Gumbo

I made Shrimp and Okra Gumbo from my Cooking Light Soups and Stews magazine. This is one of the unofficial cookbooks of February. 

My sous chef husband thought there was quite a bit of stuff to do with this, mainly because he did a lot of the chopping beforehand and one makes a roux before starting in with the rest. You cook together flour and oil, then add chicken stock, and when it is nice and thick and smooth, you just set it aside while you throw everything else in the pot. 

Onion, some ham chopped up, garlic, okra, spices and a big old can of tomatoes. Add the roux here to thicken things up, add the shrimp for a few minutes, serve. The recipe calls for green pepper and celery, but we had peas instead! 

It was really nice, light and tasty. One could serve it on rice to stretch it, and next time perhaps a dash of Tabasco would be good.