Louisiana Seafood Gumbo

Ingredients

• ½ cup vegetable oil
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 cups seafood stock or chicken broth
• 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes (optional)
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp hot sauce (adjust to taste)
• 12 oz andouille sausage, sliced
• ½ kg shrimp, peeled and deveined
• ½ kg crab meat (or 4-6 whole blue crabs, cleaned)
• ¼ kg okra, sliced (optional, for thickening)
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp filé powder (optional, for thickening)
• 3 cups cooked white rice
• Chopped green onions and fresh parsley
• Cornbread (optional)
• Extra hot sauce on the side