Shrimp Gumbo with Andouille Sausage

I have been CRAVING gumbo, like dying craving gumbo.  I have gone to 2 different places in Houston looking for that perfect taste, but to no avail (Houston is a swamp, but is no New Orleans).  The Gods must have heard of my plight because on one of my favorite recipe blogs, Simply Recipes, she posted a gumbo recipe!  So, it is official, I am up to my elbows in roux!  Thanks Elise for reading my mind--I know this will be fantastic.

 

If you are not familiar with filé, it is a powder made from dried sassafras leaves. It is a powerful thickener, but must be added at the end of cooking or it will form slimy, ropey strands in the gumbo. Filé is available in many supermarkets or online.

1/2 cup peanut oil, or other vegetable oil
1/2 cup flour
1 green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp Cajun seasoning
1 quart shellfish* or chicken stock, plus 1 cup water
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
8-12 ounces smoked andouille sausage, cut into 1/4-inch thick rounds
2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
Salt and pepper to taste
3-5 green onions, white and green parts, chopped
File powder (optional)
Hot sauce (such as Tabasco) to taste

* Note that you can make your own shellfish stock with the shells from the shrimp. Put the shrimp shells and tail tips in a pot and cover with 2 quarts of water.  Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and simmer uncovered for an hour. Strain and use in this recipe for the stock. Diluted bottle clam juice will also work as shellfish stock in this recipe.

First, make the roux. Heat the peanut oil in a large, thick-bottomed pot, such as a Dutch oven, on medium high heat, for a minute or two. Whisk in the flour and lower the heat to medium. Stir almost constantly, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan as you stir.  Let the roux cook until it is the color of peanut butter, then lower the heat to medium low. Keep cooking and stirring (careful, you want the flour to cook, not burn!) until the roux is the color of an old penny, about 20-30 minutes total time.

Mix in the "holy trinity" of green pepper, onion and celery and increase the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another 2 minutes. Stir in the Cajun seasoning.

In a separate pot, heat the stock and water until steamy. Slowly add the steamy stock and water to the bell pepper onion roux mixture, stirring constantly while you do so. Do not add cold stock to a hot roux; room temperature is fine, but adding ice cold stock to hot roux can break it, leaving a pool of oil on the top of your gumbo. Bring the gumbo to a simmer and add the Worcestershire sauce and salt to taste. Simmer gently for 30 minutes.

If you find that the roux has broken a bit and oil is pooling on the surface of the gumbo, whisk in about another 1/2 to 1 cup of water. This will often "fix" it.

Stir in the andouille sausage and cook for 5 minutes (andouille sausage is already cooked, so you just need to heat it). Add the shrimp, return to a simmer and cook another 5 minutes, until the shrimp has just cooked through. Add salt and black pepper to taste.

Serve with white rice, garnished with green onions. To eat, sprinkle with filé powder and hot sauce.