Gumbo

4/1/2025

Gumbo

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 2 hours

Description

Gumbo is a hearty, flavorful stew that is a staple in Louisiana’s Creole and Cajun cuisine. It’s packed with vegetables, meats, and seafood, served over a bowl of steaming rice. Highlighted by a deeply roasty, delectably rich roux, this soup’s flavor profile improves each day you let it sit, becoming more complex and layered.

Ingredients

Optional Ingredients

Estimated Time

Instructions

  1. Start by preparing the roux. In a large Dutch oven, combine flour and oil to create a mixture. Stir it constantly over medium heat for 20 to 25 minutes until it turns dark brown. This process requires patience, but it’s critical to give the gumbo its distinctive, deep flavor.
  2. Add onions, bell pepper, celery, salt, cayenne, and bay leaves to the roux. Cook these over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the vegetables get soft.
  3. Stir in the sausage and cook for another 10 minutes.
  4. Add in chicken thighs and stir until they start to brown.
  5. Next, add in 7 cups of chicken stock, thyme, and file powder. Bring this mixture to a boil and then let it simmer over low heat for 1 hour.
  6. In a separate pan, stir-fry shrimp (and optional crab meat) just until they turn pink.
  7. Add the cooked shrimp (and crab meat) to the gumbo and let it simmer for another 15 minutes.
  8. Serve hot with a scoop of rice in each bowl and garnish with parsley. Pass additional file powder and hot sauce for individual taste adjustment.

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