Chicken Gumbo
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken, about 4 pounds
- 1-tablespoon salt
- 2 quarts water
- 8 ounces diced ham
- 1-cup celery, chopped
- 1-tablespoon butter
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon dried leaf thyme
- 2 cups okra, sliced and boiled 10 minutes
- 2 tablespoons file powder
- 5 cups hot cooked rice
Directions
Cut up the chicken and boil in salted water until tender, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Remove chicken from pot. Pour broth into another container; return 6 cups of broth to the pot. If you don't have 6 cups of broth, add canned broth or bouillon. Remove chicken from bone and cut into bite-sized pieces. In a skillet, sauté the ham and celery in butter; add the bay leaf, parsley, and thyme and cook for 2 minutes longer. Add ham mixture and okra to the chicken broth; simmer 10 minutes. Add the chicken and heat through. Just before serving, add the file powder. Serve on hot cook rice in soup plates. Serves 6 to 8.