The Pacific Northwest can really mess with your head sometimes.
Coming off weeks of hot weather, this Sunday morning was a chilly reminder of how quickly it can turn around here.
With good intentions, I’d set out to bring you something fresh, light and wonderful that would help you embrace summer like we do around here when the sun makes an appearance.
But with the nip in the air, I was chilled to the bone and needed something, anything, to warm my belly.
Since it was only last week I posted the Creole Seasoning recipe ~ and I knew you’d have plenty in abundance ~ I thought “Why not? It may be summertime, but that don’t mean we can’t have Gumbo.”
And with that, into the pot that 1/3 cup of Creole Seasoning went, along with a lot of other warm, tasty and belly-filling ingredients.
Making the roux just right is key to getting the right consistency and flavor in this dish. Given this Gumbo takes nearly 2 hours to make, plan a bit ahead, take your time, let the roux get a nice medium brown with a nutty flavor, and you’ll have a Gumbo that warrants a great summer nap.
Of course, by the time 2 hours had past and the Gumbo was ready, the sun was out in full force, blazing just like the weatherman had promised. Perfect for that warm summer nap.
Enjoy!
Cajun Gumbo
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 and 1/2 cups skinless boneless chicken breast, diced into bite-sized chunks
- 1/2 pound Hot Italian Pork Sausage links sliced in ¼” rounds
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 to 3 tablespoons minced garlic
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 1 12 fluid ounce can or bottle dark beer
- 6 stalks celery diced (1 ½ cups)
- 4 roma tomatoes diced (2 cups)
- 1 yellow onion quartered and sliced
- 1 10 ounce can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers, with liquid
- 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh red chile peppers
- 2 cups fresh parsley chopped
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup Cajun seasoning
- 1 pound shrimp peeled, deveined and tails removed
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium stock pot over medium high heat, and cook chicken and sausage until browned and nearly done. Remove and refrigerate until ready to use. Do not drain juices from pan.
- In the same stock pot (over medium heat) blend ¾ cup of olive oil and flour to create a roux. Stir constantly until browned and bubbly. Roux should be medium brown (darker than peanut butter). Roux should have a nutty taste when taste tested. Mix in garlic and cook about 1 minute.
- Gradually stir chicken broth and beer into the roux mixture. Bring to a boil, and mix in celery, tomatoes, sweet onion, diced tomatoes with green chile peppers, red chile peppers, parsley, and Cajun seasoning. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer about 40 minutes, stirring often.
- Mix chicken and sausage into the broth mixture and cook, stirring freqently for 20 minutes. When there is 5-7 minutes remaining add shrimp into the broth mixture.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Boudreaux’s Zydeco Stomp Gumbo.
Whenever gumbo gets made in our house, my husband makes it. And it’s practically the only thing he makes. I just don’t have the patience to make a good roux. Will give him this recipe to try!
Have your husband give it a try! LOL. I’m completely on board if someone else wants to cook!
Finally I can’t get on your blog. I’ve been trying to do so since I arrived from Ireland last week, but it wouldn’t let me (?)
This looks absolutely amazing, I don’t think it’s ever too much cajun seasoning… I love it so so so much!
xxx
I’m so glad you’re back – I missed you! Yes, I had a bad plug-n that was shutting my site down. So sorry! I hope you had fun in Ireland!
gumbo is such a filling, nourishing and soulful stew….loved this version with just the right balance of flavors…yummmmm 🙂
I agree – it’s perfect when you need some soulful lovin’! Especially when it’s chilly outside!
We were actually planning on making gumbo this week anyway – now we know the perfect recipe to turn to =)
Awesome! Let me know what you think. Be ready to take a nap! LOL
Oh my God. this was amazing. I am Spanish, so it is really the second Gumbo I’ve tried in my life and the first one I’ve cooked, so I guess I’m not an expert on the matter, but I nonetheless wanted to thank you for the recipe: very easy to follow, simple steps, easy ingredients (trust me, living in Vienna means the ingredients here are not always found! – esp. seafood) and an awesome result (by my standards at least). I will be making this more often, that is for sure!
I’m so glad you liked it! We absolutely loved it, so it’s great to hear someone else enjoys it too! Thanks!