I found this recipe at the beginning of our keto journey. We liked this dish so much, that it stayed in our menu for good. Mix of chicken, prawns and chorizo with warming and aromatic spices – that’s something we like a lot.

Easy and quick one pot meal, full of good stuff – that’s something I like. Great idea on these days when you don’t have time or you just don’t want to spend it in the kitchen. One pot meal that will make you feel full for hours. It’s something you can also prepare in a slow cooker the day before and just heat it up and eat after coming back from work.

I’ve used chicken thighs to make this meal but you can also use chicken breasts, although they seem to be more dry and bland. Also imagine that I have chorizo in this gumbo. Because of lockdown, many of items are unavailable and my groceries delivery came without chorizo, so I had to skip it this time. But I always add chorizo to gumbo -it adds a lot of flavour to it. I always use cooked and peeld prawns because I’m not the best with seafood and this prawns I can just defrost and use straight away. Prawns are great source of protein – 100g of prawns contains about 25g of protein – almost the same as chicken or beef. Even though prawns contains large amouts of fats, they don’t rise your cholesterol levels, because they contain almost three times more Omega 3 Fatty Acid than they do Omega 6 Fatty Acid.

How nutritious are prawns? (source)

• Proteins – essential components of muscles, skin, bones and the body as a whole.
• Vitamin B12 – important for the normal functioning of the brain and nervous system and plays a key role in the formation of red blood cells.
• Selenium – plays a key role in the human body’s antioxidant defence system, preventing damage to cells and tissues
• Vitamin E – helps protect cell membranes by acting as an antioxidant. Vitamin E deficiency has been related to cystic fibrosis, chronic liver disease, short-bowel syndrome, and other malabsorption diseases
• Phosphorous helps to build strong bones and teeth, and to release the energy from the food we eat. All shellfish are a source of phosphorous
• Omega-3 – they can help protect the heart and are believed to reduce the risks of developing some forms of cancers. 100g of prawns willprovide you with 13% of your recommended weekly intake of Omega-3.

So if you like prawns it’s a good option to include them to your menu more often. Although in my opinion it’s better to buy something better quality (for example from a fishmonger) or at least not the cheapest one in the shop. It’s like with fish and meat – bigger price usually means better quality and taste. Also the cheapest frozen prawns tends to have a lot of ice, so very often you loose 1/3 of weight after defrosting them.

OK, so let’s get into this delicious recipe.

keto chicken and prawn one pot gumbo

INGREDIENTS:

• 500g chicken thighs (or chicken breasts)
• 1 bell pepper
• 450g celery
• 1 large onion
• 100g chorizo
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 400ml (1 can) coconut milk
• 100g mushrooms
• 250g prawns (I used cooked and peeled ones)
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• natural rock salt
• pinch of coarse pepper
• 1 tsp garlic granules or 2 chopped garlic cloves
• 300-400ml tomato passata

DIRECTIONS

Cut chicken in smaller pieces. Wash and chop celery sticks and bell pepper. Slice chorizo. Rinse or peel the mushrooms and slice them.

If you use frozen prawns, defrost them first (you can do it quickly by rinsing them with warm water and leaving on the colander to drain).

Heat coconut oil in a large pot and add chicken pieces and some salt. Fry couple minutes on a high heat, then add chorizo and onion and fry for another couple minutes. Add all spices and stir thoroughly. Then add mushrooms, celery and bell pepper and some more salt. At the and add defrosted prawns.

Pour over can of coconut milk and tomato passata. Stir until combine, cover with lid and simmer on a small heat for about 15 minutes. Veggies should be soft but still firm. Check if it’s salty enough, add some more if needed. If you like it more spicy you can add some chilli flakes.

I sprinkled mine with some coriander leaves I had in the freezer, parsley will be good as well.

DIRECTIONS FOR SLOW COOKER

Cut chicken in smaller pieces. Wash and chop celery sticks and bell pepper. Slice chorizo. Rinse or peel the mushrooms and slice them.

If you use frozen prawns, defrost them first (you can do it quickly by rinsing them with warm water and leaving on the colander to drain). Never add frozen food to a slow cooker, it will extend the time of cooking and can cause that food won’t be able to cook properly.

Heat some coconut oil in a frying pan and add chicken pieces and some salt. Fry couple minutes on a high heat, then add chorizo and onion and fry for another couple minutes. Place it all in a slow cooker add spices, veggies, some more salt, coconut milk and tomato passata. If you use uncooked prawns add them with the rest of ingredients at the beginning. If you use cooked prawns as I do, add them in the last hour of slow cooking. Cook for about 4-5 hours on “low”.