Your Cooking Coach
Show MenuHide Menu

Tag: comfort food

Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo

Gumbo

  • 1 pound jumbo shrimp, cleaned
  • 2 teaspoons bay seasoning
  • Salt
  • 1 pound andouille sausage, casing taken off

Sprinkle the bay seasoning and salt on the shrimp and keep in refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours.

  • ¼ cup extra light olive oil
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • ½ large green pepper, chopped
  • 1 celery stalk, chopped
  • 3 to 4 fresh thyme sprigs
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ cup white wine
  • 2 cups tomato sauce
  • 1½ cups chicken broth
  • 2 cups fresh or frozen okra
  • Salt
  • ½ cup parsley, chopped

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the flour and cook on medium heat to create a brownish red roux- it should take about 6 to 7 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, green pepper, celery, thyme and bay. Saute on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add the white wine, tomato sauce and chicken broth. Add the okra and sausage. Break the sausage with the back of spatula. Bring to a boil and lower the heat. Place the cover and cook for 20 minutes. Take the lid off and cook for another ten minutes. Check for seasonings. Add the shrimp and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes. Garnish with parsley and serve with rice.

Minted Masoor Dal

I love simple lentil dishes. It reminds me of home- comfort food. I like using the pink lentils the most as they cook really fast and are delicious. I served these lentils with the cauliflower in the past. This is a perfect complement to the veggies as the lentils provide a good amount of protein without cooking any meat- if you don’t want to. I recently decided to go vegan twice a week. Mondays and Tuesdays are my day to stay away from meat and all meat products. I certainly don’t want to give up any kind of food, but I think reducing the amount of meat we eat is a great idea. The good thing is that Indian food lends itself to a vegan lifestyle. If you are not eating vegan, by all means use butter or ghee to finish off the dish- it brings a whole lot of nutty flavor to the lentils and makes them delicious. The other important ingredient in this dish is dried mint. You must try this dish- it is one of my favorite…

  • 1 cup masoor dal
  • 3 cups water
  • 3 garlic cloves, mashed
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • Salt
  • 2 teaspoons dried mint
  • 2 teaspoons oil, ghee or butter

Add the dal, water, garlic, turmeric and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or till the lentils are soft. Add the dried mint and oil/ghee. Cook till it reaches desired consistency. Check for seasonings and serve with rice.