New Orleans Gumbo

New Orleans gumbo is a tasty Southern favorite. If you’ve never made it at home, you will love the spicy, combination of Creole and Cajun flavors. It has to be the most comforting meal that has ingredients from West Africa, France, and Germany. I love a bowl of it on a cold winter’s day.

The Ingredients for New Orleans Gumbo

This soup recipe calls for a lot of different spices which give it that amazing flavour.

The Ingredients List for New Orleans Gumbo:

• 5 tablespoons oil
• 1 lb okra
• 2 chicken thighs
• 2 spicy Italian sausages
• 1 white onion 
• 2 garlic cloves 
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder 
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano 
• 12 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon cayenne
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 cups water
• 1 cups tomato purée
• 1 lb shrimp
• salt and pepper to taste

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The Okra:

Okra tends to get slimy if added to a soup or stew recipe, so we must precook it separately and then add it later. This helps the okra stay firm and not disintegrate when added to anything with liquid in it.

To fry the okra, wash and thoroughly dry each piece of the okra. Cut it into 1 inch pieces. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to a pot and add the okra to it. Pan fry them till they start to brown. Do not add salt to the pan. Once fried, remove from the pot and set aside.

The Chicken and Sausage:

Next, we need to cook the chicken thighs and sausages. These too need to be precooked and set aside for when the soup is ready.

Cut the chicken thighs and sausages into 1 inch pieces or bite size pieces as preferred. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the same pot in which you did the okra and cook them till they are almost done. Remove them from the pot and set them aside.

The Roux for New Orleans Gumbo:

The roux is what provides the gumbo its beautiful brownish colour. Once you remove the chicken and sausage from the pot, add the remaining oil and the all purpose flour to the pot. Mix it in and allow it to cook for up to 7 or 8 minutes – remember to mix constantly. As it cooks, it starts to change colour and takes on a brownish shade.

Chop the onion and garlic finely and add them to the pot. Cook for about 5 minutes. Once the onion has softened, add the chicken and sausage back to the pot and mix well. Add all the spices to the pot and again mix well so that they are evenly distributed. Add the water and tomato puree to the pot. Allow the mix to cook for about 20 minutes or so – again stirring constantly.

Once it has thickened, add the okra and peeled shrimp to the pot. Allow cooking for 3 or so minutes—just enough time for the shrimp to cook, but not get tough. Serve hot and enjoy!

Variations:

There are so many possibilities with this soup recipe:

• Make it into a vegetarian version – replace the chicken and sausage with more vegetables, such as mushrooms, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, or whatever hearty vegetable you like.
• Make it into a seafood version – replace the chicken and sausage with more seafood, such as crab, squid, muscles, or any other seafood of choice.
• Make it gluten free – replace the all purpose flour with a gluten free flour such as rice flour. Add 1/4 cup of rice flour to the pot when making the roux.
• Not a fan of okra? Replace it with some green beans. Do not cook them in advance but just add them to the pot when you add the shrimp.

Serving Suggestions for New Orleans Gumbo:

• Try it with a side of brown rice or white rice.
• Sop up the stew with my crusty Italian bread.
• Enjoy it with a side of my warm potato salad.

Tried and Liked the Recipe?

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