Shrimp and Andouille Gumbo

Maybe it was my trip back home to NC for Brian and Jenna's wedding, but I really wanted to make gumbo tonight. So Shrimp and Andouille Sausage gumbo it was!

This is my first time making gumbo, so I followed the recipe from Epicurious pretty closely.
Here's what I used:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup flour
1 small onion, minced
1 small green bell pepper, minced
2 stalks celery, minced
1 quart chicken stock
2 bay leaves
1/2 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cut into 1/2 in dice
1/4 lb andouille sausage, casings removed and cut into bite size pieces
1/2 lb fresh okra (Whole Foods did not have fresh, so I used frozen, but it is NOT the same!)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper - I actually didn't have cayenne, but thought I did, so I subbed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 cups cooked white rice

First, make the roux - rule of thumb for a roux is the longer you cook it the better. Add the oil to a heavy saucepan (about a 3-4 qt pot) and heat it up til it is pretty hot. Slowly whisk in the flour, stirring constantly.  Once the flour is incorporated, turn it down to low, and continue to stir the roux until it turns dark, thick, and aromatic. The longer you have to cook it, the better. I did mine for about 15-20 minutes and here is how it started...

 And how it turned out...

I gave up around 15-20 minutes, but if you cook it even longer, it will continue to deepen in color and flavor.  After you have the roux to your liking, add the pepper, onion, and celery dice. Cook the vegetables for 2 minutes until they are softened and then slowly whisk in the chicken stock.

Let this cook for another 15 minutes or so until it thickens up.  Make sure to stir frequently so that it doesn't stick to the bottom and burn.
Then add the shrimp, sausage, okra, and bay leaves.

Fresh okra becomes very gummy/sticky, which gives gumbo its consistency. You can also use File powder to do the thickening, but I really like okra. The frozen got a bit stringy, but it did the trick in thickening up the gumbo.
After about 15 minutes, remove the bay leaves and add the cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, and I added a pinch of dried thyme. Stir all together and serve over the rice.

The gumbo was delicious. I would probably add a bit more salt next time, but I loved it and the hubby had 2 huge portions.  This makes 4 servings, and my mom's gumbo freezes really well, so I imagine this would, too! You could also make it with chicken or I think adding crab meat would be really good. Enjoy!