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Ever since I first tried this stew\/soup, this Midwestern gal has loved every bit of it. The meat, the vegetables, the fat, the roux, the way the flavors combine, and the way it all comes together in a beautiful presentation.<\/p>\n
I’ve made it several different ways over the years, one time cheekily making it vegetarian by using fake chicken meat and sausage. My typical method<\/a>, though, involves actual chicken and andouille sausage<\/a>.<\/p>\n But this time I’d ordered some tasso ham<\/a> (and, of course, some andouille sausage) from my favorite D’artagnan<\/a> along with some other meat I need for my last Dutch oven meal of the year. And I happened to have about a pound of shrimp in my freezer. I’d never made it with seafood or ham but gumbo is nothing if not adaptable<\/a>.<\/p>\n Readers, I think it was my finest attempt yet. Of course, I probably say that every time (OK, the vegetarian one was not the best). It’s just amazing.<\/p>\n Here’s what I did:<\/p>\n Ingredients<\/strong><\/p>\n Note: The spices can be substituted with creole seasoning if preferred.<\/em><\/p>\n Directions<\/strong><\/p>\n Brown the sausage and ham in your Dutch oven. Then remove the meat but keep as much schmutz<\/a> as possible.<\/p>\n Add the oil\/butter\/lard to the Dutch oven and melt or warm (I\u2019m partial to a mix of bacon fat and butter). Slowly add the flour and whisk to form a roux<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cook the mixture until it\u2019s somewhere between golden brown to coffee brown, depending on desired thickness and flavor profile. (This link<\/a> provides a good explainer on how to make a roux and the pros and cons of cooking shorter or longer.)<\/p>\n Add the bell pepper, onion, and celery, and cook for about 5 minutes until slightly softened, stirring often. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, continuing to stir.<\/p>\n Add the okra, herbs, spices, salt and pepper, and then slowly add the stock, stirring frequently. Add back in the sausage and ham. Bring to a boil, then cover, and simmer for about an hour.<\/p>\n Prepare the rice while the soup cooks. Just before serving, add the shrimp, and cook for about another 5 minutes. Meanwhile, slice the scallions and chop the parsley. Spoon rice into a bowl and then ladle on the soup. Top with scallions and parsley and enjoy!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With this post, I have only two more weeks with the Dutch oven, and I’ve had those last two recipes planned for a little while now. The only question was what to do for my third to last post of the year. And as I searched through my list, and knowing that I had a … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/christiniacrippes.com\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/20191213_120701-300x266.jpg\")
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