Cajun seafood and sausage gumbo
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
Cajun seafood and sausage gumbo
Gumbo is one of Louisiana’s defining dishes: a one-pot stew that sums up the state’s mixed heritage. French technique, Spanish influence, Native American spice and European smoked sausage all play a part – even the name ‘gumbo’ derives from the West African name for okra, a key ingredient. There are many variations, but two broad styles: Creole, which is lighter with a tomato base, and Cajun, which is darker, smokier and centred around a ‘dark roux’
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
Spencer Lengsfield
Our Senior Food Producer Spencer was born in Los Angeles, so has an inherent love for all things Mexican, Japanese, and Korean but is also heavily influenced by her family’s Louisiana heritage. She loves spice, bright flavours, and fusion food, and she has a soft spot for a chocolate chip cookie.
Spencer Lengsfield
Our Senior Food Producer Spencer was born in Los Angeles, so has an inherent love for all things Mexican, Japanese, and Korean but is also heavily influenced by her family’s Louisiana heritage. She loves spice, bright flavours, and fusion food, and she has a soft spot for a chocolate chip cookie.
Ingredients
- 100ml vegetable oil
- 60g plain flour
- 2 onions, diced
- 3 celery sticks, finely diced
- 2 green peppers, deseeded and diced
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 330ml lager
- 1 litre good-quality chicken or fish stock
- 500g smoked pork sausage, sliced (we used Sokolow)
- 1½ tbsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp cayenne, or to taste
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 x 175g pack okra, trimmed and sliced
- 2 x 225g packs frozen Taste the Difference Raw Peeled Jumbo King Prawns, defrosted
- 1 x 100g pack crayfish tails
- a few dashes Tabasco, or to taste
To serve
- 600g cooked white or brown basmati rice
- 2 spring onions, sliced
- crusty bread (optional
Step by step
-
For the roux, put the oil and flour in a large, heavy-based pan or flameproof casserole and set over a medium-low heat. Whisk together and cook, stirring regularly, until it reaches a light peanut butter colour (about 4-5 minutes). Continue to whisk constantly until it reaches a chocolate brown colour but it’s not burnt (about 10 minutes in total). If it smells burnt and has black flecks in it, you’ve taken it too far. At this point it’s easy to start again – but be careful, it’ll be like lava!
-
Once it’s dark enough, add the onions, celery, green peppers and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes, then pour in the beer and stock. Stir to combine, then add the sausages, smoked paprika, cayenne, bay leaf and a little salt, then grind in enough black pepper until your arm aches. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes over a low heat. Skim the top if you need to, and don’t worry if it looks like there is a layer of oil at the top at first, it’ll eventually absorb.
-
Add the sliced okra and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the gumbo is thickened slightly. Remove from the heat, and stir in the prawns. When they’re pink and cooked through, stir through the crayfish tails and Tabasco.
-
Ladle the gumbo into serving bowls. Place a small mound of rice in the middle of each bowl, then scatter over the spring onions and some more black pepper. Serve with extra Tabasco and crusty bread alongside, if you like.
Experiment with other seafood if you like – try crab, mussels or scallops.
