Recipe: Okra Seafood Gumbo

Okra Seafood Gumbo
Yield: 6 servings

6 hard shell crabs
2 lb okra, sliced
2 tb flour
5 tb oil
1 tb butter
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1 cup onions, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
2 lb shrimp (save peel)
8 cups water
1 cup ham, diced
1 can tomatoes
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
5 dashes of tabasco
3 bay leaves
1/2 tsp powdered thyme
1/2 ts basil

Boil crabs for 20 minutes in lightly salted water. Remove, save water. Put 2 Tbsp. of oil and 1 of butter in a non-cast iron skillet and fry Okra until all traces of sliminess disappear. In a deep pot, put remaining oil, stir in flour, make dark brown roux. Add onions, garlic, green peppers and celery to roux, stir for 5 minutes. Add diced ham and cook for 10 minutes on low heat. Stir in tomatoes, shrimp and simmer. In 8 cups of crab water, boil the shrimp heads, peelings for 15 minutes. Add the Okra to the large pot, stir for a few minutes then strain the shrimp water to the mixture. Add the remainig seasonings and simmer slowly for 2 hours. Remove the back shell, belly flap, legs and claws from the crabs. Clean out all unwanted material from the crabs, break crabs in half and lightly crack the claws. Add crab halves & claws to the pot. Cook another 15 minutes adding the green onions during the last 5. Serve over rice.