Real Food, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, IBD-AID (Phase III: sub compliant flour for arrowroot), Paleo, Whole30
The year that my husband and I were married, I decided to look for a food tradition that we could keep for all of our Christmas Eves together. My husband is a pastor, so Christmas Eve is a work day for him. On top of that, we live far from family, so Christmas Eve is always a quiet evening for us, aside from our time at church. I needed something that would fit our quiet, but busy Christmas Eve lifestyle.
I decided that a soup would be perfect for us because I could prep it before church and easily reheat it after services. I’m from the south. Coastal south. When I ran across a recipe for Sweet Potato Gumbo in an old Southern Living Christmas cookbook, I knew that was it. The one.
Since I first made Sweet Potato Gumbo nine years ago, I have changed the recipe to fit our developing nutritional needs. The original recipe actually called for a can of Campbell’s Gumbo Soup to be dumped in. (Yuck!) The recipe I use now is made up of real, nutrient dense food, organically sourced and prepped from scratch, including homemade chicken broth.
I hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. I only make it once a year to keep it special for us. (It can also be pretty labor intensive compared to my other recipes.) My husband loves this hearty, flavorful soup. I hope that your family enjoys it as much as we do. Find your own special occasion, or make it just because. Either way, make it with love. Chop, peel, and heal, friends!
Sweet Potato Gumbo
Notes
(As written, this recipe is WHOLE30 compliant, and AIP friendly if you omit the tomatoes. I may adapt it next year to be SCD friendly as well. I’ll post an updated version then.)
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp. Olive Oil, divided
- Four Vine Ripe Tomatoes, chopped
- 1/4 c. Water
- Six Stalks Celery, sliced thin
- Six Large Garlic Cloves, smashed and diced
- 2 Tbsp. Arrowroot
- 8 c. Chicken Broth
- 2 Bay Leaves
- Two Large Onions, rough chopped
- Three Medium Sweet Potatoes, chopped into 1/2 in. cubes
- 1/2 lb. Okra, sliced
- Link Sausage, sliced thin (We like Pederson’s Sugar Free)
- 1 lb. Wild Caught Shrimp
- Salt to Taste
Instructions
- Turn oven to 425.
- Pour 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil into dutch oven. Chop tomatoes and add into dutch oven. Cook over medium heat, adding 1/4 cup water. Reduce until the tomatoes release all liquid and the mixture thickens a bit.
- While that is cooking, chop the celery and garlic. Set aside, separately.
- Chop sausage and begin browning in a separate pan. Set aside when done.
- Chop onions and sweet potatoes. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Add 1 Tbsp. olive oil and a healthy pinch of salt. Toss and spread flat on the pan. Roast for 30-35 minutes, until sweet potatoes have begun to brown.
- When the tomatoes are done, dump them into a bowl.
- Add 1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil back into the dutch oven. Add the celery and cook until nearly translucent, then add the garlic.
- When the garlic is fragrant, add the arrowroot and stir constantly with a whisk. Continue to stir as the roux darkens. I will sometimes stir for up to ten minutes. If the mixture is too clumpy, add a bit more oil.
- Once the roux has darkened a bit, add the tomatoes back in, while still stirring to incorporate the roux.
- Add the chicken broth.
- Add the bay leaves.
- Add the okra. Bring to a boil and reduce to a low simmer for 30 minutes.
- After simmering, add the washed, cleaned, de-tailed shrimp. Once the shrimp are cooked, turn the heat way down, or they will get rubbery.
- Add the roasted sweet potatoes and onions.
- Add the cooked, browned sausage.
- Salt to taste.
- Pull out the bay leaves.
- Serve over rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice. Also good on it’s own.
Tomatoes in progress:
Roux in progress:
Broth:
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.