Seafood Gumbo

Prepared items:

Big Ole Pot

1/2 cup Roux

about a quart of Seafood Stock **

seafood:

1-2 pounds shrimp

1 pound crab claws or crab fingers

2 cans of crab meat

optional container or two of Oysters

you can add crawfish tails if you want or if they are in season

vegetables:

large skillet full of okra (aprox. 2 cups)

olive oil

one large white onion, chopped fine

one medium green bell pepper, chopped fine

3 cloves of garlic, chopped fine (less for those more sensitive)

seasonings:

bay leaf

one good pinch of marjoram

couple of shakes oregano

very few shakes red pepper

good coating white pepper

couple of shakes black pepper,ground over the pot a few times

salt:good coating gumbo file (accent over the e please),good coating over the roux then add to taste as you simmer

Cut fresh okra into small cylinders and fry in olive oil until goopy, place on the side. Make the Roux (recipe below) add the seasonings to the roux, add the vegetables....then simmer them down until they are mushy....then add the shrimp and cook over low to medium heat until shrimp starts to get whitish on the outside. Slowly add seafood stock, wisking in with the roux until everything is mixed up well.

Add the remainder of the seafood, except the oysters. simmer over low to medium heat for an hour or so, adding seasonings as seems fit (never too much file...with the accent again please).

Last 20 minutes, throw oysters in the pot....bring to a small rolling boil and cook for about 10 minutes on a boil. Let the gumbo cool a little before serving over rice.

How to Make a Roux

1 cup oil (vegetable or olive)

1/2 cup flour

Heat the oil slightly over medium heat in a sauce pan. Wisk the flour into the oil; continue to cook over lower heat until the flour/oil mixture turns a light brown.....some like dark brown for creole recipes....I like light brown for cajun recipes. Continuously stir while the mixture is heating. Immediately remove from the heat when the mixture turns carmel colored.

**Seafood Stock: Anytime you eat seafood that has peelings, save the peelings. Later that night, put peelings into a large pot with three times as much water as the peelings, one onion chopped in half, clove of garlic slightly smooshed and the tops of celery stalks. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1/2 hour. Strain out the peelings and veges. Viola! Seafood stock! You can freeze this for later recipes.