Gumbo

Total Time: 31 hrs Preparation Time: 20 hrs Cook Time: 11 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1/2 cup butter, plus
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion (about 1/2 small onion)
• 1/4 cup chopped celery (about 1 stalk)
• 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper (about 1/4 pepper)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 1/2 cups sliced cooked smoked sausage
• 3 cups shrimp stock
• 2 cups bottled clam juice
• 1 tablespoon shrimp base
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
• 1 tablespoon cajun seasoning (available in the spice aisle in the grocery store)
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon coarsley ground black pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon gumbo file (optional, depending on how thick you want it) (optional)
• 1 cup sliced okra (fresh or frozen)
• 1 cup chopped canned tomato with juice
• 1 green onion, thinly sliced (scallion)
• cooked rice (optional)

Recipe

• 1 make a roux: in a large heavy saucepan, over low heat, melt 1/2 cup of the butter. add the flour, and cook on low heat for about 30 to 45 minutes or until the roux is dark brown. brown does not mean burnt; if you burn the roux you have to throw it out and start over again. remove about 1 tablespoon of the roux and set it aside.
• 2 in small saute pan, over low heat melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter, sweat the onion, celery, green pepper, and garlic until the vegetables are soft and the onions are translucent. add the vegetables to the roux.
• 3 in the pan you used to sweat the vegetables, saute the smoked sausage until tender and add it to the vegetable and roux mixture.
• 4 add the shrimp stock, clam juice, shrimp base, parsley,cajun seasoning, thyme, basil, peppers, bay leaves, gumbo file, okra, and tomatoes, and stir to mix. simmer on medium-low heat until thick, about 1 hour.(if you are using fozen okra, add 3 to 4 minutes cooking time.).
• 5 before serving, remove the bay leaves and add the remaining roux. cook for at least 5 minutes on low heat. add the green onion and serve immediately, over the rice if you like.