Chicken/Shrimp Gumbo

It's the okra that makes it gumbo.

Tired of turkey, my family requested that I make a big pot of shrimp gumbo.  It was a welcome change.  Here's the recipe. 

1 small whole chicken (I used an organic one from Whole Foods.)
3 or 4 cloves garlic
1/4 c olive oil
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1/3 c flour
2 c No Salt Added Tomatoes
1 frozen package of okra (okra is what makes it gumbo)
1 lb shrimp
1/4 t Tabasco
1 teaspoon paprika
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:
1.  Cook chicken with 5 cups water & garlic until tender; remove the chicken and cut into pieces.
2.  Cool the broth and skim off fat.
3.  Brown the red pepper and the onion in the olive oil.  Add flour and brown.
4.  Gradually stir in broth.
5.  Add tomatoes, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
6.  Add chicken and okra and simmer for a few minutes.
7.  Add shrimp and cook until shrimp are pink about 3 minutes
8.  Season with pepper, paprika and hot sauce.
9. Serve over rice.


When I make gumbo, I think about the Hank Williams song that my Dad loved.  Here's Hank singing Jambalaya.   This song mentions filet gumbo, which is actually ground leaves of the sassafras tree and is used as a thickening agent.  I used flour and didn't need the filet gumbo. 

Cook whole chicken in five cups of water with garlic until tender.

Remove chicken and skim fat off broth.

Brown flour mixed with browned red pepper and onion to make a roux.

Gradually add broth.

Add tomatoes and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add chicken and okra.

Add shrimp.

Serve over wild or brown rice.

 This is easy to whip up, and it's very tasty and freezes well.