Gumbo

Before making then roux, have all the vegetables chopped and handy. It is easier if they are all together in a bowl and close to where the roux is being made. Also have a large stock pot of of chicken broth ready to be turned on when roux is almost finished.

This is how I make my roux*. In a small sauce pan I put a cup of vegetable oil in the sauce pan on medium-low heat. And let the oil heat up a little (1-2 minutes). Then I add a cup of flour to the oil. From then on I am constantly stirring the roux for 30-40 minutes until it turns into a dark brown color. Make sure you constantly stir over the whole surface of the sauce pan. If there is a spot that doesn’t get stirred, then the flour will burn to that spot. Once the roux is the dark brown (the longer you stir over heat the darker it gets), I turn the heat to low and add the bowl of onions, green peppers, jalapenos, and garlic to the roux (careful it wants to kinda explode, you might even turn off the burner for this part). and then stir for another 5 minutes to get the vegetables cooked.

I then add the roux to the chicken stock and turn on the heat to the large stock pot – medium heat. Once the stock and roux are mixed well, I add the 2 cans of diced totmatoes, the worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and whatever other seasonings (maybe go wild with some Tony Chachere’s!). Once that comes to a boil, then I add the celery and okra and meat. Bring that back to a boil, and then turn the heat down to a nice simmer. Cover and let it simmer for an hour or two (stirring occasionally). Add the raw seafood at the very end, and cook until done. I throw in shrimp that only takes 5-10 minutes to cook. So I put the shrimp in 5-10 minutes before I serve the gumbo.

Serve with white rice, and Garnish with parsley.

*There are several ways to make roux. You can even buy roux at a grocery store. I prefer to make my roux from scratch and get it a dark color (like the color of milk chocolate). But some will say that it doesn’t matter how dark the roux is, it all tastes the same. But I don’t know this. I just like the tradition of a dark roux. I have also heard you can get a dark roux by browning the flour in the oven and then mixing with oil.