Kat's Chicken Breast Okra Andouille Gumbo
1 1/2 lb Nice fresh okra, chopped up
1 cup Chopped onion
1 cup Chopped celery
1 cup Chopped green pepper
1 lb Andouille sausage, chopped up
1 lb Chicken breasts, skinned, dredged in flour with salt & pepper, and
fried in oil or, use some pretty-good leftover fried chicken
Cayenne pepper
2 x -(up to)
3 x Cloves garlic, smashed & chopped fine
Olive oil
1 can (large) (about 7 cups) Swanson's chicken broth (of course home made is
even better, but Swanson's is fine)
All the amounts are extremely approximate
Method :
Uh, this is a little embarrassing but it isn't really a recipe.. I just kinda
make it up each time. But it usually goes about like this:
Heat up maybe 1/3 cup of good olive oil in a big iron pot, and add half of the
okra. Use plenty of heat, and stir CONSTANTLY for a long time, scraping it up if
it tries to stick, adding a little water if it really insists on sticking. Let
the stirring smash up the pieces of gumbo some.
When your arm is getting really tired, you'll see that the gumbo has yielded up
all its slime and turned into a big slimy grey wad of goo. Don't think too much
about what it looks like, but take it out of the pot and set it aside.
Clean out the pot, add some more oil, and fry up the onions, celery and pepper.
When they are soft, add the rest of the okra and the broth, and bring it to a
boil. Add the sausage, garlic and cayenne, and reduce to a simmer. Stir in the
okra goo.
Simmer about 35 minutes. While it's simmering, bone the chicken breasts and cut
into 1-inch cubes. Skim off all the fat that comes to the surface of the gumbo.
Check the seasoning. Then add the chicken and simmer another 10 minutes. Don't
overcook, it weakens the flavor. Serve over a little white rice, in soup bowls.