I don't post a lot of my own recipes ( not even chocolate ones) primarily because most of them I make up as I go along and don't measure precisely. But my camera was in the kitchen when I was making this ( another reason I don't post a lot of recipes...it's usually in my craft room) so I decided to share.
Somewhere in his Senior Year of HS, my genes kicked into now College Boy's palate. I came from a background where a pot of pepper sauce was on the table at all times ( the kind where you use a toothpick, not a spoon to apply to your food...guests were warned and didn't alway listen) and hubs came from a background where salt was the spiciest thing in the house. After I made this the first time it became College Boy's ongoing request for special meals. His graduation dinner, when he first came home from college, on each college break.
For this recipe you will need:
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 red pepper chopped
- 1 green pepper chopped
- 2 ribs of celery chopped
- 2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped (you could even use a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store)
- 1 "box o chicken broth"
- 1 can crushed tomatoes and 1 can tomato sauce ( or two cans tomato sauce if you think you have crushed tomatoes in your pantry and you don't
- 1/2 C flour
- Salt , cajun spice (can omit if you're from my husband's family) black pepper to taste
- 2 Tsp Gumbo File powder ( cannot omit!)
- Olive oil
- 1TBSP Butter
I'm not from New Orleans or Louisiana but love gumbo and started making this recipe a few years ago.
- Coat the bottom of a heavy pan ( dutch oven ) with olive oil, add butter til melted
- Add flour and stir (and stir and stir). This will make your "roux" which thickens your gumbo. Ideally you want this to brown and not burn.
- Add your chopped onion, peppers, celery
- Add your salt, pepper, cajun seasoning
- Stir until your roux is well blended into your veggies
- Add a little chicken stock, stir
- It should be a thick gravy consistency
- Keep adding chicken stock and stirring and watching it thicken
- Add tomatoes / tomato sauce and stir
- Add gumbo file powder
While I'm chopping my veggies, I poach two chicken breasts. You can also do this ahead of time or as mentioned above, you can use a rotisserie chicken from the store. Depending on your family's level of pickiness, you can also add shrimp, andouille sausage etc. You'll notice those aren't here lol. You'll also notice that there's no okra in this. Yuck. Sorry. Tried it. Yuck.
Let your pot simmer for at least 30 minutes but I usually make this a couple of hours before we eat it or I make it ahead and refrigerate so the flavors really settle in. If you do let it simmer for a while, stir periodically so it doesn't stick to the bottom.
Serve over rice or you can eat like a soup. If you really want your family to swoon, make garlic cheddar biscuits with melted butter.