Sunday Slow Soupers # 10 - Gumbo

This week the Sunday Slow Soupers headed south, directed on our journey by Sandi. The soup that she selected is her own recipe for gumbo. She hinted that this recipe has developed over time and was the source of great 'discussion' in her family. We soon learned why as various cooks from the south chimed in on the thread - some insisting that gumbo MUST have okra, others insisting on tomatoes, and others saying it wasn't gumbo without filé powder.

Gumbo is a Louisiana soup or stew which reflects and blends the rich cuisines of regional Indian, French, Spanish, and African cultures. The word "gumbo" is derived African term for okra, "gombo," and first appeared in print in 1805. Filé gumbo, a version thickened with filé powder (ground sassafras leaves) as used by the Choctaw Indians, came along about 20 years later.

There are no hard and fast rules for making gumbo beyond the basic roux, okra or filé powder, and your imagination. There are probably as many distinctive recipes for gumbo as there are cooks in the south.

The fat used in roux may be butter, shortening, lard, oil, or even bacon drippings. Combine fat with an equal amount of flour ; 1/2 cup of each will make a good amount and any excess can be stored in the refrigerator. (Many cookbooks call for a little more fat than flour - 2/3 cup oil to 1/2 cup flour is a common ratio.) Melt the fat in a black skillet over low heat. When warm and fluid, sprinkle the flour in a little at a time, stirring. Stir constantly until brown (this may take 20 to 30 minutes) ; immediately remove from heat or add ingredients your recipe calls for. If it burns even slightly, throw it out and start over again!

Both Paul and I LOVED Sandi's recipe. Mind you, we knew that we would because anyone who has written not one but TWO cookbooks must be a brilliant cook. We followed her recipe as printed with two exceptions - I left out the oysters because . . . well . . . they're gross. I also used red pepper flakes instead of cayenne.

The soup was delicious with a nice blend of flavours. The red pepper flakes gave it a nice bite.

YUM!

Thanks for sharing your 'secret family recipe' with us Sandi.

Seafood Gumbo

¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup all purpose flour
1 lb chicken pieces
1lb large shrimp, bay scallops, oysters
1lb Andouille sausage
32 oz chicken broth
2 bell peppers, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp salt & pepper
½ tsp cayenne pepper (more or less)
chopped parsley
bunch of green onions chopped

In a large pot, saute onions and peppers. Add sausage and brown. Add spices, and chicken. Add enough water to cover the chicken. Simmer until the chicken is cooked through (if you use chicken on the bone you can cool it and pull it now). Use this broth as a part of the 32 oz of chicken broth.

Start the gumbo by making aroux. Use a heavy skillet and stir together flour and oil until it is a cocoa brown and thick, smooth consistency. Add some broth to the skillet to thin the roux, then pour it into the big pot. Whisking constantly, add the remaining chicken broth.  Whisk until there are no cumps.

Cover and simmer. This will help to thicken the gumbo.

Add the sausage, peppers, onions, and chicken from above and the cleaned shrimp and scallops, cooking on medium heat till shrimp are pink (10 minutes) Add the delicate oysters last. Remove from heat. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Serve in a large bowl on top of a scoop of rice, with a garnish of green onions.

Comments

[Kathryn Gerth]

LOL on the oysters. I always think that, too, and everyone says, "Well, just put them in for the flavoring and then fish them out before you serve it." I am thinking, "Nope, I still KNOW they were in there!" Your soup looks plenty good without them.

[JDeQ]

Most of the slow soupers left out the oysters. Apparenty they give most of us the willies (the technical term, that!)