Gardens are Easy.

Located in southwest Michigan, Elzinga & Hoeksema Greenhouses is a sustainable commercial operation with over 30 acres of greenhouse production, producing a wide variety of flowering annuals, vegetables, herbs and accent plants.

Cajun Gumbo Over Rice

For the daring, add hot sauce to gumbo!

Featuring the following Elzinga plants:

Onion, Sweet Bell Pepper, Sweet Pepper, Tomato, Curley Parsley, "Italian Flavors" Basil, Basil, Thyme, Okra

	1 tablespoon vegetable oil
	1 cup chopped Fresh Flavor™ Onion
	1 cup chopped celery
	¾ cup Fresh Flavor™ Green Pepper
	¾ cup Fresh Flavor™ Sweet Red Pepper
	4 oz. chopped Canadian bacon
	2 cloves minced garlic
	2 cans of chicken broth undiluted
	2 Fresh Flavor™ Tomatoes, chopped
	¼ cup Fresh Flavor™ Parsley
	½ teaspoon salt

	½ teaspoon whole Fresh Flavor™ Basil, dried
	½ teaspoon whole Fresh Flavor™ Thyme, dried
	¼ teaspoon ground red pepper
	2 bay leaves
	10 oz. Fresh Flavor™ Okra
	1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
	¼ cup water
	2 pounds medium fresh shrimp
	2 tablespoons gumbo file' powder
	4 ½ cups of Herbed Rice Pilaf (see side dish recipe)

Directions

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until hot.
2. Add onion, celery, green pepper, sweet re pepper, Canadian bacon and garlic; sauté until tender.
3. Add chicken broth and next 7 ingredients, stirring well. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.
4. Stir in okra, cover and cook 5 minutes.
5. Combine cornstarch and water (tip: put cornstarch in container, then add hot water, to dissolve); add to hot mixture.
6. Stir in shrimp and file' powder; cook 5 minutes or until shrimp are done. Remove and take out bay leaves.
7. Put rice in bowl and ladle gumbo on top.

Serving Information

Serve over rice.

Additional Information

Difficulty Level: 3 · Preparation Time: 25 minutes · Serves: 9 · Cooking Time: 30 minutes ·