This one comes in quotations because, to be honest, I've never had anyone else's gumbo. It's modified from a few recipes I found online. Plus I threw the rice into the soup to cook, which I know is not traditional. But tasty, because the rice absorbs all the yummy flavours of the soup!
Ingredients:
4 cups chicken broth
1 chicken breast, diced
1 andouille sausage link, sliced
2 cups long grain rice
1/2 large onion, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 cup frozen chopped okra
2 green onions, chopped
1 tbsp dried parsley
1/2 can diced tomatoes
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup flour
2 bay leaves
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper (or in my case, 3 tsp Frank's Red Hot)
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp ground black pepper
Salt to taste
The recipe:
1. Heat pot at high heat and add olive oil.
2. Throw in chicken and brown, add andouille sausage when nearly browned.
3. When meat is browned, remove from pot and set aside until later.
4. Sprinkle flour over oil with butter, and stir constantly to produce a light brown roux.
5. Add onion, garlic, green pepper, and celery and then the spices (cayenne, paprika, oregano, pepper, parsley).
6. When the vegetables look slightly transluscent, add frozen okra and diced tomatoes, then chicken broth, and then the chicken and sausage.
7. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and skim the oils off the top of the soup and discard.
8. Continue to simmer for about 90 minutes until nearly done.
9. You can stop here, or do as I did and add the rice into the soup to cook. Continue to simmer until rice is almost done.
9. Add green onions at the end, then take off heat.
If you want to eat it all right away, cook the rice through. If you're lazy like me, take it off the stove just before the rice is done and package them for freezing. I was able to separate out 5 servings into individual containers. When you need an instant meal, throw a container in the microwave for 4-5 minutes on high, stirring midway. I find the rice stands up to this quite well, and the soup actually tastes better this way. Enjoy!