Chicken & Smoked Ham Gumbo

Name: Chicken & Smoked Ham Gumbo
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 2 h 5 min
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: salt and freshly ground black pepper; 4 okra, trimmed and sliced; 400 g/14 oz boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into thick strips; 400 g/14 oz/scant 12/3 cups tinned chopped tomatoes; 1 tbsp dried thyme; 1 tsp smoked paprika; 150 g/5½ oz/¾ cup fresh or defrosted, frozen sweetcorn kernels; ¼ tsp dried chilli flakes, or to taste; 2 tbsp tomato purée; a pinch of light brown sugar; 4 garlic cloves, chopped; 1 large onion, chopped; 60 g/2¼ oz/½ cup plain white flour; 4 tbsp chopped parsley leaves, plus extra to serve; 3 tbsp corn oil; 1 celery stick, halved lengthways and chopped; 1 green pepper, halved lengthways, deseeded and diced; 350 ml/12 fl oz/scant 1½ cups Chicken Stock, Vegetable Stock or ready-made stock; 2 bay leaves; 280 g/10 oz smoked ham, trimmed and diced; 1 tsp lemon juice, to taste (optional); cooked American long-grain rice, to serve; hot pepper sauce, to serve

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
2 hr 30

Appears in

I Love My Slow Cooker

By Beverly LeBlanc

Published 2012

About

Ingredients

3 tbsp corn oil
60 g/2¼ oz/½ cup

Main course
Gluten-free

Method

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, then sprinkle over the flour and stir to make a thick paste. Continue stirring for 15–20 minutes until the paste turns a hazelnut colour. It will be very slow to change colour, then change quickly, so watch closely so that it does not burn.

Add the onion, garlic, celery and pepper and stir for a further