Well, I must say, I feel that my this weekend was a success! Saturday night I made Shrimp and Okra Gumbo with Cornbread, and today I made Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya. Unfortunately, I'm not 100% certain on their authenticity as I have never ventured to the southern USA and cannot compare. I also was not able to find andouille sausage for the Jambalaya, so I was stuck using italian sausage . That being said, after my cooking weekend I have a strong desire to experience some authentic Southern cooking. Haha, if I could travel the world just to experience different foods, I definitely would. Anyways, onto the recipe portion of today's post!
Shrimp and Okra Gumbo.
Ingredients:
Roux - 4 oz butter
3/4 cup flour (for those gluten free like myself, I used 1/2 cup rice flour and 5 tbsp cornstarch)
1 cup chopped onion
1 stalk chopped celery
1 green pepper
1/2 cup green onion (about 4 green onions)
1 can diced tomatoes, juices partially drained
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 & 1/4 lbs okra
5 cups chicken broth
1 lb shrimp (uncooked, peeled and deveined)
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne (more if you like lots of heat)
3 bay leaves
In a stock pot, heat the butter over medium heat until melted, add the flour to make the roux (flour and cornstarch if gluten free). Stir until it turns a dark reddish brown colour (deep caramel if doing gluten free version). Reduce heat to med-low and add the onions, celery, green pepper and green onion. Sautee until soft. Add okra (chopped), chicken broth, tomatoes, seasonings and garlic. Simmer for 20 minutes, then add shrimp. Allow to simmer another 10 minutes. Serve over rice.
I made the gluten free version as I am a gluten intolerant individual, and I REALLY liked how this meal turned out. I had vowed that I wasn't going to have a cheater taste and wait for the final product, but I failed. About 5 minutes from the end I just HAD to taste it to see if I was happy with it, and as it turned out I didn't change a thing! I think I would have added maybe a bit more spice for myself, but since my other half doesn't handle the spice so well I tamed it down a bit.
Now onto the cornbread. This is strictly a gluten free recipe. For a non-gluten free recipe, I believe you can just change the flour mixture to just straight up all purpose flour with the same proportions. This is a recipe that I found online at http://glutenfreegirl.com/gluten-free-cornbread/ . I have made a couple of changes,
1/4 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup rice flour ( I used brown rice flour, but you can swap in sweet rice flour or maybe even corn flour)
4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 cup butter (original recipe calls for shortening and only shortening, butter works just fine)
1 cup milk (plain almond or soy milk will make a good substitute)
2 large eggs (equivalent in egg replacer can likely be used, just might need more moisture if it's powdered)
1 cup yellow cornmeal
Preheat oven to 425 F. Mix all dry ingredients (except cornmeal). Cut in butter. Combine eggs and milk and then add to dry mixture. Once combined, add cornmeal and mix until just all cornmeal is mixed in. Grease a 9x9x2 pie dish and sprinkle with cornmeal. Pour cornbread mixture into dish and smooth out. Bake for 20-25 minutes, basically until the centre is cooked and a knife comes out clean.
I really liked the corn bread. Tasted just like normal corn bread to me, and my other half loved it as well.
Now onto the Jambalaya. I think it turned out PERFECTLY!!! I wouldn't change a thing. Well, that's a lie. If I could've found some andouille sausage, then I would've used that instead of the italian sausage that I was stuck with. But despite that, it was AMAZING! Here's the recipe.
3 tbsp butter
1 stalk celery chopped
1 small onion chopped
1 green pepper chopped
4-5 fresh tomatoes, chopped seeds left in
3-4 cups chicken broth
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 bay leaf
1 can tomato paste
1-2 tbsp Cajun seasoning
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tbsp worchestershire sauce
3 italian sausages (I used mild)
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup uncooked white rice
Sautee veggies in butter over med-low heat until soft. Add in tomatoes, broth, and all seasonings. Bring to a boil and then add rice. Reduce heat to low and simmer (covered). Cook chicken and sausage in separate pan/pot/skillet, whatever you choose. Once cooked through, add to Jambalaya and simmer for approx. 20-30 minutes, basically until rice is done.
Please note: I don't fully come up with these recipes myself. I find a few that I find interesting, combine them, and then usually change the spice proportions to what I like, or alter the ingredients (canned vs raw tomatoes for example) depending on what I have on hand. Please feel free to add, change, alter or do whatever you may please! I would also love some feedback and some suggestions on how I can improve my meals!! It's just a fun project for me, but I am always wanting to better myself.
Thanks for reading!!! I hope you enjoy these meals :) Photos will be posted soon!
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