MAMA'S GUMBO

Mama's Gumbo image

Provided by Betsy Wolfe

Time 1h10m

Number Of Ingredients 15

1 c flour
3/4 c vegetable oil
1 large onion- chopped
5 stalk(s) celery, trimmed and sliced
2 large green peppers, rough chopped
8 clove chopped garlic
1/2 tsp black pepper
cayenne pepper to taste (i use 1/2 t)
9 c chicken broth
2 lb andouille sausage or polish sausage, sliced
2 large chicken breasts, cut into bite size
2 pkg frozen sliced okra or 2 lbs fresh, sliced
2 large bay leaves
1-2 lb raw (preferred) or cooked peeled shrimp
salt to taste

Steps:

1. I recommend having all your ingredients out and pre-chopped. Makes it very quick and easy to get through the preparations steps. ( In this photo I made a 1.5 batch-serves 18. Don't let the large amounts scare you.)
2. For roux: Start with a large soup pot. Combine flour and oil with wooden spoon til smooth. Adjust amounts of flour/oil for texture. Stir constantly over med heat until roux cooks to color of a penny. Smells like popcorn. 15 mins or so.
3. Stir in Onion, celery, green pepper, garlic, pepper and cayenne. Cook over med 3 mins.
4. Add sausage. Cook another 3 mins.
5. Stir in broth. Add half the okra, the chicken and bay leaves. Bring to boiling, reduce to simmer for 15 mins.
6. Add remainder of okra. (The first half was a thickener and the second half gives more chunky texture.) Simmer for 10-15 mins til last okra is crisp-tender.
7. Add raw shrimp. Simmer 5 mins. (If using cooked shrimp, remove finished gumbo from heat. Stir cooked shrimp into gumbo to heat through.)
8. Salt gumbo to taste. Ladle gumbo into soup bowls over hot cooked rice.