Easy Seafood Gumbo Recipe

The first thing to know about gumbo is that it is not an ingredient nor is it an animal or vegetable, gumbo is a name given to soup or stew which is basically made of seafood and okra. Unlike other soups, gumbo is served with rice. Talking about the origin of gumbo, you may be surprised to know that gumbo originated in America itself! But the most interesting fact is that though gumbo originated in New Orleans, gumbo is based on three popular dishes of three different countries! Wondering how? Well, the basic idea of gumbo is based on the French soup called bouillabaisse, the ingredients sofrito and ground sassafras leaves belong to Native America, and the name 'gumbo' is based on the French translation of the African word 'okra'! This was a brief introduction of gumbo. I am sure you must be excited to try an easy gumbo recipe, so let's take a look at some traditional gumbo recipes.

Crabmeat Gumbo Recipe
Ingredients

• tsp chopped thyme
• 1 can white crab meat
• 2 tbs flour
• 1 lg. onion, chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 8 cups boiling water
• 1 bay leaf, crushed
• 2 sole fillets, cut into bite-size pieces
• 3 cups boiled white rice
• 1/8 tsp cayenne
• 1 okra
• 2 tbs chopped parsley
• 2 tbs butter
• lb. sea scallops
• lb. shrimp, shelled, deveined
• 1 (1 lb. 3 oz.) can tomatoes, crushed, if you prefer
• 1 garlic clove, minced

Process

Cut okra into inch pieces and set aside. Take a kettle and melt butter in it, when butter melts completely, add in flour and stir well to blend. Let it bubble for about 1 minute. After the flour is well blended, add onion, tomatoes with juice and okra to it, mix well and further add seafood and spices. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. After 10 minutes, add salt and water and cook covered for 1 hour, on low heat. When well cooked, simmer until the soup is thick. Serve with rice.

Shrimp Gumbo Recipe
Ingredients

• 4 scallions, finely chopped ( cup)
• pound crabmeat
• tsp pepper
• 1 medium stalk celery, chopped ( cup)
• green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped ( cup)
• 3, 14-ounce cans chicken broth
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1 11-ounce bag frozen okra
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp Creole seasoning
• 1 tbs dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• tsp dried oregano
• tsp dried basil
• 2 tbs all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• pound Italian sweet or spicy sausage, sliced
• pound shrimp (peeled and deveined), cut into thirds
• cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped ( cup)

Process

Take a large saucepan and place the sausage in it. Cover it completely with water and boil for about 3-4 minutes, drain and set aside. Now take large pot, heat oil in it on medium-high speed. When oil heats, add onion, green pepper and celery; cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 5 minutes, add tomatoes, okra, chicken broth and reserved sausage, bring to a boil, covered. Once boiled, continue cooking on high heat for 5 minutes more. Meanwhile, take a small bowl and whisk cup water and flour. When well whisked, add salt, spices, bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce and flour mixture into the pot, cover it and cook for about 10 minutes on high heat. After 10 minutes, add crabmeat, scallions, shrimp and reduce the heat, cooking for about 5 minutes. Stir in parsley and remove the bay leaf, stir and remove from heat. Let sit covered for 5 minutes.

Oyster and Crab Gumbo Recipe
Ingredients

• 1 quart oyster, reserve liquid from oysters (drained)
• 3 lbs shrimp (cleaned)
• Rice (cooked)
• 2 dozen crabs (cleaned)
• 1 cups vegetable oil
• 2 tsp file powder
• 2 cups flour
• 1 medium chopped onion
• 2 quarts water

Process

Take a skillet and fry flour into it, until brown and then add onions, cook until soft. Put this mixture in a pot and add oyster liquid along with plain water into it. Bring to a boil and then add crabs, salt, shrimp and pepper, boil for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, add oysters and more water according to your requirement. Cook for about 10 minutes, after it is cooked, add file powder and let stand for 5 minutes. Serve over rice.

Hope you enjoyed all these easy seafood gumbo recipes. You can also add vegetables and other fish according to your choice, to give it a personal taste. Bon appetit!