It’s Fat Tuesday tomorrow! And in case you’re curious how much restraint was required to skip calling it Phat Tuesday, well, 1) buttloads and 2) look how well that worked out.

IT’S PHAT FAT TUESDAY TOMORROW!

Because if fried and fatty shenanigans aren’t pretty hot and — oh yes — tempting, then I don’t know what is. (LIE. I know what is. Did you guys watch the Oscars? Jessica Biel is neither fried nor fat but girlfriend looked TASTY.)

Speaking of tasty, did you happen to catch my 10 Drool-worthy Mardis Grad Recipes post on Full Circle last week? It’s full of cuh-razy shiggles like these Cheesy Cajun Fries with Grilled Corn, Guacamole & Bacon from Half Baked Harvest. Did all those words just happen in the same title? Yes. And it feels good. Real good.

Anyweighhhh.

Somehow I pulled together that mini roundup last week and realized I didn’t have a single P&Q recipe to contribute. Nutzohs, right? A holiday dedicated to getting chubby and the self-proclaimed Piggy McPiggerson comes up short? Travesty.

But it’s cool, dumbo. Cuz I’m making gumbo!

Nothing fancy, mind you. I didn’t even mess with the chicken and shrimp and made a beeline straight to the good stuff: sausage. (Heh.) A spicy sausage, if you please. Andouille’ll do-ee. And would you mind if I detoured just a bit further from tradition and doubled the veggies? Added some coconut milk? Some curry spices? And maybe, um, made the (very small) effort to make this whole shebang — gulp — gluten-free? Don’t hate me, you guys. It’s in my DNA to get a little goofy.

And yes, it all kicks off with a true-blue roux, so apparently there is a limit to my blasphemy.
Thank God.

FAT TUESDAY, people. Make it happen! 🙂

Coconut Curried Sausage & Veggie Gumbo
By Emily Stoffel
Cook time: about 1.5 hours | Serves 6 generously

Note: So, yes, we’re making a roux with gluten-free flour, of which there are many to choose from. I liked the result of Trader Joe’s Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour, which is a blend of brown rice, potato, tapioca  and rice flours. It gets nice and brown and nutty and thickens suitably. Also, have we talked about how beautifully this meal freezes? It’s purty awesome.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 package (4 links, about 12 oz) fully cooked spicy chicken sausage, such as andouille, sliced 1/4” thick
• 1/2 cup gluten-free flour (see note)
• 1/4 cup (4 T) unsalted butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 5 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 bell peppers (red, yellow or orange), chopped
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp curry powder (we use Penzey’s Vinadaloo, but you can choose a sweet curry powder if you’re not big on spice)
• 1 tsp ground fennel
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp crushed red chili flakes
• 1 14 oz can light coconut milk
• 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
• 2 cups (about half a 20 oz bag) frozen chopped okra
• 3 cups stock (chicken, beef or veggie)
• sliced scallions and cilantro for serving

Instructions

Heat olive oil over med flame in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pan. Add sliced sausage and brown. Remove from pan and set aside.

Sprinkle gluten-free flour over fat in pan and stir in butter to form a roux. Cook roux over medium heat until medium-brown (somewhere between a tan and a brown M&M – remember those!?), stirring frequently, about 10 minutes.

When roux is brown, add all spices cumin through red chili flakes and stir to combine and brown spices, about 30 seconds. Add chopped fresh veggies and coconut milk and stir to combine. Add reserved sausage back to pan with tomatoes, frozen okra and stock of choice.

Bring mixture to a light boil, then cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 60 minutes. (While gumbo is simmering, prepare rice — white, brown or black — or quinoa.)

Allow gumbo to cool slightly before ladling over rice and scattering with fresh herbs. Enjoy!

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