Gumbo and Beer Biscuits

Healthy can be hearty! This meal is absolutely delicious – perfect dinner for apres ski or on a cold or rainy day.

This recipe is originally from The Cooking Club Cookbook published in the early 2000s (purchase info for the ebook below).  It was such a fun concept for me and my closest girlfriends to meet once a month, drink some wine, and cook together.  Such memories!  This picture is from July 2003.

Anyway I stumbled across the original copy of the recipe this football season and it was a hit at tailgate time!  You can make this with either chicken or shrimp but don’t skip the sausage…in my opinion, anyway!  If you are following the 21 Day Fix nutrition plan for weight loss, skip the beer biscuits and substitute brown rice.  The recipe makes 6 servings.

Gumbo Ingredients

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon oil
4 1/2 tablespoons flour
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped green pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 pound turkey sausage (lower fat, low sodium), cooked and sliced into 1/2″ thick rounds
3 cups chicken stock (lower sodium)
1 cup canned stewed tomatoes
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 pounds shrimp cooked until almost done or cooked, diced chicken breast
1 cup chopped green onions
salt and pepper to taste

Gumbo Instructions

1. Heat 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add the flour and stir constantly with a wire whisk until it turns dark brown.  This is a dark roux.  Do not let it scorch – don’t look a way for a minute – and should it burn, discard and begin again.  Set the dark roux aside.
2. In a separate large saucepan, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat.  Add the onion, celery, green pepper, garlic, parsley, and sausage.  Sauté for 10 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
3. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes, cayenne pepper, and thyme.  Bring to a rolling boil.
4. Add the roux, lower the heat, and let it simmer for 20 minutes.  Add the shrimp or chicken and green onions and cook for 5 minutes longer.  Season with salt and pepper.

Beer Biscuits Ingredients

2 cups self-rising flour, sifted
1/8 cup sugar
8 ounces light beer
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
1 tablespoon melted butter

Beer Biscuit Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick spray.
3. In a large bowl, mix the flour and sugar.  Add the beer and dill and stir until well blended.
4. Fill 6 muffin cups to about 3/4 full. Bake for 10 minutes.
5. Remove and brush butter over the top of each biscuit.  Bake for an additional 10 minutes or until golden brown.

 

21 Day Fix equivalents: 1 serving of the gumbo is 1 red/protein, 1 green/vegetable, 2 teaspoons.  The roux adds a negligible amount of yellow/carb so I let that slide.  If you are following the 21 Day Fix to lose weight it is better to skip the biscuit and put the gumbo over brown rice and count a yellow/carb.

I do not believe The Cooking Club Cookbook is in print any more but you can purchase the ebook from the publisher here: http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/31152/the-cooking-club-cookbook-by-cooking-club/9780307518200