Becca asked for the recipe I used last week, which was a hit and one I'll use again. It's vegetarian, so not authentic gumbo. For that, add shrimp and sausage.
Mac's Gumbo 1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium poblano pepper, chopped (recipe called for green bell, but I don't eat them. Poblanos don't do evil things to me. It's a wee bit spicy.)
1 (16 ounce) package frozen okra, thawed and sliced
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 small can tomato sauce (it called for a 6.5 oz can of tomato paste. I grabbed the wrong can, but it worked out well)
It needed more than the original recipe called for, so I added:
1 can of Rotel (you can just add more diced tomatoes if this makes it too spicy--it didn't seem spicy to me.
1-2 cups of water--see how things go
Spices: 2 bay leaves
thyme--I don't remember how much I added. The original recipe didn't call for it, but it's typical in real gumbo.
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
The original recipe called for okra and file, but my understanding of authentic gumbo is that you have okra OR file. So I didn't use the file.)
Roux---this is essential for a gumbo--don't skip or it's not gumbo
2 tablespoons butter (original recipe called for vegetable oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
DirectionsIn a pot that you might cook a big soup in, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garlic, onion, and poblano pepper, and saute until tender. Stir in okra, mushrooms, diced tomatoes and their liquid, tomato sauce, thyme, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 40 minutes.
Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Stirring constantly, add flour, and cook 2 to 5 minutes, until a golden brown roux has formed. (DH did this and it was a darker brown.)
Spoon the roux into the okra mixture, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, 5 to 10 minutes, until thickened.
We served over rice (but not dirty rice--just a basmati).
PREP: 15 mins
COOK: hr
READY IN: hr 15 mins
I started out with this recipe but used a couple of cookbooks.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/okra-gumbo/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=okra%20gumbo&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e13=A%3aSearch%20Results-List%28control%29&e7=SM%20Sign%20UpThis had a LOT of flavor--was yummy. The okra wasn't slimy. But if you're worried about slimy okra, some folks soak it in milk first, but you do that with fresh. Don't know about frozen. Just be bold and use it w/o the milk. It's not slimy.
DS
loved this.This recipe above is a very good one on its own, and I'm sure you could add meat (really you should add shrimp and sausage to have real gumbo). Do a bit of googling.