Gumbo and Double Corn Maple Cornbread Muffins (Vegan Friendly)

My friend Dani came over for dinner this week and I made this for our dinner. And wow did it make a lot! So much I used the leftovers up the next day and made a soup out of it! Delicious though and I didn’t miss the meat at all 🙂

Gumbo

Ingredients:

Roux –

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp granulated garlic
• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 cup lower sodium vegetable broth
• 1 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce

Gumbo –

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped (about 1½ cups)
• 1 large bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 12-14 ounces okra (thawed frozen)
• 12.95 ounce package Field Roast sausages, sliced into rounds
• 2 14.5 to 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes
• 1½ cusp lower sodium vegetable broth
• 5 tsp dried sliced garlic
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• Tabasco sauce to taste – ½ to 1 tsp or more

Rice –

• See below

Directions:

To make the Roux – In a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat add the oil and granulated garlic and cook for about a minute, whisking as needed. Whisk in the flour until it starts darkening (do not leave!). When it is very deep smelling and turning as dark as you want to add in the broth and Worcestershire sauce, whisking constantly until thickened. Take off the heat and set aside.

To make the Gumbo – In a deep skillet over medium-high heat add the oil, onion and peppers and cook for 5 minutes. Add the okra in and cook for another 5 minutes (it is normal for okra to look a bit er….gelatinous when cooking). Add in the sausage and cook for 10 minutes, stirring gently often.

Meanwhile mix the tomatoes, all the broth but ¼ cup and the garlic, thyme and coriander. Whisk the reserved broth into the roux. Add the tomato mixture to the skillet, then the roux, stirring all together. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and let cook covered, gently bubbling, for 20 minutes, stirring as needed.

Add the hot sauce to taste.

For the rice –
Heat the oven to 375°. Bring 2½ cups water to a boil, add it, 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil and 1½ cups long grain brown rice to 2 quart or 8×8″ glass baking pan, cover with foil tightly and bake for 1 hour.
Makes about 4 cups baked.

To serve –

Fluff up the rice and make moats of it in a shallow bowl or plate, fill the moat with hot gumbo.

Serves up to 8!

So you have leftovers? Make soup! I added my leftover gumbo and rice to 4 cups more broth, a cup of frozen corn and brought to a boil, then simmered on low for a few minutes and ta-da! gumbo soup!

Double Corn Maple Cornbread Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsweetened almond or soy milk
• ¼ cup Earth Balance buttery stick, melted
• 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375° and line a 12 count muffin tin with paper liners.

In a small mixing bowl whisk the milk, butter, maple syrup and vinegar together.

In a large mixing bowl whisk the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and slat together. Add the wet to the dry, barely mix together, fold in the corn and stir to combine.

Divide between the tins (a disher works well, they will be heaping). Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and they are lightly browned on top. Mine took 23 minutes.

Makes 12 muffins – serve with plenty of buttery spread on the side!

~Sarah