2 tablespoons tomato paste
Garlic powder
Salt
Pepper
Gumbo file……..If you can’t get Louisiana brand Zatarains is also good
A good brand of allspice seasoning…….Tony”s is good
Very large onion chopped
2 bell peppers chopped
3 stalks celery chopped
Cooking oil
Add about a 1/3 cup of vegetable oil to your gumbo pot and allow it to heat then start adding your flour. I didn’t give a specific measurement on the flour as I have found that when making roux you need to rely on your judgement so keep a close watch on the pot while constantly stirring and slowly adding in enough flour until it turns like a loose paste with no oil left. Continue to stir until it turns a nice dark brown chocolate color then add your stock drop in a couple of Bay leaves and about 2 tablespoons of creole seasoning and place on med heat
Gather your chicken and sausage from the fridge……
Heat a large pan with very light coating of EVOO for the chicken and sausage. You can cook both in the same pan. I like to sautee the sausage first so that flavorful grease is left behind to cook the chicken. Sautee your sausage along with the onions, bell pepper, celery on medium heat about 20 minutes or until they are a nice brown color…..that’s flavor! Remove from the pan and add to your gumbo pot. Cook your chicken until done, you should allow it to get nicely browned also then drain any excess grease first and add it to the gumbo pot.
Remove your crabs from the fridge and add to the pot also being sure to give the pot a stir in between adding the ingredients. Turn your heat to med
At this point I like to lightly sautee my shrimp in the same pan the sausage and chicken was in and add those to your pot, pour off any grease then I place those two tablespoons of tomato paste in the pan and stir for about 5 minutes then put about two ladels of the gumbo broth in with the tomato paste and stir a couple of minutes scraping all those tasty drippings from the pan and add it back into the pot
Lastly add your okra and a tablespoon of gumbo file.
Everything is seasoned as it’s cooked but you may want to give it a taste and adjust any spices as needed.
Let it continue to simmer for about another 45 minutes or so then serve over a bed of freshly cooked hot white rice and garnish with parsley…fresh or dried it’s your choice.
ENJOY!
I served mine up with some potato salad and a hot buttered cornbread muffin. Can’t forget that Louisiana hot sauce!
