Crawfish File Gumbo - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 c. oil
1 c. flour
1 c. chopped celery
1 c. chopped onions
1 gal. water
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
2 Tbsp. butter
1 (10 oz.) can Ro-Tel tomatoes
1 lb. crawfish tails with fat
1 lb. claw crabmeat
1/2 c. bell pepper, chopped
1/2 c. green onion tops, chopped
1/2 c. parsley
garlic, salt and pepper to taste
file

Preparation

Heat oil in a large black pot.
Add flour to oil.
Make a dark roux.
Add celery and onions.
Saute 30 minutes.
Add water. Brown tomato paste in butter.
Cook until it loses its bright red color.
Add 1/2 to 3/4 can Ro-Tel tomatoes.
Add this mixture to other pot and simmer 1 hour.
Add crawfish, crabmeat, green onion tops, bell pepper and parsley.
Adjust seasonings and simmer about 30 minutes.
This is a thin gumbo.
To thicken, add cornstarch, dissolved in water.
Serve over rice.
Add file to finished bowl.