Gumbo

Payel was inspired to make this after our trip to NOLA. A couple of changes made to make it more to our taste. Using extra virgin olive oil and whole wheat flour makes gumbo quite healthy, and the taste is still very much like what we had in NOLA :) Turned out really excellent.

This is a recipe for two generous meal-size servings. In a wok, heat 1/8 cup olive oil and 1/8 cup whole wheat flour. Stir while it heats (medium heat) until it's a rich, chocolate brown color (about 15 min). That is the roux, put it aside. Meanwhile, prep veggies. Chop up a small white onion, a small bell pepper, a couple of ribs of celery, generous okra, minced generous amount of garlic. In the same wok, heat a little olive oil. Put in chopped veggies and garlic and cook until a bit soft and fragrant. Then put in about 3 chopped roma tomatoes, some broth (clam juice and chicken broth combo is great), about a heaped tablespoon of creole spice mix (see separate recipe on the blog for this), a bit of salt, and a couple of bay leaves. Add in the roux you made earlier. Cook until it's thick, about 30 min on med-high heat, stirring occasionally. Can add a little water if it reduces too much. In the last 15 min or so, add in a generous portion of shrimp (other seafood would also work well, like mussels. Chicken would too, but add it in much earlier if using chicken). Once meat is cooked, it's ready to serve. Soup should be pretty thick, quite dark red/brown in color. It's super flavorful, spicy, just wonderful. Ben likes this served over rice, Payel likes it just as a soup.