Shreveport Chicken and Shrimp Gumbo

We found a great Gumbo recipe from one of those magazine type cookbooks you find at the grocery store check-out, and we've tweaked it a little to create this delicious dish.

• Ready In: 2 hrs 15 mins
• Serves: 8
• Yields: 12 cups

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons flour
• 2  tablespoons  oil
• 1  cup  chopped yellow onion
• 1⁄3 cup  sliced green onion
• 1⁄2 cup  chopped green pepper
• 1⁄4 cup  chopped celery
• 2  tablespoons  minced garlic
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 3  cups chicken broth
• 2  cups  of spicy v-8  vegetable juice
• 1⁄4 teaspoon  crushed thyme
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2  bay leaves
• 28  ounces whole tomatoes, cut up with juice (undrained)
• 16  ounces frozen okra
• 1 1⁄2 lbs medium shrimp, deveined and shelled
• 2  cups chicken, cooked and cut into 3/4 inch pieces
• 1⁄2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• 4  cups cooked rice
• 2  teaspoons  gumbo file powder (ground Sassafras leaves)

Directions

1. Combine flour and oil in a large pot or a 5 quart Dutch oven. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until a dark reddish-brown roux forms in 20 - 30 minutes.
2. Remove from the heat and immediately add the onions, green onions, green peppers, celery, and garlic. Stir well and return to heat and stir frequently for 8 - 10 minutes until vegetables are tender.
3. Add chicken broth, V-8, salt, thyme, bay leaves, cayenne pepper, tomatoes, and okra. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for an hour, stirring periodically.
4. Stir in chicken and shrimp and remove bay leaves. Simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Serve 1 1/2 cups of gumbo over 1/2 cup of rice. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon of file powder to each bowl and Tabasco to taste.