Shrimp & Okra Gumbo
This delicious seafood gumbo is surprisingly healthy—made without butter or processed meat—yet it’s just as flavorful as any gumbo you’d find in New Orleans. Laissez les bons temps rouler.
Servings: 8 ¾ cup
Calories: 280kcal
Ingredients
Seasoning Mix
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper
- 1½ teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- ½ teaspoon basil
- 3 bay leaves
Vegatables
- ¾ pound okra about 3 cups
- ¾ cup onion
- ½ cup celery
- ½ cup green onions
- ¾ cup green pepper
- 2 teaspoon garlic
Baked Rice
- 2 cup brown rice or quinoa
- 2½ cup stock seafood
Shrimp and Roux
- ¾ pound shrimp
- 5½ cup stock seafood
- ¼ cup avocado oil
- ¼ cup flour all-purpose
- 3 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil, butter, or low fat butter substitute
Instructions
Seafood Stock
- Peal shrimp, cut ends off onions and celery into stock pot or pressure cooker.
- Add 8 cups of water.
- Pressure cook on high for 45 minutes and natural pressure release. Or bring to boil, reduce to simmer and cover and simmer for 1 hour. See Note
Bake Rice
- Preheat oven to 350℉
- Finely chop ¾ cup onion, ¾ cup green pepper, ½ cup celery, and 2 teaspoon garlic
- In 5x9 loaf pan combine 2 cup brown rice or quinoa, 2½ cup stock, 1½ tablespoon each finely chopped onions and celery, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ tablespoon olive oil, and a pinch each of black and red pepper.
- Cover with foil, and bake for 1 hour or until rice or quinoa is tender.
- Fluff it with fork.
Seasoning Mix
- Combine 2 teaspoon salt, 1½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, ¾ teaspoon black pepper, 1½ teaspoon dry mustard, 1 teaspoon thyme, ½ teaspoon basil, and 3 bay leaves in a small bowl.
Main
- Slice ¾ pound okra into ¼ inch slices
- In 4 quart sauce pan or dutch oven, heat ¼ cup avocado oil over medium-high heat.
- Stir in 2 cups okra. Cook until browned (6 minutes).
- Stir in onions, peppers, and celery. Cook for for 1 minute.
- Add 3 tablespoon olive oil, garlic and seasoning mix. Cook for 3 minutes stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan frequently.
- Add ¼ cup flour. Stirring constantly until well browned.
- Stir in 1½ cup stock, scrape the bottom of the pan, then add remaining stock. Bring to boil stirring often.
- Boil for 2 minutes then reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes. Stirring occasionally.
- Add remaining okra, continue to simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add ½ cup green onions and ¾ pound shrimp. Turn heat up to medium and simmer until shrimp turn pink.
- Serve immediately over rice.
Notes
I recommend using fresh okra. You can use frozen cut okra, as I did today. It will still be great, but it some of the okra skins might get tough.
Lagniappe - It's really handy to make stocks ahead of time and freeze them. I keep freezer bags for vegetables, chicken, and seafood. Add vegetable trimmings, chicken bones, and shrimp shells when cooking. When I need stock, or one of the bags gets near full, I make a batch of stock. Refrigerate it, then make ice cubes and freeze them in a freezer bag.