Hey folks! As this seafood gumbo article is my first time writing here, I want to give yall a little bit about me. My name is Rachel Rabalais and I love writing, cooking, and tennis. I grew up in the bayou in New Orleans until the hurricane swept us away. Now we live in the dryer countryside further north, where they still have a lot of great family values (like teaching younger generations to cook properly!). The cooking is pretty similar, being good soul food. Cajun and Southern both use a lot of butter and a lot of love!
When it comes to Cajun, nothing speaks to my heart more than gumbo. The spices, the meat, the sauce…now that is soul food. This a great seafood gumbo recipe my dad taught me:
Seafood Gumbo
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 or 1 whole bag of frozen okra
- 2 large soup spoons canola oil
- 1 large soup spoon flour (add as needed)
- 2 cups water
- 1 medium white onion
- 3 bay leaves
- Salt
- Pepper
- Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
- filé seasoning
- 2 pounds of shrimp
- 4 or 5 gumbo crabs (yes, gumbo crabs)
- 1 pound crabmeat
Directions:
In a nonstick pan, put 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook okra until stringiness is gone and set aside.
In a cast-iron skillet frying pan, put 2 large soup spoons of canola oil and one large soup spoon of flour.
*If you want it thicker put more flour. If you want it thinner add more oil.
Consistently stir until dark brown which is very thick. This is a rue
In a 5-quart pot, put 2 cups of water on high heat. Add the rue slowly to the pot and stir until blended. Add the okra.
In another pan with olive oil, sauté onion until it is caramelized.
Put the sautéd onion in the 5-quart pot
Turn rue down to low heat; if too thick add more water
Add salt, pepper, Tony’s, three bay leaves, and filé seasoning to taste
Add the 2 pounds of medium shrimp; peeled, deheaded and deveined (and depooped)
Add the jumbo crabs and crab meat
Bring to low boil; again if too thick add water
Add seasoning to taste
Serve with white rice and garlic bread
