Ritamay’s Seafood Gumbo

By Ritamay

Ingredients

• Olive oil,4 tbsp
• Seafood or Vegetable Stock, 1 qt
• Okra, 3 cups finely chopped
• Celery, 3/4 cups finely chopped
• Green peppers, 1 finely chopped
• Onion, 1 large finely chopped
• Shallot, 1 pressed
• Green onions, 1 bunch finely chopped
• Parsley, 1/4 cup finely chopped
• Garlic, 2 cloves
• Bay leaves, 2
• Thyme, 1/2 tsp
• Raw Shrimp, 2 cups peeled (approx 1 pound)
• Crabmeat, 1 1/2 cups (approx 1 pound)
• Rotel tomatoes, 1 can
• Cayenne pepper, 1 tsp
• Basil, 1/2 tsp Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Step 1

1) Put oil in a large heavy stock pot.
2) Add okra and sauté. Cook out all the slime! THIS IS THE KEY TO GOOD GUMBO (if it’s fresh it should cook fast. Frozen takes longer)
3) Add celery, onions, shallots, green pepper and garlic (not green onions or parsley)
4) Cook over medium heat until onions are a light brown or caramelized.
5) Add green onions, tomatoes and parsley.
6) Add salt, pepper, thyme, and bay leaves.
7) Cook 5 minutes over medium heat; Stir.
8) Add 1 qt water and stock
9) Cook 20 minutes on simmer; should reduce by 1/3
10) Add 1 qt water; bring to boil; reduce heat to simmer; reduce by 1/3
11) Add shrimp and crabmeat
12) Cook at simmer for about an hour; Liquid should reduce some