Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 2 celery stalks, finely diced

• 2 carrots, finely diced

• 1 large Spanish onion, finely diced

• 1 red bell pepper, finely diced

• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

• 4 cups Shrimp Stock (recipe follows), or more if needed, hot

• 2 tablespoons honey

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 4 tablespoons canola oil, plus more for deep-frying the okra

• 1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal

• 8 ounces okra, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds

• 1 pound large (21- to 24-count) shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails left on

• 18 shucked oysters

• 6 ounces jumbo lump crabmeat

• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

• 3 green onions (green and pale green parts), thinly sliced

Directions
1 Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Gradually whisk in the flour until smooth. Cook the roux, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until it's a light caramel color, 5 to 7 minutes. Then stir in all the vegetables and the garlic, and cook until the mixture begins to turn a deep chocolate color, about 5 minutes.

2 Whisk the 4 cups hot stock into the roux mixture, and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add more stock if the mixture is too thick. Season with the honey and salt and pepper to taste.

3 Meanwhile, heat 2 inches of canola oil in a deep sauté pan over medium-high heat until it begins to shimmer. Put the cornmeal in a shallow baking dish and season with salt and pepper. Season the okra with salt and pepper, and toss it in the cornmeal. Fry the okra, in batches, in the hot oil until golden brown, 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet and season with salt.

4 Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large sauté pan over high heat until almost smoking. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Add half of the shrimp to the pan and cook until just pink on both sides, about 2 minutes. Set aside on a plate. Repeat with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and shrimp.

5 Add the shrimp, oysters, and crabmeat to the sauce and simmer until the oysters are plump and cooked through, about 1 minute. Divide the seafood among 6 to 8 shallow bowls, ladle in some of the sauce, and garnish with the fried okra, chopped parsley, and green onions.

Shrimp Stock

• 2 tablespoons canola oil

• 4 cups raw shrimp shells and tails

• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

• 1 small carrot, coarsely chopped

• 1/2 medium celery stalk, coarsely chopped

• 1 cup dry white wine

• 1 medium tomato, chopped, or 1/2 cup chopped canned plum tomatoes

• 1 bay leaf

• 8 black peppercorns

Directions
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over high heat until almost smoking. Add the shrimp shells and tails, onion, carrot, and celery, and sauté, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the wine and boil until reduced by half. Add 8 cups cold water, the tomato, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Reduce the heat to medium, cover partially, and simmer for 40 minutes. Strain the stock through cheesecloth or a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl.

Serves 6 to 8