Chicken Gumbo

Name: Chicken Gumbo
Yield: Serves 4–6
Ingredients: 600 g (1 lb 5 oz) boneless, skinless chicken thighs; 1 bay leaf; 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced; 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 60 g (2¼ oz) unsalted butter; 2 onions, chopped; 350 g (12 oz) okra, cut into 1 cm (½ inch) slices; 100 g (3½ oz) smoked ham, diced; 500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) chicken stock; 400 g (14 oz) tin chopped tomatoes; 80 ml (2½ fl oz/⅓ cup) vegetable oil; Tabasco sauce, to taste; 30 g (1 oz/¼ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour; 150 g (5½ oz) chorizo sausage, thinly sliced; 1 red capsicum (pepper), finely chopped; 2 teaspoons thyme

Preparation info

Serves
4–6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Cook's Book of Everything

By Lulu Grimes

Published 2009

About

This cross between a soup and a stew is a speciality of Cajun cuisine. Traditionally, gumbo is served in deep bowls, each containing a few tablespoons of cooked rice in the bottom.

Ingredients

80 ml (2½ fl oz/⅓ cup) vegetable oil
30

Spicy
Soup

Method

Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a small, heavy-based saucepan, add the flour and stir to make a smooth paste. Stir over low heat for 1 hour, or until the roux turns very dark brown, but is not burnt. This requires a great deal of patience and stirring but provi