• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Casa Bouquet

let your joy bloom

  • Home
  • About
  • Culture
  • Home-making
  • Education
  • Travel
  • Style
  • Series
You are here: Home / Home-making / Shrimp gumbo for Mardi Gras – okra, shrimp, filé

Shrimp gumbo for Mardi Gras – okra, shrimp, filé

January 5, 2018 by Lisa Grable 21 Comments

It’s time to start celebrating Mardi Gras, so here is my shrimp gumbo recipe! With the New Year, it’s fun for me to reflect on how far I’ve come with Casa Bouquet and share 2017 year in review. I’m sharing some of the top posts for 2017. I am so grateful for my readers and the community of bloggers. Shrimp gumbo, a Louisiana classic soup served with rice. Shrimp, okra, and gumbo file provide flavor, and you can add more seafood and chicken - tasty!

Hurricane cocktail was the top post of the year. The main ingredient is passion fruit juice! This is so versatile – you can make up a pitcher of the juices to serve a crowd. It’s delicious from the pitcher or with dark rum added!

Hurricane cocktail is a fruity passion fruit and rum drink. Invented in New Orleans, it's a great Mardi Gras libation!

Two servings

The plastic cup chicken sound experiment is a fun craft activity for kids, looks like a joke, and is a great way to learn about sound and how musical instruments work.Plastic cup chicken sound activity uses a cup, string, and sponge to make crazy music. Kids learn sound and vibration.

Rodan + Fields eyelash booster by Brianne Monroe was the top guest post this year. Brianne has a knack for explaining how beauty products work in real life. I want to thank my other guest posters too: Amy Overbay, Michelle Benigno, Suzy Barile and Katie Park Taylor.Rodan + Fields Lash Boost review explains how it works and the eye beauty benefits. Lash Boost is a conditioning serum that enhances lashes and brows.

I’ve been so blessed this year to find a group of wonderful women to dance hula with regularly. So it makes me happy that my top post on Hawaii for 2017 was on hula culture, art, and practice.

Hula is an ancient Hawaiian cultural practice. Today hula is often viewed as a dance art form by non-Hawaiians, but hula culture has many layers of cultural significance.

The Dalire sisters dance together at Merrie Monarch 2013.

Holiday in Mexico was part of my Latin flavor film festival. Xavier Cugat leads his band with the help of his tiny chihuahua and Jane Powell and Roddy McDowell have a fun mid-century teen romance.Xavier Cugat leads his Cuban band with his tiny chihuahua in his pocket. Jane Powell is spunky bobbysocker with a powerhouse voice. Lisa's Home Bijou: Holiday in Mexico (1946)

The school spirit baby bib is one of my favorites. It was so fun to coordinate fabrics to make my little grandson look like he was wearing his grandfather’s game day shirt and tie.Sewing a school spirit baby bib is a quick diy project that dresses up baby while keeping mealtime neater. Baby bib with necktie uses 3 fabric colors.

And here is another favorite, just in time for Mardi Gras season – shrimp gumbo, one of my favorite foods for Mardi Gras season. Gumbo is a famous type of stew or soup, made with any kind of seafood and sometimes chicken. Shrimp gumbo has a unique taste from the okra and filé. Filé is ground sassafras leaves! Shrimp and okra are plentiful in the summer too!

You will need a sharp knife, a large pot, big spoon, foil, and a baking pan for shrimp gumbo. (My pot is 8 quarts).gumbo-ingredients-2

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cover the baking pan with foil, dull side up. Carefully spread the flour thinly over the baking pan.gumbo-flour

Place on the middle rack of the oven to toast the flour. Stir occasionally. After 30 min. the flour should be a tan color.

Dice the bell peppers and banana peppers into half inch squares. Mince the garlic. Louisiana has its own version of mirepoix called Holy Trinity. It is a chopped mixture of onion, celery, and bell pepper. If you decide to go this route, I suggest taking it easy with the onion and perhaps only use 2 slices of onion so as to not make the taste too prevalent.

Cut the tops off the okra and discard. Slice the okra into ½ inch slices.gumbo-okra

Heat the pan to medium (I put a generous pat of butter in the pan – when it melts I know it’s hot.) Add the olive oil and immediately add the toasted flour. Stir together to make a roux. Cook and stir until smooth and the color of an old penny. This should take about 5 minutes.gumbo-roux

Add the peppers, okra, and garlic. Cook and stir until the peppers lose their crispness.

Add beer and chicken broth. Add bay leaf, Cajun/Creole seasoning, and Pickapeppa sauce.

gumbo-beer
gumbo-file-bay

Bring to a boil, lower the heat to simmer. Cover and cook for about an hour (longer if you want the okra to really fall apart).gumbo-simmer

Add shrimp and cook for 10 more minutes. Add the gumbo filé powder. Remove bay leaf.gumbo-shrimp

Mound rice into a bowl and serve gumbo on top. Serves 6. Serve with French baguette and put some gumbo filé and hot sauce on the table!Shrimp gumbo, a Louisiana classic soup served with rice. Shrimp, okra, and gumbo file provide flavor, and you can add more seafood and chicken - tasty!

Tips: 1) Roux, okra, and filé are all thickening agents. You can get away with leaving either the okra or the filé out. 2) To defrost frozen cooked shrimp: Place shrimp in a bowl of cold tap water for 20 minutes. Pour into a colander and rinse. 3) This shrimp gumbo tastes fine with the addition of other seafoods (fish fillet, oysters, crabmeat), chicken, or even sausage. 4) You can make roux the traditional way by adding flour to oil in a hot pan. You will need to cook and stir for about 20 minutes.

Print
Shrimp gumbo for Mardi Gras – okra, shrimp, filé
Rate this recipe
0 ratings

30 minutes

60 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Author: Lisa Leonor Grable

6 servings

Calories per serving: 2362 cal, 393 per serving

Fat per serving: 126 g

Saturated fat per serving: 21 g

Carbs per serving: 179 g

Protein per serving: 119 g

Fiber per serving: 21 g

Sugar per serving: 1 g

Sodium per serving: 11063 mg

Shrimp gumbo for Mardi Gras – okra, shrimp, filé

Shrimp gumbo, a Louisiana classic soup served with rice. Shrimp, okra, and gumbo file provide flavor, and you can add more seafood and chicken - tasty!

Ingredients

  • ½ cup flour
  • 1 pat butter
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 1 tsp minced dried onion (or two slice fresh onion)
  • 1 cup diced bell pepper
  • ½ cup diced banana pepper (or celery if preferred)
  • 1 ½ cups okra, sliced into ½ inch rounds
  • ¾ cup amber or dark beer (I use Blackened Voodoo)
  • 3 cups chicken broth (use shrimp stock if preferred)
  • 1 tbsp gumbo filé powder
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 tsp Pickapeppa sauce (or Worcestershire sauce)
  • 4 tsp Cajun/Creole seasoning, or more to taste (I use Tony Cachere)
  • 24 oz shrimp, peeled, deveined, tail off
  • 2 cups hot cooked brown rice

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cover the baking pan with foil, dull side up. Carefully spread the flour thinly over the baking pan.
  2. Place on the middle rack of the oven to toast the flour. Stir occasionally. After 30 min. the flour should be a tan color.
  3. Dice the bell peppers and banana peppers into half inch squares. Mince the garlic. Louisiana has its own version of mirepoix called Holy Trinity. It is a chopped mixture of onion, celery, and bell pepper. If you decide to go this route, I suggest taking it easy with the onion and perhaps only use 2 slices of onion so as to not make the taste too prevalent.
  4. Cut the tops off the okra and discard. Slice the okra into ½ inch slices.
  5. Heat the pan to medium (I put a generous pat of butter in the pan to melt to tell me when it’s hot.) Add the olive oil and immediately add the toasted flour. Stir together to make a roux. Cook and stir until smooth and the color of an old penny. This should take about 5 minutes.
  6. Add the peppers, okra, and garlic. Cook and stir until the peppers lose their crispness.
  7. Add beer and chicken broth. Add bay leaf, Cajun/Creole seasoning, and Pickapeppa sauce.
  8. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to simmer. Cover and cook for about an hour (longer if you want the okra to really fall apart).
  9. Add shrimp and cook for 10 more minutes. Add the gumbo filé powder. Remove bay leaf.
  10. Mound rice into a bowl and serve gumbo on top. Serves 6. Serve with French baguette and put some gumbo filé and hot sauce on the table!

Notes

Tips: 1) Roux, okra, and filé are all thickening agents. You can get away with leaving either the okra or the filé out. 2) To defrost frozen cooked shrimp: Place shrimp in a bowl of cold tap water for 20 minutes. Pour into a colander and rinse. 3) This shrimp gumbo tastes fine with the addition of other seafoods (fish fillet, oysters, crabmeat), chicken, or even sausage. 4) You can make roux the traditional way by adding flour to oil in a hot pan. You will need to cook and stir for about 20 minutes.

Recipe Management Powered by Zip Recipes Plugin
5.0
https://casabouquet.com/shrimp-gumbo-mardi-gras-okra-shrimp-file/
Author: Lisa Leonor Grable at Casa Bouquet. All rights reserved.

Nutrition facts for shrimp gumbo

1 recipe is 2362 calories. Makes 6 servings at 394 cal. These nutrition numbers depend on ingredients used.nutrition-gumbo

Resource links

  • http://www.realcajunrecipes.com/recipe/oven-made-roux/
    • Oven made roux from Real Cajun Recipes
  • http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/09/history-new-orleans-gumbo-okra-file-powder.html
    • Gumbo, okra, and file from Serious Eats
  • http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/mgdates.html
    • Mardi Gras dates from Mardi Gras New Orleans

Let’s talk story

The Three Kings arrive on January 6, the Twelfth Day of Christmas. That is the start of Mardi Gras season, which lasts until the day before Ash Wednesday, Fat Tuesday. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the Lent fasting season, so traditionally people would use up all their fats on Tuesday by feasting. Mardi Gras season is a time for friends and family and good food.

mardigras_50s

Me and my Papa in New Orleans

Mardi Gras party menu

Hurricanes, Abita and Dixie beer, jambalaya, red beans and rice, muffuletta sliders, remoulade with baguettes, ham, and cheese, King cake. Download a free printable for your Mardi Gras table!

I’ll be looking for comments below, or contact me at lisa [at] casabouquet[dot]com.

plumeria bar

Affiliate links: if you make a purchase using these links, I’ll receive a small compensation towards maintaining this blog, at no extra cost to you.

Related posts

Muffuletta sliders Hurricane cocktail Red beans and rice
Share this post:
error
fb-share-icon
Tweet
fb-share-icon

Filed Under: Home-making Tagged With: 2017 year in review, Cajun gumbo, chicken sound cup, classic films, cute baby bibs, dance, filé, Hawaiian culture, hula, hurricane cocktail, lash boost, Mardi Gras, New Orleans, okra, passion fruit, recipe, rodan + fields, roux, seafood gumbo, shrimp, sound experiment, squawking chicken

Previous Post: « Barefoot Beach Café Waikiki casual Hawaiian plates
Next Post: Fun yarn lei 1-straw diy craft »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jodie

    January 16, 2018 at 8:16 am

    We love gumbo = family favorite!
    Thank you for joining us at last week’s Reader Tip Tuesday – we hope to see you at this week’s party. xo
    http://www.jodiefitz.com/2018/01/16/reader-tip-tuesday-weeks-craft-recipe-party-14-2-2-2-2-2-2-2/

    Reply
    • Lisa Grable

      January 16, 2018 at 2:46 pm

      Hey Jodie, Glad you all like gumbo. I enjoy joining Reader Tip Tuesday.

      Reply
  2. marilyn1998

    January 15, 2018 at 3:14 pm

    Congratulations! Your post was my feature pick at #OverTheMoon this week. Each Hostess displays their own features so be sure to visit me on Sunday evening and to see your feature! I invite you to leave more links to be shared and commented upon. Please don’t forget to add your link numbers or post title so we can be sure to visit!

    Reply
    • Lisa Grable

      January 15, 2018 at 3:37 pm

      Hey Marilyn, Thank you so much for featuring my shrimp gumbo at the Over The Moon party. I’m really glad you liked my version of this classic Louisiana recipe!

      Reply
  3. Emmi @ Emmi's Cookinside.blog

    January 15, 2018 at 11:00 am

    I’ve never tried gumbo and I think it’s time for it! So mouthwatering…yummy!

    Reply
    • Lisa Grable

      January 15, 2018 at 3:34 pm

      Hey Emmi, Thanks for visiting. Let me know how your gumbo turns out. It’s a flavor like no other!

      Reply
  4. Christina A.

    January 12, 2018 at 11:30 pm

    Super yum! I just love Cajun flavors and dishes!

    Reply
    • Lisa Grable

      January 14, 2018 at 11:55 am

      Hey Christina, Thanks so much for visiting. I hope you get a chance to try making this gumbo.

      Reply
  5. rsbrandt44

    January 12, 2018 at 9:08 pm

    Oops – By way, love those crazy old MGM musicals with Cugat!

    Reply
    • Lisa Grable

      January 14, 2018 at 12:00 pm

      Hey, thanks for stopping by! I always like to find fellow movie lovers. I wish Netflix would show more of these classics! I’m glad you approve of the gumbo! I bet you get better shrimp than I get.

      Reply
  6. rsbrandt44

    January 12, 2018 at 9:07 pm

    I live on the Gulf Coast so it takes a lot for gumbo to impress me but boy this does look like it does the trick. By the way, lov

    Reply
  7. Betsy Barnes

    January 12, 2018 at 4:44 pm

    I love this recipe! I see you use Tony Cachere Cajun/Creole seasoning, we use it in everything, it’s the best!

    Reply
    • Lisa Grable

      January 14, 2018 at 11:47 am

      Hey Betsy, I’m glad to find a fellow Tony Cachere fan. We’ve started using it on our deviled eggs, and it’s fabulous!

      Reply
  8. Danielle S

    January 12, 2018 at 10:15 am

    The recipe sounds good, and so does the movie. I’m going to have to watch Holiday in Mexico. I love classic movies.

    Reply
    • Lisa Grable

      January 12, 2018 at 11:37 am

      Hey Danielle, Thanks for stopping by. I hope you try more of my classic movie film festivals! They are under my Culture tab.

      Reply
  9. Rusty H

    January 12, 2018 at 9:54 am

    I love gumbo..!! I look forward to giving this recipe a try. Fun fact: Did you know that gumbo literally means okra?

    Reply
    • Lisa Grable

      January 12, 2018 at 11:35 am

      Hey Rusty, Let me know how your gumbo turns out!

      Reply
  10. Debbie Welchert

    January 12, 2018 at 9:34 am

    I’ve never had gumbo before and boy does it look and sound delicious. I know my husband would like it too. I’m going to have to try the Hurricane Cocktail as well.

    Reply
    • Lisa Grable

      January 12, 2018 at 11:34 am

      Hey Debbie, Gumbo takes some time to make, but it is really worth it! I think it’s interesting that it uses ingredients that would be good in the summer, but it is so satisfying and home-y in the winter months. And the beauty of the Hurricane is that it is delicious without alcohol too!

      Reply
  11. Laura

    August 22, 2017 at 9:47 am

    This Lousisana girl loves this post! It made me smile.

    Reply
    • Lisa Grable

      August 22, 2017 at 1:27 pm

      Hey Laura, I’m glad you like it! Shrimp and okra are so easy to get right now, I’m thinking this is a good weekend dish!

      Reply

What are your thoughts? Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Hey, I’m Lisa

Lisa Grable, Casa BouquetI’m an educator, grandmother, classic movie fan, sewer and crafter, and I love Hawaii. Read more about me …

Subscribe for email updates

Don't miss a post! Receive an email when new posts are published. Get freebies!

Please follow & like us :)

Facebook
Facebook
fb-share-icon
Pinterest
Pinterest
fb-share-icon
Instagram
Follow by Email
RSS

Cottage & Bungalow giveaway 01.16 – 02.16.2021

cottage and bungalow giveaway sidebar image

Amazon

The Radiant One: A Story of Life, Loss & Legacy by Kauʻi Dalire

#thatsmykumu Kumu Kau’i Dalire has released her first book. From a family with 8 generations of hula legacy, she won Merrie Monarch’s Miss Aloha Hula and is a fierce mom, songwriter, athlete, world traveler, and entrepreneur. Read about finding strength after heartbreaking loss, fueled by hula and family.Dalire book The Radiant One

More posts in Home-making

mrs. beetonʻs book of household management

Recent Posts

piecrust coconut cookies

Coconut piecrust

Stay toasty giveaway

Stay toasty giveaway 02.20 – 03.20.21

Use muffuletta ingredients to make a savory cheese dip or spread. Flavors include cheddar and Italian olive salad. Similar to pimento cheese, muffuletta cheese dip is delicious on crackers, crisps, or bread.

Muffuletta cheese dip savory party Cheddar spread

Red beans and rice is a hearty, comforting Louisiana dish, perfect for Mardi Gras season. Smoked sausage and Cajun seasonings add flavor.

Red beans and rice for Mardi Gras

Posts by Category

Casa Bouquet parties

Over the Moon

Lou Lou Girls Fabulous Party
Wonderful Wednesday
Thursday Favorite Things

Featured series

Casa Bouquet pie recipes series.
College planning posts for middle and high school students. Download free checklist, cost calculation, and career interest worksheets. Resource links!

Copyright © 2021 · Foodie Pro & The Genesis Framework · Design by Stephanie Jones