Most Gumbos start with a roux: flour and oil mixed together as a thickening base sauce.  For me, this is crazy - thickening should be decided last.  Also, the sauce takes on a weak pink color. This is improved Gumbo... (Peter)

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Three Meat Gumbo

Ingredients

1 pound chicken meat (chicken tenders work well)
1 pound shrimp
1 pound lean sausage (traditionally andouille sausage but I use a lean kielbasa or even a smoked turkey sausage)
1 cup white wine
2 tins diced tomato
2-3 large white onions
6-8 cloves garlic
1 1/2 cups sliced okra
1 red bell pepper chopped (capsicum)
1 cup celery chopped small
Pearl onions (1 bag frozen if available)
1 lemon, juiced
1 cup chopped Italian parsley
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons sambal oelek (or equivalent)
1/4 cup Worcester sauce
2 large beef bouillon cubes
3 tablespoons olive oil

Okra is defining in Gumbo - although a little mucilaginous, its inclusion is not negotiable.

Method

1. Cut chicken into slices and sauté in 1 tablespoon oil with some salt in a large soup pot.

2. Cut sausage into 1 cm triangular wedges and add to chicken and fry another coupla minutes.  Drain and set aside.

3. Pour a good splash of the oil into same pan and add sliced and chopped onions.  Slice and chop some onions fine and leave some a little coarse. Sauté a few minutes then add the garlic, crushed.  Cook a tad longer.

4. Pour white wine into pan.

5. Puree tomatoes roughly then add to onions in the pan. Tip in chicken and sausage.

6. Slice and dice pepper, and celery and add to pot.  Add beef bouillon cubes and add water as needed to ensure things can be agitated (but not so much that it becomes soup).

7. Add cayenne pepper, sambal oelek and lemon juice and cook for 8 minutes or so. Consider seasoning boost *.

8. Then introduce your okra (mind, it is a slimy vegetable), the pearl onions and shrimp.  Cook for another 5 minutes or so then check seasoning.

9. Add parsley and serve on rice.

* Seasoning boost

1T ground cumin
2t salt
2t paprika
1t dried oregano
1t garlic powder

1t ground coriander
1t onion powder
1t dry thyme
1/2t turmeric

Gumbo has become a traditional football season dish for us - perfect for cold autumn and winter weather. We first made it in 2009, I think, inspired when the New Orleans Saints were in (and then won) the Super Bowl.

Shrimp/prawns, chicken and sausage.

I prefer this sausage with three meats: pork, chicken and lamb.

"Okra", in the original Bantu, is "kingombo" - giving the dish its name.