Gombo de Paris avec Saucisse, les Crevettes, et le Poulet 
Gumbo from Paris, with sausage, shrimp, and chicken

Gumbo is a post-Thanksgiving staple in my family, as it’s a great way to use up leftover meat for the turkey carcass for stock. True gumbo uses a dark roux that smells of lightly roasted coffee. Roux can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to a week, but take care with its preparation: if it has many black specks, it’s ruined, and you need to start over. Also, hot roux is known as “Cajun napalm” for the nasty burns it can cause, so be careful. Always use gloves when handling hot chilies; they can burn and irritate eyes and skin. Gumbo requires good stock; see Ted's on this site and use the leftover turkey carcass as the base.

roux
1 cup (250 ml) olive oil
1½ cups (375 ml) all- purpose flour
¾ pound (375 g) raw shrimp, shells reserved
3 quarts (3 l) brown chicken or turkey stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 bay leaves
4 ribs celery, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeds removed, chopped
1 pound (450 g) cooked chicken or turkey, cut into bite- sized pieces
1½ pounds (750 g) cooked andouille sausage, sliced
1 (28- ounce) can (about 800 g) peeled, seeded tomatoes
2 habanero peppers, minced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried
¾ pound (375 g) okra, thawed if frozen
2 cups chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon filé powder (optional)
1 to 2 lemons, juiced
Cayenne pepper or hot sauce, to taste
Cooked white rice

Prepare the roux
Preheat oven to 315°F/ 1 60°C. For the roux, combine olive oil and flour in an ovenproof sauté pan over medium heat. Stir constantly until the roux is light brown, with a nutty smell. Put into the oven and let cook undisturbed for the first hour. Then carefully stir everyhalf hour afterward until it’s a dark, almost chocolate brown. This will take from three to five hours. Set aside and let cool. This can be refrigerated for a week, and frozen in an airtight container for a month.

Start the gumbo
To start the gumbo, combine the shrimp shells with the stock and simmer while you prep everything. Heat the olive oil in an eight- to twelve- quart pot.
Cook the onions with the bay leaves over medium heat until translucent; then add the celery, carrots, and green bell pepper. When the vegetables soften, add the chicken, sausage, tomatoes, peppers, garlic, and thyme. Strain the stock and add. Stir in one third of the roux until it’s absorbed in the liquid. Keep adding roux a tablespoon at a time until the gumbo reaches the desired consistency.

Bring to a simmer and add the okra, parsley, shrimp, and filé powder, if using. Cook until the shrimp are bright pink and the gumbo thickens. Finally, stir in the lemon juice, add cayenne or hot sauce, and serve over hot rice.