Gumbo

1. Heat your oven to 350°F. This is the part that takes awhile so if you don’t have the hour and a half to spare, make a quick roux. But here is my recipe for baked roux. Add the vegetable oil and flour into a 6 quart Dutch oven and whisk together until combined. Set the Dutch oven in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 1-1/2 hours, whisking every 20-30 minutes.
2. While the roux is baking, prepare your shrimp (thaw frozen shrimp under cold water then set into a bowl back in the fridge), chop your veggies and spices and measure your other ingredients.
3. When the roux is done, remove it from the oven (do this carefully so you don’t burn yourself—don’t forget it’s been in the oven so leave that mitt on) and place it on a burner over medium-high heat. Add the onions, celery, green peppers and garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 5-7 minutes until tender and the onions become translucent.
4. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, thyme, cayenne and bay leaves and stir until all is combined. Gradually add the water while stirring continuously.
5. Decrease the heat to low, cover and cook for 30 minutes.
6. Remove from heat, add the shrimp and the browned sausage and stir.
7. In a small bowl or cup, mix the cornstarch into the cool water until well mixed. Pour into your gumbo and stir until well combined. Cover and allow it to sit for 10 minutes.
8. Serve over jasmine rice and enjoy!