Madi Gras Celebration April 2014

Britt's Food

I got the gumbo recipe from simplyrecipes.com and have just substituted her words for my own. 

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Shrimp Gumbo with Andouille Sausage Recipe

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
• Yield: Serves 6-8

A note on File: this thickens the soup after it's all done. Please just come borrow mine. I rarely use it. 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup peanut oil, or other vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Tbsp Cajun seasoning
• 1 quart shellfish* or chicken stock, plus 1 cup water
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 8-12 ounces smoked andouille sausage, cut into 1/4-inch thick rounds( I used harmon's uncooked sausage for the above and just cooked it prior)
• 2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3-5 green onions, white and green parts, chopped
• File powder (optional)
• Hot sauce (such as Tabasco) to taste

The author says that you can make your own shellfish stock with the shells from the shrimp. This is what I did and it turned out great. You put the shells and tail tips into a pot and cover with 2 quarts of water. Bring it all to a boil then reduce to a simmer. You then simmer uncovered for an hour. You then just strain and use in the recipe. She says you can also use diluted clam juice. 

You can see her pictures and actual recipe here : http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/shrimp_gumbo_with_andouille_sausage/#ixzz3UNYk3f22

Directions:

1 First,you make the roux. (this part is the hardest. You have to be patient)The author suggests to heat the peanut oil in a large bottom pot like a dutch oven but I used my non stick stock pot and it was fine. So heat the oil on medium high heat, for a minute or two. You then whisk in the flour and lower the heat to medium. This next part is important so don't get distracted by something else. You need to stir the roux almost constantly, make sure you are scraping the bottom of the pan as you stir. You want the roux to cook until it's the color of peanut butter and then you lower the heat to medium.You continue cooking on medium and stirring very carefully so as not to burn it. You will stop when it's the color of an old penny. She says that takes 20-30 min but I'm remembering that I chickened out before mine cooked that long. Go off the color. Literally find an old penny and set it down next to you.

2 So in New Orleans when you combine green pepper, onion and celery they refer to that as the "holy trinity. So go ahead and add the "holy trinity" and increase the heat to about medium-high. You will cook for about 5 min stirring constantly.. Add in the garlic and cook for another two minutes. Next stir in the Cajun seasoning.

3 In this next section it is important to follow the recipe or you will "break" the roux. It happens if you were to add cold water to your roux. If that were to happen you would see a pool of oil on top of your soup. So in a separate pot, heat up the stock and water until it's steaming. Next you slowly add the hot stock and water to the bell pepper onion roux mix, make sure to stirr constantly.( Are you sensing a theme yet :) ) Bring the gumbo mixture up to a  simmer and then add the Worcestershire sauce and salt to taste.Next you simmer slowly for 30 minutes.

Quote from the author: "If you find that the roux has broken a bit and oil is pooling on the surface of the gumbo, whisk in about another 1/2 to 1 cup of water. This will often "fix" it"

4 Next you stir in the andouille sausage( I got mine from harmon's It was their fresh uncooked sausage and just cooked it before because I like their fresh sausage better than the precooked stuff) So just heat that for 5 minutes.You then add your shrimp and bring it back up to a simmer and cook for another 5 minutes, until the shrimp have just barely cooked through.(shrimp get tough when they overcook.)  Add some salt and black pepper to taste.

You serve this dish over white rice and garnish with green onions and sprinkle with file powder and a dash or two of hot sauce if you want a kick to it.