Gumbo Ya-Ya

I'm a big fan of Cajun food.  Jambalaya, Etoufee, Craw fish (not really Cajun but prevalent in Cajun cooking), and of course Gumbo.  Ah Gumbo.  There are many different versions of the Gumbo.   Some have seafood, some have sausage, some even have turkey.   As a fan of soups, I decided a while ago to come up with my own version of a Gumbo to call my own.  I looked over many recipes and after making many different versions, I have come up with one that I make many times a year.  Whenever I make the Gumbo and serve it to family and friend, it's a huge hit.  I even tried recently to freeze a batch and have learned that it doesn't defrost well so make it, and eat it.  The good news with that is that the dish lasts about a week in the fridge.  

Here are the list of ingredients:

1 Cup Flour
1 Cup of Canola Oil
1 1/2 Cups Onion Finely diced
1 Cup Celery Finely diced
1 Cup Green Pepper Finely diced
1/2 tspn Kosher salt
1 lb. kielbasa cut into medium cubes ( you can substitute chorizo here if you would like)
1/4 tspn cayanne pepper
3 bay leaves
2 Quarts of Chicken Stock
1 lb. Chicken cut into medium cubes and mixed with seasoning below
1 lb. shrimp (51-60 size) peeled, deviened with the tails removed

Chicken seasoning:
2 Tbsp Paprika
2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
1 tspn Onion Powerder
1 tspn dried basil
1 tspn dried thyme
1 tspn dried oregano
1/2 tspn salt
1/2 tspn freshly ground pepper
1 tspn file powder (This is optional)

Before you start, this dish is for someone that doesn't mind lots of prep work and and a good long afternoon to make this dish.  But trust me, it will be worth it.

Get a cast iron dutch oven (or large pot) and set heat to medium heat.
Add flour and oil into pot and mix so it forms a roux.
Mix the roux often to prevent it from burning on the bottom.   This part will take time.  like 45 minutes time.  it's important to keep the temperature at medium otherwise all your work here in the beginning will be for naught.
When the roux reaches the color of chocolate it's done.

Now besides eating the Gumbo, this is my favorite part.  Add the Onion, Pepper, and Celery and mix with the roux.  When the veggies hit the roux it creates an wonderful steam that has a nutty smell that takes you away.
Cook up the mixture for about 5 minutes till the veggies are softened.
Add the salt, cayanne, and Kielbasa and mix so it's all mixed up and cover for 5 minutes.
Take top off and put it in the sink to clean because you won't be covering this dish anymore
Add Chicken stock and mix everything so that the veggie roux mixture gets thinned out.

Bring soup up to a simmer and simmer for 1 hour.
After an hour, mix up the soup and add the chicken that is mixed in with the seasonings.
Stir soup so all the pieces of chicken are separate and cook for another hour.
Stir soup after the hour and add the shrimp.  stir and cook another hour.
When Soup is reduced to the thickness you like, your done.
I like to add a large scoop of white rice on the bottom of the bowl and ladle the soup over the rice.

 Enjoy.