Gumbo for a cool Autumn evening

You know what I am already tired of hearing about and reading about? This past election. Wow, such vitriolic language on both sides.  Looking at my social media was enjoyable before November 12th but I think I'll take a break from it all. Maybe a few weeks....we'll see.

That being said, one of the things I do like are the autumn temperatures and a good bowl of gumbo. Nothing like a warming meal when the temps get cooler.  So that's what I am going to talk about now.




In the past I was eating sausage but now that I'm not consuming any porcine products, I have substituted a TVP (textured vegetable protein) to accommodate our vegetarian menus. Here is a photo of one sausage, prior to being cut up, so you can see the ingredients. We also had a homemade French bread for sopping up the lovely juices.



Here is my version of an old recipe, making it vegetarian friendly.

Gumbo, Vegetarian Style

* 1 package of vegetarian sausages (I used MorningStar brand)
* 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
* 2 carrots, finely diced
* 1 large onion, finely diced
* 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
* 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
* 1 16-oz can of diced tomatoes
*  1/2 stick unsalted butter
* 1/4 cup flour
* Almost 16 ounces of vegetable broth
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 2 tablespoon honey
* Roughly 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

Crispy Okra:

* Canola oil
* 1/2 pound okra, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
* 1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Or: buy a breaded okra in the frozen section.  That's way easier.

Directions

Heat a medium skillet over high heat.  Heat olive oil and cook the celery, onion, carrots, bell pepper and garlic until soft.  Now add a half stick of butter and coat the veggies.  Sprinkle on the flour mixture and turn gently with a spoon.   Now slowly add the broth and it will thicken up nicely.

Tip in the can of tomatoes, shrimp and veggie sausages.

Note: You could also add oysters and scallops.

For the Crispy Okra:

Heat 2-inches of canola oil in a high sided saute pan over medium heat until it begins to shimmer. Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Place the cornmeal in a shallow baking dish and season with salt and pepper.

Season the okra with salt and pepper and toss in the cornmeal. Fry the okra, in batches, until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon to the baking sheet and season with salt.

We cooked a big pot of rice and when everything was ready, place a good bit of rice in a bowl, then ladle the gumbo over the rice. Top with crunchy fried okra.


I will be joining Deb at Kahakai Kitchen for her Souper Sunday series. The linkup for this week may be found HERE