Smokey Chicken and Chorizo Gumbo

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped bacon
• 5 bone-in skinless chicken thighs
• 3 chorizo or hot Italian sausages (about 100 g each), casings removed
• 3 cups chopped yellow bell peppers
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 3 cups no-salt-added chicken broth
• 2 cups sliced fresh okra
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• 1 cup tomato paste
• 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning
• 1 tsp fennel seed
• 1 tsp ground chipotle chile pepper
• 1 bay leaf

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Add bacon to a non-reactive ovenproof Dutch oven over medium heat; cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp, about 6 – 7 minutes.
3. Add chicken and sausages; cook, stirring to break up sausages, until chicken is browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add yellow peppers, onions and celery; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
4. Add broth, okra, tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, paprika, Cajun seasoning, fennel seed, chipotle chile pepper and bay leaf; stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat.
5. Bake, covered, until chicken is very tender and beginning to fall off the bone, about 1 1/4 hours; remove and discard bay leaf.