Southern Comfort Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

One month ago, we left Chicago on a Californian adventure, with a stay in San Francisco before we migrated south along the coast. I cooked in different kitchens and made the most of the amazing produce that the Golden State has to offer, including the peaches in last weeks Peach Cobbler & Buttery Oatmeal Salted Pecan recipe.

While on vacation we find ways of making our pennies go further and avoiding restaurant fatigue by enjoying carpet picnic dinners in our hotel. I keep a trusty penknife for slicing up apples, cheese and baguette for al fresco park lunches in order to avoid the omnipresent “kids menu” touted in every restaurant.

After a month away, I’m happy to be back in my own kitchen with access to all my spices, pantry goodies and gadgets. My slow cooker was looking unloved so we celebrated our return with flavors of the South with Chicken and Smoked Sausage Gumbo – a comfort food classic.

I have fallen for the food of the South in a big way. Before we moved to the US my experience was limited to a sprinkling of Cajun spice here or a dash of Tabasco there. I was unfamiliar with shrimp ‘n’ grits and didn’t know a gumbo from a jambalaya. In my ignorance, I’d clearly been missing out. Following a Cast Iron and Crock Pot Cookery course at The Chopping Block in Chicago, I adapted a gumbo recipe for my slow cooker. I also referenced Jamie Oliver’s America  for his recipe.

* The chicken and sausage remain juicy and tender in the slow cooker, but if you like shrimp in your gumbo then stir them in 20 minutes from the end of the cooking time.

Preparation Time 20 minutes
Servings 4-6
Cooking Time 5 hours LOW

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1 ½ pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs
salt and pepper
½ pound spicy chicken  sausage (or smoked turkey sausage), sliced into ½ inch think rounds
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp butter
⅓ cup flour
3 cups chicken broth
1 ½ tbsp Cajun seasoning
2 tsp Herbes de Provence
pinch cayenne

In a skillet, heat the olive oil over a medium heat. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and place carefully into the hot oil. Saute for 3 minutes, turning as it browns.

Add the chopped sausage to the chicken and saute for a further minute. Remove from the skillet using a slotted spoon and place in the bottom of your slow cooker. Leave the remaining oil and fat in the bottom of the skillet.

Add the chopped vegetables and garlic to the skillet and saute for 2 minutes. Add the butter and when melted stir in the flour. This will look like a gritty paste.

Sprinkle the Cajun seasoning and Herbes de Provence over the vegetable mixture, then add the broth and stir to combine.

Stir this vegetable and broth mixture into the chicken and sausage already in your slow cooker. Turn to LOW and cook for 5 hours.

Serve over a bowl of warm, enriched white rice.

Zen Toolkit
If you have a long trip planned, save some energy in your home by switching off the automatic ice maker on your freezer.

Zen Moment
“There is a kind of magicness about going far away and then coming back all changed.” ― Kate Douglas Wiggin, New Chronicles of Rebecca