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Leah Chase's Okra Gumbo

Source of Recipe

From "The Dooky Chase Cookbook" by Leah Chase


Recipe Introduction

"Okra gumbo or crowder peas were the big thing when I was growing up. Those would be your main dish. If you got fried chicken, that was actually considered the side dish."

List of Ingredients

â—¦  ¼ cup vegetable oil
â—¦  3 pounds fresh okra (sliced thin)
â—¦  3 medium blue crabs
â—¦  1 ½ cups chopped onions
â—¦  ½ cup chopped green pepper
â—¦  ½ cup chopped celery
â—¦  2 tablespoons tomato paste
â—¦  1 ½ quarts water
â—¦  1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
â—¦  ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
â—¦  1 teaspoon paprika
â—¦  1 teaspoon chopped garlic
â—¦  ½ teaspoon whole thyme
â—¦  1 tablespoon salt
â—¦  2 bay leaves
â—¦  1 pound shrimp (cleaned and deveined)


Recipe

For this recipe, a heavy pot is needed (I use Magnalite).
Heat the pot. Add oil and okra. Heat must not be high, as the okra must cook slowly. Stir the okra often, cooking for 20 minutes.

Add the crabs, onions, green pepper, and celery.
Cook for another 15 minutes. Give this pot a lot of attention or the okra will stick. Okra should be soft (not fried to a crisp). Add tomato paste and stir well.

Slowly add the water.
Stir in crushed red pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic, thyme, salt, and bay leaves. Cook for 10 minutes, then add the shrimp and continue cooking for another 10 minutes. Serve over rice.

Makes 4 to 6 servings