There are few things more special to me than spending time with my family. I don’t get back south very often, but when I do we make the most of it! Last time I went to my mom’s house, my sister came to join us for the weekend. Mom was wanting to make her normal gumbo, but my sister had other plans. My sister lives in New Orleans, and has learned some incredible techniques while there and was eager to apply them to mom’s gumbo. It was decided that we would do a roux based gumbo, which is definitely more time consuming, but so incredibly worth it. A roux is a mixture of fat and flour that can thicken up a dish and provide more flavor. Fair warning, this recipe doesn’t have a lot of measurements because the servings can be adjusted to what you want! For me, I add more okra and less onion, but the veggies are 100% your preference.

Gumbo

• 2 cups of white rice (we make ours separately and add the gumbo on top)
• Olive oil
• 1 package of chicken breasts, diced
• 1 package andouille sausage (if you can’t find it use a hot, smoked sausage)
• shrimp (if you want!)
• celery
• white onion
• sliced okra (yes please!)
• diced bell pepper
• 2 tsp poultry seasoning
• 2 bay leaves
• Cajun seasoning
• Flour
• 1 qt chicken stock
• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• scallions, thin sliced for toppings

Using a large pot, heat your oil and add the chicken. Season with some salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning. Once cooked, add the sausage and cook for another few minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

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Using the fat from the chicken and sausage, add a little butter and let it melt. Using a little flour sprinkle it into the pan, scrapping the stuff from the bottom of the pan and then continuing to whisk constantly. You don’t want the roux to stick, which it will if you stop whisking. Continue to whisk until the roux has reached a deep brown color.

Add your vegetables (if you’re using frozen, only add the fresh right now!) and saute in the roux until softened. Go ahead and sprinkle some Cajun seasoning in there, it won’t hurt anything. Add your bay leaves and frozen vegetables, coating in the roux mixture. It’ll look chunky, and that’s ok!

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Next goes in the chicken stock, stir to combine and let simmer for a few minutes. The last thing in are the tomatoes and more Cajun seasoning. Gumbo can simmer for as little or as much time as you want! Towards the end, add the shrimp if you want. Since shrimp don’t take long to cook, they go in at the very end. Taste for seasoning, and if you notice a tinny taste from the canned tomatoes add a little sugar to the gumbo. Add more Cajun seasoning if your want to, we definitely did. Serve on top of white rice and topped with scallions, if preferred.

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