HAVING recently returned from a trip to Louisiana (USA), what other recipe could I do for this month's Cooking Corner than a Louisiana favourite, seafood gumbo.
A gumbo is somewhere between a spicy, thick soup and a seafood casserole. But this description doesn't begin to tell you about the great combination of flavours and textures from the various seafoods that go into making up a seafood gumbo. While making the gumbo, I kept a few prawns, some oysters in the shell and a little bug meat to one side to garnish the individual bowls of gumbo. Pass the file powder at the table for your guests to thicken their gumbo to their liking.

Ingredients
3/4 cup Bertolli olive oil
3/4 cup flour
2 onions, chopped
1 green capsicum, roughly chopped
2 leeks, white part only, washed and sliced
generous pinch salt
1 teaspoon cayenne
3 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon thyme
8 cups water
500gms green prawns, peeled and deveined
3-4 Moreton Bay bug tails, peeled
250gms crab meat
12 oysters
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
File powder (optional)

PREPARATION:
Heat a large, heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Combine the oil and flour (the roux) in the pan and stir slowly and continuously until the roux is a brown colour. This should take about twenty minutes. The darkness of the roux will determine the colour of the completed gumbo.
Add the onions, capsicum, leek, salt, cayenne, bay leaves and thyme to the roux in the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about five minutes or until the vegetables have softened. Add the water to the pan and mix well to incorporate the roux into the liquid. Simmer for about an hour.
Slice the bug tails into medallions and add to the pan with the prawns and crab meat. Cook for a few minutes before adding the oysters and parsley. Continue to cook for a couple of minutes only.
Remove the gumbo from the heat and discard the bay leaves.
Serve the gumbo in generous-sized bowls and don't forget to pass the file powder for people to thicken the gumbo to their personal preference.
The seafood in this recipe was supplied by Sams Seafood, Hamilton Ph (07) 3268 7088.