WORLD FAMOUS GUMBO
I was in Mississippi all last week and boy was it heaven to my taste buds. If you guys don’t know me very well, my most favorite thing in the whole wide world is seafood, I crave scallops, shrimp, and crab on a daily basis. The Gulf coast of Mississippi has it all! Lump crab, Ruby red shrimp, crawfish! And the list goes on and on. We ate at a place called Mary Mahoney’s, an old French/Cajun restaurant that has WORLD FAMOUS GUMBO; I’m craving it right now! I searched for the top secret recipe for you guys and I FOUND IT, it’s below! Thank goodness seafood is weight watcher friendly! I made myself step on the scale this morning, I just knew all that buttery crab I had eaten HAD TO ATLEAST put 2 pounds on my thighs and to my surprise I was down a pound! I had to step off and then step on again just to make sure, because I did stuff myself full of seafood all week long! I was so happy and this makes me love seafood even more!I know this is a horrible shot of me, I have no clue why my eyes are doing that...but this just goes to show how happy I was with that gumbo in front of me!
Allie and I at Mary's :)
Mary’s Famous Seafood Gumbo Recipe (4 points per serving)
Don't Tell Anyone........
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons flour
5 tablespoons bacon drippings
2 onions, chopped fine
1 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1 small head garlic, chopped
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
6 cups water
1/2 tablespoon salt, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, or more to taste
2 pounds shrimp (fresh or frozen), peeled
2 pounds crab meat (fresh or frozen), picked over to remove shell or cartilage
1 (16-ounce) package frozen cut okra
1 pint oysters (optional)
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Instructions:
In an 8-quart stockpot, brown flour in bacon drippings over medium heat to make caramel-colored roux, stirring often for about 6 to 8 minutes. Be careful it doesn't scorch. Carefully add onions, celery and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, salt and pepper. Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 1 hour.
(Note: At this point you may divide the gumbo base, which will total about 12 cups. Continue cooking some with a proportional amount of the remaining ingredients, and refrigerate or freeze the rest of the base for another meal.)
To finish: Add fresh or frozen shrimp, fresh or frozen crab meat and frozen okra. Raise heat to bring back to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer an additional 20 minutes. (If using oysters, add them during last 5 minutes of cooking.) Add Worcestershire sauce, remove from heat and stir well. Serve over hot rice. --- Adapted from: "A Passion for People: The Story of Mary Mahoney and Her Old French House Restaurant"
Notes:
Like many restaurant recipes, this one feeds a crowd. Its 24 cups make 16 generous main-dish servings over hot rice or 24 or more first-course servings. While it can be halved easily, why not stretch your effort by making the base up to the point of adding seafood, then dividing it. Use part to continue with the recipe today and freeze the rest. All you'll have left to do is add the seafood and okra simmer 20 minutes, stir in Worcestershire and the gumbo's on. Be sure to offer Tabasco on the side for those who like it spicy.
ENJOY!
