Seafood Gumbo

Preparation

1. Peel the prawns, keep the heads and shells, and chill the meat. For the stock, heat the oil in a large pot, toast the shells in it for 2 to 3 minutes until pink and crush them with a spoon so they release their juices.
2. Add the vegetable trimmings, spring onion, parsley, thyme, garlic, bay leaf, pepper and the water, bring to the boil and simmer over a low heat for 30 to 35 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve; you should have about 1.5 litres of stock left.
3. Mix all the ingredients for the Creole seasoning in a bowl.
4. Heat 4 tbsp oil in a large, heavy pot and fry the okra for about 2 minutes until dark green. Lift out with a slotted spoon onto kitchen paper and leave the oil in the pot.
5. Add the remaining 2 tbsp oil to the pot and heat without letting it smoke. Stir in the flour and toast, stirring constantly, for 5 to 6 minutes until the roux is as dark as cocoa. If it browns too quickly, pull the pot off the heat and lower the heat.
6. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onion, pepper, celery and 2 tbsp of the Creole seasoning and sweat for 2 to 3 minutes until soft. Stir in the garlic, bay leaves and the remaining seasoning.
7. Stir in the stock in portions of about 500 ml at a time, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Add the okra, sausage, crab claws, thyme and Worcestershire sauce, bring to the boil and simmer uncovered over a low heat for about 1 hour, skimming off the foam. The gumbo should thicken and reduce.
8. Season with salt and pepper, add the raw prawns, take the pot off the heat, cover and let them cook in the residual heat for 10 minutes.
9. Meanwhile cook the rice according to the packet instructions. Ladle the gumbo over the rice and serve with parsley, spring onions and, if you like, filé powder.

Drink with it

• Pale lager · excellent match

  Pale lager or Pilsner, ice cold

  Cold and carbonation temper the cayenne heat, and the malt sweetness picks up the roasted notes of the dark roux. The usual drink with gumbo in Louisiana.

  Pils or Helles: What's the Difference? ↗

• White wine · excellent match

  Riesling or Chenin Blanc, off-dry

  Residual sugar and low alcohol tame the heat, and the acidity cuts through the fatty smoked sausage and lets the prawns come through.

  Which wine pairs with food? A simple approach to choosing ↗

• Rosé · good match

  Dry rosé from the south of France, well chilled

  Red fruit and fresh acidity carry the prawn and pepper without competing with the robust roux.

• Smoky whisky · good match

  Smoky whisky as a highball with plenty of soda and ice

  The smoke meets the smoked sausage and the dark roux; soda and ice dilute the alcohol, which would otherwise make the cayenne even hotter.

  Why Does Whisky Taste Smoky? Peat, Simply Explained ↗