Louisiana Sausage and Shrimp Gumbo

1 lb. Italian Sausage or Cajun Sausage, I prefer Italian Sausage
3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1/4 cup Flour
2 ribs Celery, sliced thin about 1/4" thick or wide slices
1 medium Bell Pepper, coarsely chopped
1 medium Onion, coarsely chopped, 5 cloves Garlic, minced
1 14-1/2 oz. can Chicken Broth
2 cans Italian Seasoned Tomatoes/with juice
1 10oz. package sliced frozen Okra
1 tsp. Hot Pepper Sauce
1/4 tsp. dried Thyme, crushed
1/4 tsp. dried Oregano, crushed
1-1/4 lbs. Large Shrimp, shell and devein shrimp before using and wash,
then
leave to soak in ice water

In 5 quart Dutch oven over medium hot heat, add sausage and cook until
lightly browned on all sides. Transfer sausage to cutting board; cool
slightly. Cut sausages crosswise into 3/4" chunks, set aside. Add
vegetable oil to saucepan and heat over medium high heat. Stir in flour
and keep stirring blending paste which is called a roux in the south,
until flour mixture is a nice medium rich colored brown, do not burn it
will be bitter. If you want the roux darker keep cooking and stirring
until desired color is reached. Add celery, green pepper onion and garlic
to roux.Stir-fry up to 10 minutes until vegetables are soft. Gradually
add chicken broth and tomatoes/with juice, stir well. Add sausage, bay
leaf, hot sauce, thyme, oregano. Heat to boiling, stir, cover and simmer
1 hour.

Bring a cup or two of water to a boil, plunge frozen okra into boiling
water for 2 minutes. Drain and plunge into cold water, drain and add to
pot of gumbo. This will keep okra from becoming slimy. Stir the gumbo
every 15 minutes at least. If gumbo gets to thick, add a little more
chicken broth. Bring gumbo back to a boil, add shrimp. Cook 3 minutes
longer or just until shrimp turn pink. They are done when they turn pink,
if you cook them longer they will become tough.

Serve in nice wide somewhat shallow soup or spaghetti bowls over hot
fluffy rice. Yields: 8-1 cup servings

In Louisiana, the people add File' Powder to they're Gumbo right after
it's done cooking and they stir in in real good. They say if you don't
use file' powder grown in Louisiana, don't use any, because it doesn't
taste good. I liked it when I at it at a persons private residence. She
taught me how to cook it. But, the thing about using File' Powder is
this. You cannot reheat gumbo and bring it to a boil because it will
become stringy. So if your going to use it, transfer to another pot what
you are going to use. If you are using all of it use 1 tsp., if using half
of gumbo use 1/2 tsp., if using less, just add a pinch. Gumbo freezes
real well.

People in the south make gumbo out of most anything, start with sausage
and the basic roux. Then you can feel free at the end to add any left
over meat you might have sitting in the fridge. You can also add Crawfish
just as you would shrimp at the end. BonApetite' PattyG from Mo.


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