Seafood Gumbo

Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil (i used safflower oil)
• 3/4 cup flour (i used whole wheat)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 bay leaf, crumbled
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 cup okra, sliced (i used frozen okra)
• 3 -4 garlic cloves, minced (i used 3)
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups clam juice
• 1 1/2 lbs medium shrimp, peeled, shells reserved
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can fire-roasted tomatoes
• 2 cups oysters, drained and cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 lb crabmeat (i used claw crabmeat)
• 1 lb frozen crawfish tail meat, thawed
• 8 cups rice, cooked
• 4 green onions, chopped (garnish)

Recipe

• 1 heat oil in large skillet or pot over medium high heat. stir in flour; cooking until smooth and darkened to the color of a penny). stir in next 11 ingredients (thyme - garlic) and cook until vegetables are tender (about 20-30 minutes -- my okra was still frozen when i added it, so it probably took a bit longer to cook than if i used fresh or thawed okra). remove from heat and let cook for at least 30 minutes -- i did this part way ahead so mine cooled for over an hour.
• 2 in a large soup pot bring chicken broth, clam juice and reserved shrimp shells (don't forget the shells - they add lots of flavor) to a boil and then cook for 10 minutes or so. remove shells and discard.
• 3 stir in vegetable mixture into broth and cook until thickened over medium heat.
• 4 stir in tomatoes, seafood (oysters - shrimp) and simmer 20-30 minutes -- but this can be kept warm over very low heat (i kept mine warm for over an hour and it was wonderful).
• 5 serve over rice and sprinkle with green onions, if desired.