Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo

1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup flour
1 medium onion
2 celery ribs
1 green bell pepper
4 cloves garlic
Chicken stock (preferably homemade)
White wine
Thyme and parsley (I use fresh)
2 bay leaves
1 can Rotel
Salt
Black pepper
Cayenne
2 tomatoes
Okra (optional)
Sausage
Shrimp
Gumbo filé
Chopped green onions


Begin by making a roux with equal parts flour and oil (I use 1/3 cup). Roux is the basic thickener of many stews and sauces, and the outcome of the roux depends on how long it is cooked. For instance, in a basic béchamel sauce you may use flour and butter and cook only until the roux is smooth. For gumbo, we want to achieve a deep chocolatey-brown. This requires a lot of attention, as it is very easy to burn the flour.






While my roux browns, I like to saute my trinity (onion, celery, bell pepper) with a pinch of salt until the onion becomes transparent and the vegetables begin to caramelize.



When the trinity is almost finished, add the garlic.



Once the roux becomes deep brown, you must act quickly! There is often carry-over cooking, so you must be precise in order to keep from burning the flour. I often lower the heat as the roux begins to darken. To be safe, I also like to keep my chicken stock nearby in case I need to immediately stop the cooking process.



Add the trinity to the darkened roux.



I like to add my hot chicken stock slowly at first to avoid any lumps. Once the chicken stock is added, bring the mixture to a boil.



Add the bay leaves, wine, and herbs.


For this gumbo, I used smokey dried Chorizo. However, I have also used different spicy Cajun sausages as well, all with great success. If you use something raw, I recommend grilling it first before adding it to the gumbo.






In with the Rotel!


At this point, you will want to taste the gumbo for flavor. If your sausage is salty, you want to be sure that all of the salts have had a chance to cook out into the stew before adding more salt.


Add the tomatoes and okra (if using) to the pot. The okra acts as a thickener, as does the roux- if you choose to leave out the okra, you might want to include more roux and add gumbo filé powder in the last several minutes of cooking.


Give the gumbo time to boil down (I usually wait a couple of hours to allow the flavors to meld). About 10 minutes before you plan on eating, add the shrimp- they will only take a couple of minutes to cook.


I serve my gumbo on rice and garnish with green onions and homemade gumbo filé.

Enjoy!

Gumbo Filé

One of the most exciting things about cooking with my mom is that many of the fruits and vegetables we cook are homegrown. If it grows in Florida, she probably has it. Cooking in her kitchen is like being in a dream wonderland. Need a bay leaf? Handful of basil? Some key limes? Perhaps an ear of corn? Just step outside!

My mom's mother's family was from Louisiana, while her father's family was from the Florida Keys. She grew up as a "Cajun Conch", and picked up both styles of cooking which she later passed on to my sister, brother, and me. My mom would tell us stories of driving to Louisiana with her three sisters all crammed in the back of a hot car, eating bread and gravy from KFC, and battling giant mosquitoes and sweltering heat. While she taught me to make gumbo, she would tell me about the different types of gumbo she would eat, how you were supposed to eat them, and how each family member made gumbo differently.

This brings us to today's post- Homemade Gumbo Filé. Filé is dried and ground leaves from the sassafras tree, of which my mother has two. It acts as a thickener in gumbo and gives it the traditional green hue. It can be added directly to the gumbo at the end of cooking, and is also an excellent garnish sprinkled on top of each serving. Gumbo recipes are coming soon! :)



After collecting the sassafras leaves, you will want to wash off any debris and remove the large stems.


If you are feeling ambitious, you can also remove the petiole and midrib of the leaves. Depending on the quality of your dehydrator and chopper, these may not grind down to a fine powder and will have to be removed later.



If you do not have a dehydrator, you can arrange the leaves on a tray and dry them at very low heat in the oven. I used the dehydrator at medium heat for about 5 hours- it all depends on your machine.




The leaves should be extremely dry before grinding them. Be careful on a humid day- even a few moments between the dehydrator and food processor will add enough moisture to keep them from becoming a fine powder.




Thundercats are GO!



I used a food processor to grind the sassafras leaves into a fine powder, but a mortar and pestle should work as well.



Remove the petiole and midrib if they will not pulverize.




Filé should be a fine powder, which is sometimes difficult to achieve with household appliances. I like to sieve the ground sassafras and re-grind any large pieces.



Making homemade gumbo filé powder is a lengthy process, but is also truly rewarding! Enjoy!

Welcome! I will try to update my site weekly with pictures of each week's cooking. These photos are starting from the month of December, 2008, and will most likely be progressive. I hope you enjoy seeing my creations!



This is my cat, Layla. Almost every night, whether I'm cooking or baking, she likes to sit on my GG's stool and keep me company... and of course get some love and tastes in the process!


These beignets were super easy (shhh, a café du mond box mix I found at Fresh Market) and tasted as good as homemade! I set up shop on my porch to avoid a messy kitchen, using my wood cutting board on my patio table- it worked perfectly! I tried both cinnamon sugar and powdered, and definitely preferred the latter. I used my handy frying strainer from Aunt Vi, and it worked perfectly- cleanup was super easy!



The ending product was just as delicious as it looks!