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MamaRAMa
I've never had much Cajun food but when I worked at AT&T, they used to serve a gumbo on Fridays in their cafeteria that was so, so good. I never had mine over rice. I just ate it like soup. One of these days I'm going to try and make it myself.
I am chiming in late...Here is a simple one that is modified from Paul Prudhomme. Chef Prudhomme layers his cooking which is time consuming, so I change things up to make the recipe easier/faster for me.
Chicken Smoked Sausage Gumboingredients2-3 pounds of chicken thighs (or what part you like) cut into bite size pieces
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning
1 cup finely diced onions
1 cup finely diced green bell peppers
¾ cup finely diced celery
¾ to 1 cup all-purpose flour for roux
¾ to 1 cup of Vegetable oil for roux
7 cups chicken stock
1 package of Andouille Smoked Sausage, cut in half lengthwise and slice into half rounds
1 package of smoked sausage cut into 1/4" rounds. (I like Hillshire farms)
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
2 cups hot cooked white rice
how to prepareSprinkle the chicken evenly with 1 tablespoon of the Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning and let stand at room temperature while you dice the vegetables.
Combine the onions, bell peppers and celery in a bowl and set aside. I put some (about 2 teaspoons) Creole seasoning on them and set aside.
Bring the chicken stock, garlic, Andouille, and Smoke sausages to a boil in a 6 to 8-quart stock pot.
Heat the oil in a cast iron dutch oven over high heat until very hot (375°F to 400°F), about 6-7 minutes.
Mix the flour with 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
Gradually whisk in the seasoned flour. Whisking constantly, until the roux is dark red-brown. being careful not to let it scorch or splash on your skin. DO NOT STOP WHISKING...the roux can burn in a few seconds.
Remove the pan from the heat and immediately add the vegetables, stirring constantly until the roux stops getting darker.
Place the pan over low heat and cook, stirring constantly and scraping the pan bottom well, until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.
While the stock is boiling, Add the vegetable mixture by spoonfuls to the boiling stock, stirring between each addition until the roux is dissolved.
Return to a boil, stirring in the Chicken and garlic while scraping the pan bottom often.
Reduce the heat to simmer uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring often toward the end of the cooking time.
I make this a day or two so the flavors can meld.
There will be a fat layer when it comes out of the fridge...remove as much of that as you can.
To serve mound ⅓ cup cooked rice in the center of a low soup bowl, and ladle gumbo around the rice. Or however one likes to eat.
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