for Lundi Gras: my Gumbo recipe

Ingredients:

Roux
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup flour

Gumbo
6 cups chicken stock
1/2  cup dry white wine
clam juice (optional)

Olive oil, as needed
2 pounds chicken thighs (I use bone-in, then skin and debone after I sauté them)
2 lb. Andouille sausage, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices

1 lbs. fresh or frozen okra, finely chopped
Cajun seasoning
1 can tomatoes, peeled, diced

1 1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1 1/2 onions, finely chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
3 fresh bay leaves
cayenne

2 tablespoons Lee and Perins
5 tablespoons chopped parsley
Freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste

(optional) 1 1/2 lbs. shrimp, shelled, deveined

Garnish
Cooked rice
1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced
hot sauce, to taste

Directions:

1. Make a chocolate roux.  Heat oil in heavy skillet until almost smoking. Add flour a little at a time, stirring constantly, until mixture is the color and consistency of melted chocolate (about 15 minutes). Set aside.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium stockpot, add fresh okra, season lightly with salt and pepper and Cajun seasoning, and saute until lightly browned.  Add 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil if needed.  (If using frozen okra, place on baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees until lightly browned, about 20 minutes, then saute as directed.)  Add tomatoes and cook, stirring, about 30 minutes, until okra is no longer slimy.

3. Sauté sausage in 1 teaspoon olive oil in a Dutch oven, until browned.  Remove from pan and set aside.  Do not wash pan. Add more oil, then sauté chicken until browned.  Remove from pan, let cool, then skin and debone if needed.

4. Add chopped onions, chopped bell peppers, and chopped celery and cook until onions are soft and translucent, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes.

5. Add roux, garlic and cayenne and stir until mixture is well blended and onions are golden-brown, 5-10 minutes.

6. Transfer okra mixture to pot.  Add wine and 3 cups broth and stir.  Add parsley, thyme, bay leaves, worcestshire, and salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer 1 1/2 hours.

7. Discard bay leaves. Add sausage and chicken and 3-5 cups stock. Adjust seasonings. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

8. If using shrimp, season lightly with salt, pepper and Cajun seasoning. Add to gumbo and simmer, covered, until shrimp are pink and curl up.  10-15 minutes.

9. Adjust seasonings. Serve over rice. garnish with green onions.

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