paleo mexican gumbo

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs Ground Chorizo
2 Dozen Frozen or Fresh Shrimp
2 Tbsp. Garlic Powder
3 Carrots
2 Stalks of Celery
2 15 oz. Cans of Tomato Sauce
1 13.5 oz Can of Full Fat Coconut Milk
Salt & Pepper to taste
Avocado & Cilantro for garnish

Directions: 
Start by cooking your ground chorizo (I buy mine from the butcher at Whole Foods.).  In a medium to large soup pot heat the tomato sauce and coconut milk, add in the garlic powder and bring to a boil then reduce the heat.  While it’s simmering chop your veggies and add them to the pot.  Cover and let the veggies cook – about 15 to 20 minutes.  Once the veggies are fork soft, add in your cooked chorizo.  Don’t dump your chorizo in the soup, spoon it in.  (I like to cook the chorizo separately because it cuts the spiciness factor down enough for my kids to be able to eat the soup.  If I didn’t have to worry about their sensitivity to too much spice I’d probably just cook it in the same pot.).  Then add your frozen or fresh shrimp.  Don’t overcook the shrimp- nobody likes rubbery shrimp. 😉   Shrimp cooks super fast, so it won’t take long even if your shrimp is frozen.  Salt and pepper to taste.  I like to garnish with avocado and cilantro.

This soup is nice and hearty with just the right amount of spice.  The coconut milk gives it a nice rich creaminess, but you can also sub it out with chicken stock (preferably homemade if you have it on hand) for a little different version.  My hub doesn’t like onions, but if he did I’d chop up 1/4 of an onion and add it to the chorizo while it was cooking.

My favorite canned tomato sauce is Trader Joe’s brand.  It’s so good I could eat it straight out of the can.   Keep in mind that all tomato sauces are different, so you may feel like you need to add in a little extra spice for flavor depending on which one you use.  Taste testing while you’re cooking any soup is a given right?

Are you a soup lover?  What’s your favorite soup?   For more recipes check out the paleo tab up above.