Creole Gumbo

[muck_a_luck]

CREOLE GUMBO

4 lb cut up chicken
1 slice fully-cooked ham, ½ inch thick (about 1 lb)
1 large onion
2 stalks celery
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
½ c butter or margarine
1/3 c flour
2 T canola oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 t salt
½ t pepper
½ t dried thyme leaves
¼ t crushed red pepper
3 parsley sprigs
1 bay leaf
1 can (1 lb, 12 oz) tomatoes, undrained
1 c water
1 lb shrimp in the shell
1 t combo file powder
Raw long-grain white rice
Chopped parsley
Your favorite recipe potato salad, very juicy and egg-y

Cut ham into ½ inch cubes. Prepare vegetables. Chop onion. Slice celery thinly. Wash peppers, cut in half, remove ribs and seeds. Chop into ½ inch cubes.

In a 6 quart dutch oven, heat butter over medium heat. Sauté chicken pieces, half at a time, turning with tongs, until golden brown on all sides – about 20 minutes. Remove chicken as it browns. Add ham cubes. Sauté about 5 minutes. Remove. Stir flour into the fat.

Cook over medium heat, stirring, until roux turns light brown. Remove from heat. In 2 T oil in a medium skillet, sauté onion, celery, green and red peppers and garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, until onion is golden – about 5 minutes. Turn into the dutch oven.

Add salt, pepper, thyme, crushed red pepper, parsley, bay leaf, tomatoes and water. Crush tomatoes with fork. Bring to boiling, stirring. Return chicken and ham to dutch oven. Simmer, covered, 40 minutes, or until chicken is tender.

Shell, devein and rinse shrimp.

Stir in shrimp. Simmer, covered, 5 minutes, or just until shrimp turn pink. With slotted spoon, remove chicken, ham and shrimp to serving dish. Bring sauce in dutch oven to boiling, stirring constantly. Stir in file powder. Cook, stirring, just until thick.

Serve over cooked white rice. Top with dollops of potato salad.

As this excellent recipe DOES NOT include okra, I suggest fried okra on the side. Or you can add okra to the vegetable mixture with the meats.