Our latest stop on Traveling Tastebuds takes us to the Big Easy, New Orleans, for Louisiana Seafood Gumbo just in time for Mardi Gras AKA Fat Tuesday. Enjoy the true flavor of Carnival in the city’s historic French Quarter. Festivities begin annually on January 6 and continue through Fat Tuesday, on March 1st. It is called Fat Tuesday as it is the last night of eating rich, fatty foods before Lent, as the ritual of fasting begins on Ash Wednesday.
When you think of Louisiana’s Cajun and Creole cuisine, seafood gumbo is one of the first dishes that comes to mind. This seafood gumbo recipe features Louisiana blue crabs and shrimp. It brings the flavours of New Orleans right to your table!
Check out this video to learn more about making seafood gumbo:
Ingredients for Seafood Gumbo
1 cup canola oil
1 cup flour
2 large onions, diced
6 gumbo crabs
1 stalk celery, diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup fresh okra, sliced
Leaves from 1 sprig of fresh thyme
2 quarts shellfish stock
2 bay leaves
1 pound medium Louisiana or wild American shrimp
1 cup shucked oysters
1 cup lump crabmeat
1 cup minced green onions
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Creole or Cajun Seasoning
Worcestershire
Tabasco
4–6 cups Basic Louisiana White Rice, cooked
Directions
- Make a roux by heating the oil in a large cast-iron or heavy-bottomed pot over high heat. Whisk the flour into the hot oil. It will immediately begin to sizzle. Reduce the heat to moderate and continue whisking until the roux takes on a deep brown color, about 20 minutes. Add the onions, stirring them into the roux with a wooden spoon. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue stirring until the roux is a rich, dark brown, about 5 minutes more.
- Add the blue crabs and stir for a minute before adding the celery, bell peppers, garlic, and okra. Increase the heat to moderate and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes.
- Add the thyme, stock, and bay leaves. Bring the gumbo to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally and skim off any fat from the surface of the gumbo.
- Add the shrimp, oysters, crabmeat, and green onions to the pot and cook for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, Creole Spices, Worcestershire, and Tabasco. Serve in bowls over cooked Louisiana white rice.
