Vegan Sausage and Okra Gumbo

Vegan Gumbo Recipe

Prep Time: 20 min
Total Cook Time: 2 hours (1 hour passive)

For the Roux: 
roughly 3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup olive oil or vegan butter

4 Celery Stalks - chopped
3 small red bell peppers - coarsely chopped
1 small yellow onion - coarsely chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
12 cups of water
veggie boullion 
2 tbs hot sauce (vinegar based, like tobacco or cholula) 
3 tsp cajun seasoning (see recipe below)
4 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
4 tsp of gumbo file total (split)
1 (14.5 ounce) can of stewed tomatoes
1 (6 ounce) can of tomato sauce
(in a pinch i used a large can of diced tomatoes as a sub for these two ingredients)

2 tbs vegan worcheshire sauce

For the Okra:
4 cups chopped okra
2 tbs white vinegar
2 tbs cooking oil

For the sausage: 
1 package of vegan sausage
2 tbs cooking oil

Make a “roux” by whisking the flour and 3/4 cup oil/vegan butter together in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat to form a smooth mixture. Cook the roux, whisking constantly, until it turns a rich mahogany brown color. This can take 20 to 30 minutes; watch heat carefully and whisk constantly or roux will burn. Remove from heat; continue whisking until mixture stops cooking.

Place the celery, onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Stir the vegetables into the roux, and mix in the sausage. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat, and cook until vegetables are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside.

Bring the water and veggie bouillon to a boil in a large soup pot. Stir until the bouillon cubes dissolve, and whisk the roux mixture into the boiling water. Reduce heat to a simmer, and mix in the sugar, salt, hot pepper sauce, Cajun seasoning, bay leaves, thyme, stewed tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Simmer the soup over low heat for 1 hour; mix in 2 teaspoons of file gumbo powder plus worsteshire sauce at the 45-minute mark.

Meanwhile, heat a small amount of cooking oil in a pan, and cook the okra with vinegar over medium heat for 15 minutes; remove okra with slotted spoon, and stir into the simmering gumbo. Add more oil to the pan and salute the vegan sausage until browned. I like to keep the sausage on the side until I serve up the stew, so it doesn’t get too soggy just sitting in the stew. Just before serving, stir in 2 more teaspoons of file gumbo powder.

Cajun Seasoning Mix (makes more than you need for the gumbo recipe, so save your special blend for next time!)

2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Onion Powder
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Cayenne
1 1/2 oregano
1 1/2 thyme
1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes