Ingredients
½ cup all- purpose flour
1 teaspoon Chef Paul’s 6-Pepper Salt
6 ounces vegetable oil
4 bay leaves
½ cup finely chopped celery
½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 large onion, finely chopped
12 ounces can tomato sauce
1/2 large green bell pepper, finely chopped
2 teaspoons file powder, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces lump crabmeat
8 ounces andouille sausage, sliced
1.5 pounds uncooked medium shrimp, cleaned
1.5 quarts water (or use seafood stock)
3 cubes chicken bouillon (or use seafood stock)
salt to taste
Procedure
Make a roux by whisking the flour and the vegetable oil 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 about 20 to 30 minutes. 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 bouillon cubes, or seafood stock to a boil in a large Dutch oven or 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 hot pepper sauce, 6-Pepper Salt, bay leaves, thyme, and tomato sauce. Simmer the soup over low heat for 1 hour; mix in 1 teaspoon of file gumbo powder at the 45-minute point.
Mix in crabmeat, shrimp, and Worcestershire sauce, and simmer until flavors have blended, 10 more minutes. Just before serving, stir in 1 more teaspoon of file gumbo powder and adjust seasoning with salt and 6-Pepper Salt.