I must have read 50 recipes for gumbo online without coming across one that truly spoke to me. I concluded that there are as many versions of gumbo as there are people who make it, took what made sense to me from a variety of recipes (mostly helpful hints on how to make a dark roux, which I should have followed better) and came up with my own version of seafood gumbo - specifically shrimp and crab. Crab is not in season so I bought pasteurized from the refrigerated section of the supermarket, which worked fine here but I wouldn't make a habit of it...
Cooking the okra 2 different ways is my own invention, brought about because L. said that, though he liked the mucilage from the okra, he would prefer that I please not overdo it. Roasting part of the okra before adding it to the gumbo and adding fresh as well, cut down on the sliminess that many people dislike about the vegetable, but added just enough to contribute to thickening the stock in a proper gumbo-esque manner.
I know that celery is a must in this dish but I don't like it so didn't add any. And yes, I do know that gumbo is traditionally eaten with rice but a) I grew up in Japan and really only like Asian steamed rice and b) its my version of gumbo which is more like a chowder than a stew, which is how I see traditional gumbo. Feel free to add rice should you so desire.
1 8 oz can of premium lump crab
1 lb shrimp, shelled and cleaned
1 lb okra, cut into spirals, tops discarded
1 white onion, peeled and diced
1 Poblano pepper, finely diced
1 1/2 cups diced tomato + juice (canned is fine)
6 oz bacon (roughly half a package)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup flour
4-6 cups seafood stock (store bought is fine)
1/3 cup dry white wine
Salt to taste
Cook the bacon in a large stockpot over medium heat. As soon as the bacon is crispy, remove from the pan with tongs. Leave the bacon fat in the pan and add the vegetable oil. This will bring the oil ratio up to 1:1 with the flour which is what you want. If you don't eat bacon, then make this recipe with 1/2 cup of vegetable oil and 1/2 cup of flour.
As soon as the oil is shimmering, add the flour and stir very well to create a smooth paste. Lower the heat a bit and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is a deep, caramel brown and smells deliciously nutty. Hold your nerve - I panicked and could have let my roux get even browner than I did, though the flavor was good.
As soon as your roux is the color that you desire, and this can take up to 15 minutes of patience, add the diced onion and cook, stirring constantly so that your efforts don't burn until the onion is starting to turn translucent, a few minutes.
At this point in time preheat your oven to 400 and, as soon as it is ready, add 3/4 of your okra slices, spread in a single layer on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes and then set aside out of the oven until needed.
Add the wine and stir well: the mixture will instantly thicken into a paste and scare you if you are not expecting to end up with a huge clump of flour based flavorings. Immediately add the tomatoes and their juice, stir to combine, and then add a cup of the stock. Let it heat through and thicken, stirring often, and then add another cup of stock until you have reached the consistency of stock that you want. I used 4 cups of stock and then added an additional 1/2 cup towards the end because the okra thickened the stock further. Taste the thickened stock at this point and add salt if needed.
Add the Poblano pepper and the remaining raw okra. Stir to combine and let cook 5-7 minutes until the okra is soft but still holds its shape.
Add the shrimp, stir through and, as soon as the shrimp have turned pink on the outside, add the cooked okra and the crab. Cook for an additional couple of minutes until the last two ingredients have heated through and the shrimp is fully cooked. If needed, add a bit more stock to loosen the gumbo if it is too thick for your liking.
Right before serving, stir in the bacon (which I might replace with andouille sausage on my next gumbo attempt) and serve at once.