Paleo Jambo Soup

Have you gone Paleo and totally miss your big bowl of gumbo and the awesome cajun spice of a plate of jambalaya?  Well, here is the solution!  JAMBO!!!  This soup will give you the warm texture of a bowl of hot gumbo and the spice of a real cajun jambalaya. 

Sherri's Paleo Jambo

This was a post inspired by a pin on Pinterest.  I don't know about you, but when I cook things like gumbo or soup, I want enough to freeze after.  So I took the recipe from
AndreAnna at Life As a Plate as inspiration, changed a lot, tossed in a little cajun flare, and added tons of meat so that you will not even notice that the rice is missing!!

Ingredients

• 1 to 2 tbsp. Olive Oil
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups of the trinity (Tanya added diced celery)
• 4 bell peppers (red, green, yellow, orange) – any color, chopped
• 1 large can of rotel tomatoes w/liquid (Tanya used organic diced tomatoes)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can of tomato sauce or puree
• 5 to 7 cups bone broth or chicken broth (depending on thickness you want)
• 2-4 bay leafs
• 4 cups of cooked chicken (I used the meat from two rotisserie chickens)(Tanya used one pound of sauted chicken thighs, diced)
• 1 to 2 lb. of smoked sausage (Tanya only used one package of Andouille and omitted)
• 1 pkg spicy Andouille
• 2 lb large shrimp, raw and de-veined.(Tanya used one pound large shrimp)
• l bag of frozen okra (COOKED-see below how to cook before putting in soup)(Tanya added her okra straight from the bag 'cause she doesn't mind slimey!)
• 4 tbsp Cajun Seasoning* (see below for Emeril's mix)
• Hot sauce or peppers to taste (Tanya used Tobasco smoked chipotle sauce, and  one whole fresh tobasco pepper removed before serving). 

Cooking Your Okra (No slime in your soup/Sherri can't do slime!)

• Place frozen okra in micro safe bowl and cover with lid.
• Cook on high for 20 minutes
• Let cool a little and mash all okra with fork
• Add to soup

How to Make Your Own Cajun Seasoning (from Emeril):

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• (Yields about 2/3 c.)

Directions:

1. Saute' your onions/trinity in olive oil until softened (About 3 to 4 mins).
2. Add you bell peppers and continue to saute
3. Add you can of rotel with juice, saute' about a min or so
4. Add garlic, tomato sauce/puree and let combine.
5. Add 5 cups bone broth or chicken broth
6. Add bay leaves, hot sauce, and cajun seasoning
7. I tossed all of my sausage and chicken into the roasting pan (all this meat will not fit in the pot)
8. I then poured the mix above (from pot)over the meat into roasting pan
9. Added my cooked okra
10. Stir and let cook a few hours to get rid of the uncooked tomato taste.
11. When done, add shrimp and cook for another 5 minutes or until shrimp are pink.  DON'T OVER COOK SHRIMP!
12. Check you season to see if it is to your liking!  Enjoy!

    

    Tanya's Paleo Jambo: Hubby Even Went Back for Seconds! Score!

 Take note, a gumbo itself can be made in many ways. This in not a real gumbo, because it was not made with a traditional roux. It is not jambalaya because it does not contain rice. However, the blending of flavors here are very much like those found in both of these recipes. And much like a gumbo has many different variations, so can this recipe. So use our recipe as your guide and make it your own with Paleo friendly ingredients! Further, it is hearty enough to eat on it's own, but can be served over cauliflower rice or regular rice for your non-Paleo peeps. Enjoy!

A NOTE FROM SHERRI:

Our soups look totally different!  My soup (top photo) has a thicker base.  Most likely because I mashed my okra and made it a little less noticeable (my men will pick it out if they can see it).  Both versions are great!  Make it your own and enjoy!