Recipe Thursday - Seafood Gumbo

Seafood Gumbo

8 ounces kielbasa or Cajun sausage, cut into 1-inch slices

1/3 cup olive oil

1 pound okra (we use frozen)

2 cups diced onions

1 cup coarsely chopped red bell pepper

1 cup coarsely chopped green bell pepper

4 cloves garlic, minced

5 cups chicken stock or canned broth

3 cups drained canned plum tomatoes, slightly crushed

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 bay leaf

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

12 ounces sea scallops

12 ounces cooked lobster meat

8 ounces lump crabmeat, cartilage removed

2 T chopped fresh Italian flat leaf parsley (optional)

In a large pot or dutch oven, saute the sausage over medium heat until brown, about 15 minutes.  Remove it from the pot and set aside.

Add half the oil to the pot.  Then add the okra and cook over medium heat until slightly soft, about 15 minutes.  

Add the remaining oil, onions, bell peppers, and garlic.  Stir, and cook another 10 minutes.

Add the chicken stock, tomatoes, cumin, cayenne, salt, black pepper and bay leaf.  Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.

Add the shrimp and scallops to the gumbo and simmer another 5 minutes. Then add the lobster, crabmeat and parsley, adjust the seasonings and heat through, 2 to 3 minutes.  

Serve immediately over hot rice.  I serve warm corn bread on the side.

This is a wildly expensive but unbelievably tasty gumbo!