My go-to for stocking my community fridge. Ingredients are well under $10 altogether. Makes 6-12 servings depending on how much stock, okra, and extra protein you add

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup oil
• 1 cup flour
• 1 white onion, roughly diced
• 1 green bell pepper, roughly diced
• 4 stalks celery, roughly diced
• 1 garlic, roughly diced
• 1 Mexican beer (like Modelo)
• 1 tbsp vegetable or chicken stock (mixed into 2-4 cups water)
• 1 package of okra, sliced (you can't have too much okra; fresh is best but pickled works if you wash them off before adding them in)
• Seasoning: ground black pepper, bay leaves, hot sauce, paprika

DIRECTIONS

• Add oil to large pot and set heat to medium-high to high (depending on how brave you are about risking burning the roux)
• Once oil is hot, start adding flour and whisking until you add enough that there's a wet sand texture
• Continue whisking, adjusting heat as needed, until roux turns the color of a deep chocolate brown (if you burn it you'll know, just start over)
• Add onions, celery, and green bell pepper and whisk for 5 minutes
• Add garlic and whisk for another 1 minute
• Add Mexican beer to deglaze, then add 2-4 cups of water mixed with the stock
• Reduce heat to low and add sliced okra, bay leaves, hot sauce (Crystal if you have it), file (if you have it), paprika, and an absolute buttload of ground black pepper
• You're basically done, just continue to stir every 15 minutes on low heat for 2-3 hours.
• This is the basic vegan version of the dish, but I've had success adding browned impossible beef or, for meat-eating, seared chicken thighs and sliced sausage.
• Serve with rice, keeps in fridge ~2 weeks (can also be frozen)