Mamas Seafood Gumbo

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 onion, preferably Vidalia, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
• 4 cups water or shrimp stock (see below)
• 2 (6-ounce) cans tomato paste
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 pounds large shrimp (21/25 count), peeled and deveined
• 1 pound jumbo lump or lump crabmeat, picked over for cartilage
• Hot sauce, for seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon file powder (optional)
• Double recipe $20,000 Rice Pilaf (page 158), for accompaniment

1. In a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat.
2. Add the flour, stirring slowly and constantly, and cook to a medium-brown roux, about 30 minutes.
3. Add the onion and bell pepper and stir to combine.
4. Cook until the vegetables have wilted and are lightly golden, about 5 minutes.
5. Add the water and tomato paste and stir to combine.
6. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Bring to a boil over high heat.
8. Decrease the heat to low and cover.
9. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until flavorful and thickened, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
10. Add the shrimp and crabmeat and stir to combine.
11. Continue cooking over very low heat until the shrimp are cooked through, an additional 10 minutes.
12. Season with hot sauce and stir in the file powder, if using.
13. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper.
14. Serve with rice pilaf.
15. Seafood soup, stew, and gumbo all taste better when prepared with homemade stock as opposed to bottled clam juice, the favorite stand-in to freshly made stock.
16. When you peel the shrimp, save the shells (heads also, if you are fortunate enough to have them), and rinse with cold running water.
17. Place the shells in a pot and add enough water to cover.
18. Add a few fresh bay leaves, sprigs of parsley and thyme, a quartered onion, chopped carrot, and chopped celery, and bring to a boil.
19. Decrease the heat to low and simmer until fragrant and flavorful, about 30 minutes.
20. Strain the stock in a strainer layered with cheesecloth, discarding the solids.
21. If I dont need to make shrimp stock every time I peel shrimp, I save the shells for later in a sealable plastic bag in the freezer.
22. For fish stock, its the same principle, but use bones instead of shells.
23. Do not use oily or heavy fish such as mackerel, skate, mullet, or salmon; their flavor is too strong and heavy.
24. Use approximately 4 pounds of fish bones to 10 cups of water to make 8 cups of stock.

unsalted butter, allpurpose, onion, green bell pepper, water, tomato paste, salt, shrimp, lump, sauce, file powder, recipe

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/mama-s-seafood-gumbo-380362 (may not work)