Cajun Gumbo Pot Pie – Cajun Week Day 3

Today is the 3rd post in our week long series highlighting Cajun recipes that I am doing with the Creole Contessa.  I hope you are enjoying it as much as we are?  I love the flavors of Cajun/Creole cooking so much.  It is really fun for me to use the traditional recipes and put my spin on it.  In this case, I decided to make a gumbo, which I totally love, but make it like a pot pie.  The pie crust compliments the gumbo as a bowl of rice would do – turning this into a Cajun Gumbo Pot Pie.

 

 

I wonder what the Creole Contessa thinks of this idea or how about any of you true Cajuns?  Did I basterdize the essence of Gumbo or put a positive spin on it.  What I learned in researching the history of Gumbo is that Creole gumbo typically means the dish has seafood in it and Cajun typically refers to a dark roux being added to it.  Since, I made this to be like a chicken pot pie, I chose to make a blond roux.  The difference in style of the roux(s) is simply that a blond roux is made with butter and flour while a dark roux is made with vegetable oil and flour and then cooked for a longer time.

The Creole Contessa’s offering for Day 3 of Cajun week is Southern Tea Cakes dipped in Milk Chocolate.  Yum.

Ingredients:

• 4 Chicken Breasts
• 1 – 2 tbsp canola oil
• Liberal use of Creole seasoning and Smoked Paprika
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 – 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock
• 6 oz of Chicken andouille sausage, halved and quartered
• 1 package of crescent rolls

Directions:

Heat your skillet on medium heat.  Add the oil and when shimmering add in the chicken and the andouille.  Cook the chicken for3 – 4 minutes per side, flip the sausage over and over and them remove each from the pan.  There should be enough oil left to keep cooking.  Add the butter and once melted, add in the onions.

After about 2 minutes of cooking, add in the green bell peppers and the celery.  After they have all softened, roughly 4 more minutes, add in the red bell pepper.  Cook for 2 more minutes.

Add in the flour and mix well.

The mixture should be pretty dry.  Now it is time to add the stock.  Add it in slowly.  Stir well.  The vegetables and roux should become creamy.  Do this by feel but keep adding the stock a little at a time.  You want the roux to stay creamy not runny.  This part will vary based on how much flour you put in.  If you put in, even a little extra flour, you will have to put in more liquid to get the mixture to a creamy consistency.  Once the base is formed, add in the chicken and sausage.

Let simmer with the top on for 15 minutes.  Remove from the heat and pour into a 9″ on center baking dish.

Take your crescent roll out of the fridge and roll out over the dish.  I took a little end of the roll and made a design in the center of my dough.

Bake for 13 – 15 minutes at 375 degrees.

Enjoy!