Pre Sanctified Wednesday and Seafood Gumbo

So tonight is always a rush of getting home, juggling dinner and getting to church on time. I made Seafood Gumbo two nights ago so it took off some of the heat and had a chance for the flavor to develope. Last night I made the usual Prosphora for the service too. So lets get started by making the roux. I guess this might be the toughest part since it has to watched every inute and stirred frequently. I made it Sunday night cause I was already in the kitchen cooking.

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup of oil

I used a fry pan and cooked it about 20-25 minutes til it was the color of peanut butter, maybe a bit darker. I kept in the fridge till I was ready to use it. I also made the seafood broth Sunday Night since I was peeling shrimps and used the reserved raw shells to make the broth along with a whole unpeeled onion, 2 carrots, 2 bay leaves and 3 stalks of celery. I strained the finished broth after seasoning it with salt and pepper to taste.
Making the gumbo:

Roux
Quart of Seafood Broth
1 medium onion, chopped
3 stalks celery diced
1 red pepper diced
2 T olive oil
6 cloves of garlic minced
1 pkg frozen okra, microwaved cooked
2 bay leaves
1 t Thyme
Squirt of Siriacha chili sauce
1/2 t cayenne
1 pound of cooked shrimp cleaned.
1 8 ounce package of flaked imitation crab (I felt cheap)

Saute the veggies in the oil till the onions are clear and add the garlic the last minute. Add the okra. Add a few heaping spoonfuls of the roux and when its all hot and bubbly, add the quart seafood broth. Throw in the bay leaves and thyme and allow a low simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Check the seasoning and add more roux if thickening is needed (I needed it thicker). I added the shrimps and imitation crab the last few minutes before serving.

I used the Tyler Florence recipe as a base. Not much for oysters around here so I used what we had. I did use 1 package of seafood flavoring from Swanson. I think it added a little depth. The whole dish was very tasty served over rice and had just a tiny bit of heat.

Photo from online.