Cajun Recipes: Chicken and Corn Gumbo

Cajun recipes...yum!

Gumbo is one of the signature Cajun recipes and a favorite Southern food, and it can be made with chicken, sausage, and/or shrimp. This is a wonderful gumbo recipe that includes corn, one of my favorite foods. Some people prefer a soup-like gumbo, while others like a thick gumbo. Also, while some cooks prefer to serve their gumbo over rice, others prefer to add the rice to the gumbo.

For this gumbo recipe, I used chicken breasts that I boiled first. You can also use leftover cooked chicken, but if you do, you’ll need a cup of canned chicken broth.

Holle’s Chicken and Corn Gumbo recipe

What you’ll need:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4 tablespoons melted butter
• ¼ cup finely chopped celery
• ½ cup chopped onion
• ¼ cup diced bell pepper
• 2 cups diced fresh tomato
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 cup fresh or frozen corn
• 1 cup frozen okra, thawed
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon dried basil
• 1 cup chicken broth
• Salt, black pepper, and red pepper – to taste
• 2 cups cooked rice

Directions:  Cook chicken breasts in salted water until done. Remove and allow to cool, retaining broth.

Sautee celery in butter in a large pot for about 3 minutes.  Add onion and bell pepper and cook until soft. Add diced tomatoes. Cover pot and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Add ketchup, bay leaf, garlic, and sugar. Replace lid and continue simmering.

Meanwhile, boil corn and okra in chicken broth until tender. Add the corn, the okra, and 1 cup broth to the tomato base. Remove bay leaf.

Tear cooked chicken and add to pot. Stir in spices and rice and simmer for 10-15 minutes.