Floyd's gumbo

Ingredients

oil for frying
275g/10oz onions, chopped
225g/8oz green peppers, chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
25g/1oz andouille or other spicy sausage, sliced
25g/1oz smoked pork or bacon, cubed
1 tsp crushed garlic
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf, crumbled
1 tsp salt
1½ tsp cayenne pepper
1½ tsp paprika
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp freshly ground white pepper
3 tbsp filé powder (optional)
1 tbsp Tabasco sauce
300ml/10fl oz puréed fresh tomatoes, strained
crab shells to flavour (optional)
450g/1lb large prawns (reserve the shells and heads for the stock)
1 dozen oysters
225g/8oz crab meat
6 freshwater crayfish
2 boudins (fish sausage) (optional)
200g/8oz cooked rice to serve
For the fish stock:
fish heads, tails and trimmings
1 onion
2 carrots
1 stick celery
1 leek
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs parsley
black peppercorns
prawn shells and heads

Method

1. Place all the ingredients for the stock in a large saucepan and cover with about 1.7 litres/3 pints cold water. Simmer for as long as possible - 4 hours if you can manage it - and strain. Set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onions, green peppers and celery and let them sweat for a few minutes. Add the spicy sausage and smoked pork.
3. Stir in the garlic, herbs, salt, spices and finally the filé powder, if using. (Some people like to add filé at the end, but to my European way of thinking it should go at the beginning.)
4. Add the Tabasco sauce, puréed tomatoes and 1.1 litres/2 pints of the fish stock. Simmer for at least 45 minutes.
5. Add crab shells, if you have them, to give a little extra flavour and colour, the prawns, oysters, crab meat, crayfish and finally the boudins. Simmer for another 10 minutes.
6. To serve as a main course, place a quarter of the rice in each bowl and top up with Gumbo.

© Stan Green Management