Slow Soupers Sandi Style!

It is my turn to pick the soup for our Sunday Slow Soupers group. We are a group of cooks from Slow Travel, who have been making a different soup every week. It has been fun to try favorite soups from all across the country. Now we get a taste of the south.

After some coaxing I agreed to post my recipe for Gumbo. I have posted Gumbo before on my blog, also a special post on making a roux. This is a basic recipe for a seafood gumbo, you are welcome to add or takeaway as you like.
When it comes to gumbo, there is always a discussion about okra and tomatoes. It has even inspired the Great Gumbo Cookoff in our family. I am not a okra/tomato gumbo girl... this is strictly a roux based seafood soup. Fabulous!

Seafood Gumbo
1/4 cup vegetable oil
¼ cup all purpose flour
1# chicken pieces
1# large shrimp, bay scallops, oysters
1# Andouille sausage
32 oz chicken broth
2 bell peppers, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp salt & pepper
½ tsp cayenne pepper (more or less)
chopped parsley
bunch of green onions chopped


In a large pot, saute onions and peppers. Add sausage and brown. Add water, spices, and chicken; simmer until the chicken is cooked through (if you use chicken on the bone you can cool it and pull it now) Use this broth as a part of your chicken broth.

Start the gumbo by making your roux. Use a heavy skillet and stir together flour and oil until it is a cocoa brown and thick, smooth consistency. You will want to start adding some broth to the skillet to thin your roux, then pour the it into the big pot. Stir like hell. Add chicken broth, stir some more until there are no clumps.Cover and simmer. This will help to thicken the gumbo. Add cleaned shrimp and scallops, cooking on medium heat till shrimp are pink (10 minutes) Add the delicate oysters last. Remove from heat. Let stand for 10 minutes. Serve in a large bowl on top of a scoop of rice, with a garnish of green onions.

Y'all enjoy!

Sandi