Delicious Chicken Gumbo Recipe

This is a soup that has many variations. You can leave the meat out and it will easily make a great vegetarian gumbo soup. You can use shrimp and substitute file for okra to make a shrimp gumbo recipe. Some people will add chicken to this one also. I fixed this soup for our special Christmas Eve dinner and used chicken and ham. It is colorful with it’s green and red bell peppers served around a white mound or rice.

I like to fix a special soup for Christmas and this one can be prepared ahead. The flavors get infused and blended and when you are ready to serve it, you just have to prepare the rice and you are ready to go on a day when everyone needs to eat, but the focus is on the presents, the kids, the singing and the games.

Gumbo is the African word for okra. Since we live in Minnesota, okra is not a native vegetable for us. Picking it out in the winter is even more difficult. I have used the frozen bag of vegetables in the past when I could not find a suitable source of fresh ones at the store. This year, the ones were small and tender, but I had to pick through the bin in order to get the ones that were not soft or getting brown. Our family likes a little spice in their soup, especially the vegetable soup recipes, so when I brought the gumbo in to heat it up, I separated out some of it for those with a tender stomach and the kids before I added the heat.

Ingredients:

1 onion
2 garlic cloves (substitute 1 tsp. granulated garlic)
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
2 c. chopped celery
1 lb. okra
1 can (15oz.) diced tomatoes
1 medium bunch of parsley (substitute 3 tsp. dried parsley)
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme (substitute 1 tsp. dried thyme)
1.25 lb. chicken breasts
1/2 lb. ham
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1/4 c. flour
2 Tbs. tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 qt. low sodium chicken stock
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (can use more to season to taste)
1 1/2 c. basmati rice (scale to amount of servings you need)
salt and pepper as needed

Directions:

Peel and dice onion. Peel and finely chop garlic if using fresh garlic. Core, slice and dice red and green peppers. Peel stringy back of celery, cut and dice. Cut the ends off of okra and cut into thin slices.

Once the vegetables are all prepared, you are ready to start the gumbo. We will start by making a brown roux. Be careful with this step. Cook over low to medium heat, stirring constantly so it does not burn or stick. It will add a bitter flavor to the gumbo if you blow this first step. Heat the oil in the pan. I used a dutch oven to make this gumbo. After the oil is heated, slowly stir in the flour and keep stirring. Heat and stir until the mixture turns chestnut brown. Cook it long and slow for about 10-15 minutes and it will slightly thicken.

Then add the onion, green and red peppers and celery. Be careful adding the vegetables to the hot roux. They will splatter so do it slowly. Cook these until they are lightly browned for about 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic in the last minute if you are using fresh garlic.

Now add the okra, tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken stock, half of the chopped herbs, the bay leaf and the seasoning (salt, pepper, cayenne). Bring to a boil. Simmer for about 30 minutes.

While that is coming to a boil, cut the chicken on the bias into 1/4 inch slices and cube the ham. I like to cut my chicken when it is still slightly frozen if I am taking it out of the freezer. If not, put it in the freezer for about 1/2 hour before you cut it and it will slice much easier. Add the meat to the gumbo and simmer for another 30 minutes or until chicken is tender.

Add rest of seasoning in the last five minutes and season to taste before serving.

Cook rice while meat is simmering. Take a small prep bowl and brush or spray with oil. When rice is finished, pack bowl with rice and turn over into center of deep dish plate or bowl. Ladle gumbo into bowl surrounding rice for a beautiful presentation.