Chicken and prawn gumbo

Preparation

Dice the onions. Dice the green pepper. Dice the celery sticks. Mince the garlic cloves. Skin and de-bone and cut into chunks the chicken thighs. Peel the King prawns. Chop the flat leaf parsley. Chop the fresh thyme.

Method

1. 1 Combine all the spice mix ingredients together.
2. 2 Prepare the sauce base. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over low to medium heat, before adding the flour.
3. 3 Cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring constantly – it should have a deep, nutty brown colour by the end of this process. This is your ‘roux’.
4. 4 Add the onion, pepper, celery, garlic and the spice mix to the roux.
5. 5 Cook altogether over a moderate heat for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables soften, stirring regularly.
6. 6 Add the chicken stock and water, combine well and bring the mix to the boil.
7. 7 Reduce the heat, and leave to simmer for 1 hour 30 mins, skimming the surface as needed.
8. 8 When the gumbo sauce is almost ready, in a separate, large saucepan or pot, heat up 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat and fry the chicken thighs until well caramelised/browned.
9. 9 Add the gumbo sauce to the pot with the chicken, and bring the whole mix to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for a further 10-15 mins, then add the prawns.
10. 10 Give the whole mix a gentle stir through, then remove from the heat. Stir in the chopped parsley last.
11. 11 Serve hot.