Try George Brown College recipe for seafood gumbo

With Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz dominating headlines, we thought this would be a great time to highlight a classic American dish: seafood gumbo.

This month’s recipe comes from the American Regional Cooking class within our Continuing Education programs.

Here’s our take on the Louisiana classic:

Seafood gumbo

Yield: 8 portions

Ingredients

1/2 cup (125ml) vegetable oil

1/2 lb (225g) bacon, chopped

1 onion, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

1 green pepper, diced

5 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 cup (95g) all-purpose flour

4 cups (1L) chicken stock

4 cups (1L) fish stock

1lb (454g) okra, sliced

2 cups (475ml) tomatoes in juice, drained and chopped

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon ground cayenne

1 teaspoon chopped thyme

1/2 cup (25g) chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 lb (900g) peeled and deveined shrimp

1/2 cup (50g) chopped scallions

1 lb (454g) lump crabmeat

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. In a stock pot over medium-high heat, heat the oil and render the bacon until crispy. Then add the onion and sweat until soft. Add the celery, pepper and garlic.
2. Add flour and cook until light brown and nutty smelling.
3. Stir in the chicken and fish stock. Add the okra, tomatoes, bay leaf, cayenne, and thyme. Then simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very tender, about 30 minutes.
4. Add the shrimp, parsley, and scallions. While stirring, simmer until the seafood is just cooked through, about 5 minutes.
5. Stir in crabmeat and simmer until heated through, about 1 minute. Season with salt and black pepper. Discard bay leaf.

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