Ellie's Creole Chicken Gumbo

My paternal grandmother, "Grandma Ellie", had such a loud personality. From her bedazzled clothes, to her boisterous and contagious laugh - it was impossible not to smile when she was in the room. 

Grandma Ellie's favorite possession was her Polaroid camera. Not a single family event would go by without her gathering all of us grand kids (read: forcing us kicking and screaming) together for a photo. I have to laugh, because I have followed in her footsteps in this regard. Yes, lovely family, I can see your eyes roll when I exclaim, "Picture time!".

Two recipes in particular come to mind when I think about Ellie - Spanish rice and chicken gumbo. These were staples for her. When I was older, I learned that her gumbo wasn't exactly home made (Campbell's had me fooled). For me this only adds to Ellie's quirky charm.

In Ellie's honor I'd like to share an easy (I'm talking 40 minutes from start to finish and it's all cooked in one pot!) and satisfying chicken gumbo recipe.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 red bell pepper chopped
• 1 green bell pepper chopped
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 5 celery stalks chopped
• 4 garlic cloves chopped
• 10 ounces corn (use canned or frozen to save time)
• 1 can diced tomatoes and chilis (I used Rotel's spicy mix to add some heat)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons creole seasoning (I found this in the spice aisle of my grocery store, it includes paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper)
• 10 ounces cut okra (to shave off time, use frozen or canned)
• 8 ounces smoked andouille sausage halved and sliced (I used precooked, again to save time)
• 1 rotisserie chicken (about 2 1/2 pounds), skin and bones removed, meat shredded (about 4 cups) (this is a BIG time saver)
• 4 cups chicken broth.
• White rice (I made 3 cups)

Instructions:

1. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil on medium. Whisk in flour and cook until pale golden, 5 to 7 minutes (be sure to whisk continuously). Stir in bell peppers, celery, onion, garlic, creole seasoning and oregano. Cook until vegetables are crisp-tender 10 to 12 minutes (stir occasionally).
2. Add 4 cups chicken broth to vegetables. Bring to a boil. Stir in shredded chicken, okra, corn and diced tomatoes and warm through (about 2 minutes). Salt and pepper to taste. For extra spice, add Tabasco sauce. To plate, ladle gumbo over white rice.

Serve with sweet tea and cornbread, y'all :)


Do you have a favorite family recipe? I'd love to hear about it!


*Recipe altered and adapted from marthastewart.com