Gumbo starts with a roux and ends with plump, juicy shrimp.

Celebrate Mardi Gras with Amazing Gumbo

Make incredible gumbo: start with a roux, add holy trinity — onions, celery and peppers — top with cajun seasoning, chicken, andouille sausage and shrimp.

A roux is made by cooking cooking flour in oil until it is toasty and caramel-ly. It’s so similar to making caramel with sugar. Once your base is set, you’ll top it with the holy trinity of aromatics: onions, celery and bell pepper. Delicious chicken stock, andouille sausage and juicy shrimp round out this stew for an incredible savoury stew.

Gumbo starts with a roux and ends with plump, juicy shrimp.

Classic Gumbo

Gumbo is an incredibly delicious stew made with shrimp, chicken and Andouille sausage. You create the dish by first making a roux which is the process of caramelizing flour and oil to create a rich, deep base. The result is a delicious, rich stew loaded with flavour.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 6

Equipment

  • large pot
  • cutting board
  • sharp knife
  • whisk

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound andouille sausage sliced into coins (if you can’t find Andouille sausage, use kielbasa or pork sausage and add a couple of dashes of liquid smoke)
  • 2/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 large bell peppers cored and diced
  • 2 large celery stalks diced
  • 1 small onion peeled and diced
  • 5 cloves garlic minced
  • 6 cups chicken stock
  • 1 14 ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes (if you can’t find, just use canned tomatoes)
  • 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
  • 1 cup fresh or frozen chopped okra
  • 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning see notes
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 – 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 pound peeled and deveined raw large shrimp
  • fine sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
  • Garnish:
  • 3 green onions thinly sliced

Cajun Seasoning Mix

  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 1/4 tsp oregano
  • 1 1/4 tsp thyme
  • 1/2-1 tsp pepper flakes

Instructions
 

  • Brown the sausage. Heat your large pot at medium high. Place the sausage in and cook for a few minutes until golden brown on all sides. Remove from heat and set aside.
  • Make the roux. Add oil to the bottom of the pot and whisk in the flour stirring constantly. Cook the flour and oil on medium high heat until the flour is a rich caramel brown. Be careful not to burn the flour! This process takes about 15 minutes.
    roux made with cooking 2/3 cup of oil plus 1 cup of all purpose flour
  • Once the roux is ready, add onions, celery and peppers. Stir to make sure everything is evenly coated.
    the roux is combined with onions, celery, peppers and garlic
  • Cook for about 10 minutes and then slowly add in chicken stock whisking to make sure you don’t get any lumps.
    soup stock added to gumbo
  • Add the cooked chicken, tomatoes, okra, bay leaves and cajun seasoning. Stir to combine.
  • Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes.
  • Add the shrimp and stir in. Place a lid on the pot with a little gap and simmer for 5-8 minutes until the shrimp and white and pink and completely cooked through.
  • Remove from heat.
  • Serve with rice and top with fresh spring onions.

Cajun Seasoning Mix

  • Whisk all the ingredients together and store in a glass jar and keep away from direct sunlight. Stays fresh for about 6 weeks.
Keyword roux, gumbo, shrimp, chicken, savoury, cajun
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