Description

Spicy Weekend Gumbo – familiar ingredients like garlic, carrots, celery, onion, tomatoes, flour, butter, shrimp // simmered for an hour or two on the weekend to make for awesome meals all week!

Ingredients

Units Scale

For the Base:

a quick swish of olive oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 hot peppers like serrano or jalapeño, minced
4 cups mirepoix*
2 cups additional chopped veggies (optional)
3 tablespoons cajun seasoning mix
one 28-ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
12 ounces Andouille sausage, sliced
1 lb. raw tail-off shrimp

For the Roux:

6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup flour
2 cups milk or chicken broth
heavy pinch of salt

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Instructions

VEGETABLES: Heat the oil in a big, deep pot over medium heat. Add the garlic, hot peppers, mirepoix, and vegetables. Saute for 10 minutes or so until it’s all soft and fragrant.
BASE: Add the tomatoes, broth, and spices. Bring to a low boil; reduce heat and simmer for an hour or so for the best flavor.
ROUX: Melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and let it all bubble in the pan for a few minutes. Add the milk or broth a little bit at a time, whisking to incorporate it and make it smooth. Season with salt.
FINISH: Add the roux to the gumbo pot and stir to combine. Simmer for a little longer over low heat or just let it all hang out for a while to help the flavor develop. Stir in the sausage and raw shrimp. When shrimp is pink (fully cooked), stir in a handful of chives and serve over brown rice, red quinoa, white rice, or just by itself. It’s that good. Remember: make sure to season with salt! This will vary per individual recipe based on your cajun seasoning mix.

Notes

*Mirepoix: This is just a fancy name for diced onion / celery / carrots – you can cut up your own or buy it already chopped and mixed for extra time-saving.

*Other vegetables – I made ours with and without. You could use okra, sweet potato, bell peppers…

*Cajun spices: A pre-made mix works great. This is a good one – it doesn’t have MSG. Otherwise you can make your own easily with pantry spices. If your mix does NOT have salt, be sure to season with salt generously at the end!

*Sausage: Any brand works, but Aidells is my favorite because 1) it’s cleaner than most – no weird ingredients, and 2) it packs the HEAT.

If you add the shrimp too soon in the cooking process, it shrinks up into tiny little shrimpy-things that get really tough. Don’t do that.

This makes GREAT leftovers which is why I consider it a perfect weekend recipe! I stored leftovers in the fridge for a few days, but it freezes well too.

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Category: Dinner
Cuisine: American

Keywords: spicy gumbo, gumbo recipe, gumbo with rice