Preparation was straightforward. You start by making a roux, which is essentially browning some flour in oil. This is the basis of a lot of creole/cajun cooking. You cook the vegetables and spices for awhile, add the tomatoes, clam juice and sausage and let that cook for 15 minutes at a low boil. This allows a lot of flavor to leach out of the sausages into the broth. A lot of the flavor of this dish comes from these sausages, which are spicy and garlicky. I bought frozen okra and added that for another 15 minutes. Meanwhile I peeled and deveined the shrimp. Finally I threw in the raw shrimp. They cook quickly, just three minutes. And that was that. As I mentioned I served it over cooked quinoa.
You can see a picture of a bowl of the finished product below. In the original Splendid Table podcast the old New Orleans chef said that gumbo was always consumed with red wine so I obliged. It was fiery but not quite enough for my tastes so I added some Frank's Hot Sauce. Betsy raved about it. It was on the border of being too hot for her but in all she thought it was great. There is enough for dinner again tomorrow!
Big surprise here is that the okra was just great in this dish. I've had it once or twice when it's been a big slimy but here it tasted great. This attempt was a great success but I'd like to try a slightly milder, more fish-based gumbo. That's next.
