Seafood gumbo recipe for Thanksgiving

4 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons flour
3 sweet onions finely chopped
2 green peppers finely chopped
6 stalks celery finely chopped
2 28 ounce cans whole tomatoes
1 bag frozen cut okra
2-4 lbs peeled and de-veined shrimp
1-2 lbs lump crabmeat
1-2 lbs raw oysters (optional)
1-2 teaspoons salt to taste
pepper to taste or red pepper to taste
1 lb crab claws as a topping (optional)

Start with the roux, mix the equal parts of oil and flour in a mircosafe bowl . I sometimes cook extra roux in case I want to add extra later if I don’t feel it is thick enough.I start by microwaving the mixture for 3 minutes and stir then continue microwaving at 30 sec to 1 minute intervals until the roux is almost a chocolate brown. Be careful not to burn yourself or burn the roux. If you wish you can finish the roux in a heavy skillet. This is slower but safer.
After you brown the roux add to a skillet then add chopped vegetables, onion, celery, bell pepper and cook until tender.
In a separate large soup pot add can tomatoes, 2 quarts chicken broth, 1 quart water and okra and bring to a boil. Cook until tomatoes have broken down approximately 20 minutes. Turn temp down to medium .
Add liquid 1 cup at a time to roux stirring constantly. Then add roux to soup pot . Start to add seafood in small amounts but save oysters until the last 20 minutes. Add about 1\4 of your total seafood and cook for at least 1 hour. I like to see my seafood and I don’t like my shrimp chewy so I add most of my seafood about 20 minutes before serving. I add crab claws about 5 minutes before serving and try to place them on the top of the bowl for looks. I hope you can find fresh seafood . Serve over rice in a soup bowl . Enjoy!
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