Vegetable Gumbo

I helped a friend make this soup for dinner last week. It was so great, I decided to make another batch! The recipe is from Vegetarian Times. We just harvested some leeks from the farm, so I threw those in too. Did you know you can eat the green part of leeks? They are tender and delicous when they are young.

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup gluten free flour mix (Bob's Red Mill is great)

1 medium onion chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

1 -28 oz. can fire roasted, diced tomatoes

4 carrots, sliced

3 leeks, sliced

3 jalapenos, diced

2 vegan Italian sausage, sliced

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

cajun spices

Directions

Stir together oil and flour in Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot until smooth. Cook over medium high heat 10 minutes, or until roux turns a dark caramel color, stirring constantly. The roux will start to give off a nutty fragrance as it is cooking.
Add onion, carrots, bell pepper, and celery to the roux and cook 5 minutes, or until vegetables are softened.

Make sure to keep stirring. Add the spices and cook for one more minute. Then add in all remaining ingredients and 2 cups water. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and a cajun spice mix.

I served this over wild rice. It's also great with some shrimp too!