Roux:
½ cup high heat oil, such as canola, corn, or vegetable
½ cup all purpose flour
Gumbo:
1 medium onion, diced
2 bell peppers, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 bay leaves
8 ounces andouille sausage, sliced
2 tablespoons EACH: cajun seasoning AND tabasco sauce (more or less to taste)
1 tablespoon cayenne (omit if you want it mild)
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 (14.5 ounce can) stewed tomatoes and juices, roughly diced
1 ½ pounds raw shrimp
2 teaspoons gumbo file (*see note)
sliced scallions + white rice or quinoa, for serving
Instructions
Heat the oil in a large dutch oven or a heavy bottom pot over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour until combined and smooth. Switch to a wooden spoon and continuously stir for 15-22 minutes or until the roux darkens to just past a deep peanut butter color. Do not let the roux burn! (if you smell it burning, you will need to throw it out, clean the pot, and start over, unfortunately there's just no saving burnt roux!)
Once the roux reaches that deep rich brown color, stir in the onions, bell peppers, and celery and continue to cook, stirring as needed so the vegetables don't stick. About 8-10 minutes or until the veggies soften. Add the garlic, andouille sausage, and bay leaves. Continue to cook for an additional 1-2 minutes until the garlic is nice and fragrant.
Add the cajun seasoning, tabasco sauce, and cayenne along with the chicken broth and stewed tomatoes and bring to a high simmer before lowering the heat to medium-low, covering and simmering for 15-20 minutes.
Add the shrimp to the gumbo, give it a stir and allow to continue to simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes or until the shrimp is opaque and the veggies have softened. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired. Add the gumbo filé and stir. Remove bay leaves before serving.
TO SERVE: Serve warm with white rice or quinoa with sliced scallions on top
*Note: Gumbo filé - available in the ethnic food aisle near where they keep the cajun seasonings. It's basically ground leaves from the sassafras tree.
Prep Time: 20 min Cook time: 1 hour 10 min Total 1 hour 30 minutes
