DIY Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo

We've been making this dish for years and always love it! It's a super comfort dish for fall and winter. We change it up a bit each time we cook it but it's always awesome. If you like thick, rich, gumbo with a sense of heat, you'll love this recipe. We make it with Andouille sausage hand-made at the local Co-Op, organic boneless skinless chicken breasts and serve it over organic rice.

Serves: about 4 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 60 minutes

INGREDIENTS:
2 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
12 oz andouille sausage, cut into ¼” rounds
3 cups chicken broth
¾ cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 large yellow onion, coarse chopped
1 medium pasilla or poblano pepper, coarse chopped
6 stalks celery, sliced 1/" crosswise
6 cloves garlic, sliced thin
2 red or green jalapenos, seeded and coarse chopped
1 pinch red pepper flakes (varies for amount of heat you like)
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups regular long grain white rice
Salt to bring out flavors, fresh ground pepper to taste

PREPARATION:
1. Cut chicken into bite size pieces; cut sausage into ¼” rounds.
2. Combine flour, pepper and garlic powder in a 1 gallon plastic bag; add the chicken pieces and shake until coated. Reserve the excess flour for making the roux.
3. Chop the onions, peppers and celery and set aside. Slice the garlic and set aside.
4. Pour oil into a 5 ½ Q Dutch oven. Place oven over medium heat, add chicken and sauté until golden brown. Reserve chicken.
5. Add sausage to Dutch oven and cook until brown all over. Reserve sausage.
6. Add the vegetables and red pepper flakes and sauté for about 5 minutes while scraping the bits off the bottom of the oven with a wooden spatula. In the last minute, add the sliced garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Reserve the vegetable mixture.
7. Pour off all but about ½ cup of the oil in the Dutch oven. On medium heat, whisk in a little flour at a time, stirring constantly until you get a thick chocolate brown roux.
8. Place the Dutch oven on a simmer plate and slowly whisk the chicken broth into the roux over medium-low heat; then add the vegetables, chicken and sausage and simmer uncovered for about 45 minutes. Watch the liquid level and cover or add a little chicken stock if drying out too much. Sauce should be on the thick side.
9. About half way through the simmering, add the rice to 3 ½ cups boiling water and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

PLATING:
1. Place rice in warmed shallow bowl or deep plate.
2. Spoon gumbo onto rice.
3. Serve with salt, freshly ground pepper and your favorite hot sauce at table.

Try this if you're in the mood for some down home cookin'.

Bon appetit,
Tom and Anita

DIY Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo