January 3, 2011 / 6 comments »

Poor boy gumbo, that warms the soul.

It is that time of year. It is cold outside and you are craving something warm and satisfying. This gumbo is the perfect match. It is perfect for one of those days were you are cleaning and straightening up around the house. It is an overnight meal. Nothing real hard to do, it just takes a little bit of time and planning. The results are worth it though and it makes a ton, so freeze some for later.   The two things you need to start on the night before is the roux and the soaking of the beans. This can be done the night before your cleaning/wash day.

This is a dark roux. This is how I make a dark roux. I combined one cup of flour and one cup of canola oil in a dutch oven. I set the oven to 350 and I put a lid on the dutch oven. I let it cook in the oven for two hours. I did nothing. I didn’t stir it, I didn’t peek. You can do this the night before, say just after dinner and before bed. While you are washing the dishes. It doesn’t require a lot.


Now you have to soak your beans overnight. This is one bag of dried black eyed peas. Put the peas in a large bowl. Add enough water to go over the beans 1-2 inches.  You can use any bean you like. You can use what ever leftovers you have on hand.

This is what they call the holy trinity. No not the Father Son and Holy Spirit, it is onions, peppers and celery. A lot of Cajun/creole cooking begin with the holy trinity. Anyway chop up the onions peppers and celery.



Print Recipe

Poor Boy Gumbo

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless chicken thighs
1 large onion
1 bell pepper
3 stalks of celery
2 quarts stock or water
3 garlic cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons thyme
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons creole seasoning give or take
2 lbs peeled shrimp
2 cups cooked white rice
All of the roux from the night before
The Black eyed peas drained from the night before

Directions:

Cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Mix the Roux, peas, chicken, onion, bell pepper celery. stock. garlic, thyme, bay leaf and creole seasoning in a crock pot and cook for 6-8 hours. 1 hour before serving add raw shrimp. Serve gumbo over cooked rice.

Seafood, Stew/Soup/Chowders
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