From Denny: Here's an unusual but easy recipe I ran across the other day from Food Network star Paula Deen who lives in Savannah, Georgia. I've seen and cooked a lot of different styles of gumbo but never have I seen anyone choose to put a cornbread topping on it like a Shepard's Pie, very clever, and so easy! Just think, she found a way to skip the step of baking a pan of cornbread by throwing it on top of the stew. Talk about a one dish meal. The winter is the perfect time for this easy crowd pleaser and time saver dish!
From: Paula Deen, Paula's Home Cooking @ Food Network
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 45 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 6 servings
Ingredients
Gumbo:
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped celery
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons House Seasoning, recipe follows
1 cup chicken or fish stock
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
10-ounce package frozen cut okra
2 cups shrimp, cleaned, peeled, and deveined
Topping:
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup milk
12-ounce package corn muffin mix
Directions
In an iron skillet, saute onion and celery in oil. Add bay leaves, thyme, lemon-pepper seasoning and House Seasoning. Pour in stock and add tomatoes and okra. Cover pot and gently simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in shrimp.
To prepare the topping, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix together egg and milk, add to muffin mix, and combine until just well-blended. Drop by tablespoonfuls on top of hot shrimp mixture, leaving the center uncovered. Bake 15 to 20 minutes.
*** Paula's Cook's Note: This Southern dish usually is prepared and served in an iron skillet, but may be cooked in a frying pan with an oven-proof handle.
*** Denny's Cook's Note: If you do use an iron skillet, make sure it is well seasoned as tomatoes have acid that can compromise that seasoning layer, putting pits in it, leaching a little too much of that iron taste into the food. After you do use an iron skillet with tomatoes or lemon acid in a dish, make sure to season it again just to make sure the pan is well sealed.
Paula's House Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder
Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
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