Pacific Northwest seafood gumbo recipe

Matt Boudousquie, executive chef at The Bistro at Shuksan in Bellingham, prepared a Pacific Northwest seafood gumbo for Keep It Simple Seafood cooking class at Bellingham Dockside Market. The next cooking class will be 12-1 p.m. Saturday, April 15.

Ingredients:

• ½ T. allspice

• 1 T. thyme

• 1 T. basil

• 1 T. salt

• 1 T. pepper

• 1 T. file powder

• 2 T. Crystal Hot Sauce

• 2 T. cornstarch

• 2 T. apple cider vinegar

• ¼ C. Tony’s Cajun Seasoning

• ½ C. unsalted butter

• ½ C. veg oil

• ½ C. parsley

• 6 cloves minced garlic

• 6 bay leaves

• ½ C. Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free all-purpose flour

• ½ C. Bob’s Red Mill brown rice flour

• ½ C. cut green onion/scallion

• 2 C. okra

• 2 C. celery

• 2 C. onion

• 2 C. green bell pepper

• 6 quarts of stock, either veg, crab or seafood

• ½ lb andouille or smoked sausage

• 1 lb Sea to Shore Seafood Co. smoked salmon

• 1 lb Lummi Seafood Market crab sections, cooked

• 1 lb Icy Fresh shrimp/ prawns, cooked

• King crab legs from Jean C Family Fisheries

Directions:

Melt the butter with the oil in a big stock pot or Dutch oven on medium/high heat. Slowly add mixture of flour and cornstarch to make your roux. Use a whisk or a wooden paddle until the mixture is a nice dark brown consistency.

Add the celery, onion, green bell and pepper to the roux and cook until the vegetables are “sweated,” i.e. the onions are almost cooked all the way through.

Add the sausage and let it caramelize into the vegetables.

Add the allspice, thyme, basil, salt, pepper, Crystal Hot Sauce, Tony’s Cajun Seasoning, parsley, garlic, bay leaves and okra. Let all the spices blend and mix with the wooden spoon.

Add the stock and proteins before turning the heat to a simmer and letting it cook down for about 30-45 minutes. The longer the better. It freezes well for up to six months and the flavors turn into liquid gold. Enjoy with friends and family.

Serve with jasmine rice or potato salad like we do in the Bayou.

Watch the Pacific Northwest gumbo video: Bellinghamseafeast.org/kiss.

Matthew Boudousquie was born and raised in Louisiana. His father moved to Bellingham when he was 9 years old and he has fallen in love with the abundance of fresh seafood and beautiful vegetables grown in the PNW. He is the executive chef at The Bistro at Shuksan located inside Shuksan Golf Club. The Bistro is a southern-inspired farm-to-table concept focused on sustainable ingredients.

Keep It Simple Seafood classes

KISS (Keep It Simple Seafood) is a monthly seafood cooking workshop program with Bellingham SeaFeast and Bellingham Dockside Market. Get tips and tricks for preparing seafood on the third Saturday of the month through May at Squalicum Harbor’s Fishermen’s Pavilion, 2599 South Harbor Loop Drive in Bellingham. Local chefs, restaurants and fisherfolk demonstrate simple and delicious recipes the whole family will love that highlight the local ocean bounty. Each workshop is during Bellingham Dockside Market so people can pick up local seafood from the fisherfolk who caught it.

Wood Stone Ovens executive chef Tina Hoban will pan sear black cod with a spring asparagus salute at the next cooking workshop, 12-1 p.m. Saturday, April 15.