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1) Dice up your veggies nice and fine.
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Mince the cloves of garlic.
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2) In a large pot, heat up oil over low-medium heat.
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Add flour.
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Immediately attack with a whisk until combined.
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Raise heat slightly and begin whisking constantly.
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Youre make a roux and we want a nice dark Cajun one.
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Dark is one step below burnt so be careful.
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Play around with the heat if you need to, but do not go above medium.
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After 20-30 minutes, you should have a smelly goopy substance that has about the same color as a brown paper bag.
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3) Toss in your veggies.
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Stir and saute until soft 5-10 minutes maybe.
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4) Toss in your spices.
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Stir to combine.
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Ive kept the spices very generic because everyone seems to like different amounts.
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Keep your stock of them close by to season to your personal tastes.
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5) Pour in water.
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You can also use stock, if you prefer, but Ive never noticed a big difference by the time the gumbo is finished.
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The roux will flavor (and overpower) the mild tastes of the stock.
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6) Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
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Simmer for 2-3 hours or until the liquid is reduced and colored the same as the roux and no longer tastes like veggie-water.
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Note: Right now, it all tastes like veggie-water.
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Do not panic.
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The flavors havent had enough time to do anything yet.
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Just keep tasting and eventually you will start enjoying it.
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Thats when you know youre about done.
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7) At 10-15 minutes before you want to serve, toss in your shrimp and crab.
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Make sure you remove the tails from the shrimp (if they have them).
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I also like to chop my shrimp in half for easier eating.
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When done, the shrimp will be nice and pink.
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8) Serve.
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Note, that a proper gumbo is not served over rice like an Italian dish over noodles.
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A good gumbo bowl is shallow and wide, with a tiny bed of rice at the bottom and a big ladle of the good stuff over it it should really look like soup.
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Per Cajun traditions, anyone who finds a hard inedible object in their bowl (shrimp shell, crab shell, small plastic baby) wins and gets to make the next batch.
