Chicken & Sausage Gumbo

Another great way to use leftover chicken!

What you’ll need:

• Leftover chicken
• 1 lb of sausage (I prefer polish or cajun spiced – or whatever is on sale)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• Tony Chachere’s or other cajun seasoning mix
• Garlic powder, to taste
• At least 1/2 c. flour
• vegetable oil
• Louisiana hot sauce, to taste
• File (this is a seasoning specific to SW Louisiana, made from Sassafras leaves and is ESSENTIAL for making an authentic cajun dish and is pronounced fuhlay )

The Gumbo is in the roux. Making roux is much like making gravy. You wan to do it slowly and not get it lumpy and sometimes you have to keep adding stuff to get it right. In a skillet, heat the oil (approximately 2/3 cup) and begin adding the flour, one spoon at a time. Stir constantly for 20-30 minutes (you can practice being present in the moment while you’re stirring the flour), until the flour has turned a nice, deep chocolate brown. Try not to burn it.

Once you’ve got the chocolate color, move your roux to a large pot. Add all ingredients except the File and let simmer about 3 hours, stirring every once in a while. It doesn’t hurt to taste it and see if you need to add more salt, garlic or hot sauce. Let everyone add the file to their serving of gumbo at the table. If used during cooking, it will make the gumbo stringy. Without the file, you aren’t getting the full effect.