12. Sausage Gumbo Pot Pie With Garlic Bread Crust

From the 2006 Southern Living Annual Recipes

In the spirit of Mardi Gras, I was flipping through my cookbooks for a New Orleans-style dish, and I came across this recipe that looked too good to pass up.

The gumbo mixture is cooked on the stovetop and then finished in the oven with a topping that's similar in style to French onion soup. The tops of the bread slices were crispy, and the bottoms had soaked up the soup liquid. The gumbo had great flavor, with just the right amount of heat.

I went back for seconds...and that's something I never do. AND...I accidentally left out the okra. Yep, I just left it in the freezer...and it was still a hit! Also, I halved the recipe because I knew it wouldn't do well as leftovers.

1 pound smoked sausage, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 medium-size green bell pepper, chopped (I omitted)
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup instant roux mix
1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles
1 (32-ounce) container chicken broth
1 (16-ounce) package frozen okra
1 cup quick-cooking rice, uncooked
1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (I omitted)
3 tablespoons melted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (12-ounce) French baguette, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

Sauté first 3 ingredients in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat 8 minutes or until browned; stir in roux mix. Cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and next 5 ingredients, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Pour into a 13- x 9-inch baking dish.

Stir together butter and garlic; brush on one side of bread slices. Top sausage mixture evenly with bread slices, buttered side up.

Bake, covered, at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 more minutes. Let stand 10 minutes.

Notes: I didn't add the bread for the first 10 minutes of cooking, while covered, because I worried it would get too soggy. Also, Tony Chachere's instant roux mix can be found either in the spice or soup section of the supermarket.

This post is part of Weekend Cooking, which is hosted by Beth Fish Reads.