Blue Bayou Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

We just got back from a family road trip to Southern California, where we spent a couple days at everyone's favorite Orange County destination: Disneyland. (Yes, it was crowded and yes we still had a lot of fun.)

One of the things we were actually pleasantly surprised with at Disneyland was the food. Sure, much of it was overpriced, but the quality was actually very good for the most part. We also learned that if you asked for a recipe at Town Hall they gladly give it to you!

We got their recipe for the gumbo served at New Orleans Square restaurants the Blue Bayou (the one inside Pirates of the Caribbean) and Cafe Orleans. The recipe they give you is a restaurant one for making huge amounts, so we had to fiddle with it a bit to make it usable in a home kitchen. It's really good, though—simple and hearty and everyone liked it. In our version we used spicy andouille sausage and cooked chicken, but feel free to use whatever you like; shrimp would be a great addition. Take a bite and you'll be transported back to New Orleans, or at least the Disney version of it.

Note that the Disneyland recipe called for a small amount of filé powder, which we couldn't find in any of our local markets. A little research suggests that it's an optional ingredient and many traditional gumbo recipes don't even include it, so we left it out. If you have some, add a teaspoon at the very end of cooking after removing from the heat.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (half a stick) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 3–4 stalks celery, diced
• 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 2 cups frozen cut okra (or fresh)
• 2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/8 or more cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 pound cooked chicken, diced
• 1/2 pound andouille or other smoked sausage, sliced
• Kosher salt to taste
• Hot cooked rice
• Finely chopped parsley, for serving

Directions

To start off, you'll need to make a brown roux. Melt butter in a heavy Dutch oven and whisk in flour. Cook flour and butter together over low heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture is smooth and takes on a medium brown color, about 20 minutes. (This is the hardest part of the recipe.)

Raise heat to medium high and add onion and celery. Cook for 5 minutes or so until vegetables soften. Add tomatoes with their juices, okra, cayenne, pepper, chicken, sausage, and chicken broth.

Reduce heat to low, cover partially, and let simmer 40 minutes.

To serve, put about a quarter cup of cooked rice in each bowl, then ladle the gumbo over, and sprinkle with chopped parsley. This recipe will feed at least 8 people.