Southern Seafood Gumbo

This rich, spicy Creole stew is chock-full of catfish, shrimp, and veggies.

"I tasted a similar dish at a local restaurant and duplicated it pretty closely. I trimmed it down a bit and no one in my family seemed to mind."
-- Susan W., Champaign, Illinois

Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes

You Will Need
1 medium onion, chopped
2 celery ribs with leaves, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 bottle (46 ounces) spicy hot V8 juice
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 package (16 ounces) frozen sliced okra, thawed
1 pound catfish fillets, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
3/4 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 cups cooked long grain rice


What to Do
1. In a large saucepan, sauté the onion, celery, green pepper and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in the V8 juice, tomatoes and cayenne; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

2. Stir in okra and catfish; cook 8 minutes longer. Add the shrimp; cook about 7 minutes longer or until shrimp turn pink. Place rice in individual serving bowls; top with gumbo.

Serves 12


Nutritional analysis: 1 cup gumbo with 1/4 cup rice equals 180 calories, 5 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 60 mg cholesterol, 512 mg sodium, 22 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 14 g protein. Diabetic exchanges: 2 very lean meat, 2 vegetable, 1 starch.