Chicken and sausage gumbo

I've no idea how a real gumbo should taste, but after tonight, I can imagine how it should make you feel. I've been reading two books (1,2) and after much borrowing and small amount of improvisation and adaptation the first gumbo I've cooked and tasted.

Ingredients:

• 6 chicken thighs
• 400g of uncured chorizo sausages - cut into 1-2 inch pieces
• 100g of guanciale or pancetta - diced
• 1 teaspoon of paprika
• 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper
• 2 medium onions - finely diced
• 2 capsicums - a green and a yellow if you wish - seeded and finely diced
• 4 sticks of celery - finely diced
• 3-4 tablespoons of plain flour
• 6 cloves of garlic diced
• 3-4 medium sweet potatoes - peeled and cut into 2-3 inch pieces
• 6-8 sprigs of thyme
• 4 dried bay leaves
• 500ml of chicken stock - off the shelf and supposedly low salt
• 1 litre of water
• 1 large handful of fresh parsley - diced
• 3 spring onions - sliced

How?

Coat the chicken in cayenne, paprika, salt and pepper. Prepare the other meats and the Holy Trinity by dicing the onion, bell peppers and celery. Toss the guanciale or pancetta into a very large pot and render some of the fat. Now add the chicken pieces and then the chorizo. Brown the meat, turn, and after 10 minutes remove the all the meat, leaving behind a rich red stained layer of oil and fat. Add the diced vegetables and fry, stirring occasionally. After 5-10 minutes add the flour, mix, stir and watch. Let the Trinity and flour darken without burning. Stir every few minutes and in between prep the remaining ingredients. After 10-20 minutes, once you are happy with the colour add the garlic, sweet potatoes, thyme, bay leaves and all the previously browned meats. Now add the stock and water, mix well and bring this to a gentle simmer. After 30 minutes of cooking at the boil, turn off the heat and leave for 30-60 minutes. Remove all the meat from the pot and if needed reduce and concentrate the remaining liquid. Take the chicken meat off the bone and shred into the desired form. When the soup is at the right consistency and simmering away, return all of the meats (now minus any bones) and freshen by adding the parsley and spring onions.