On Thursday, I prepared my Thanksgiving Gumbo. In my family, no holiday dinner is complete without Gumbo. But Gumbo is not just for holidays. I prepare it when the weather becomes chilly (for Houstonians, that's anything below 70 degrees!) when I or anyone I know have/has a cold, or sometimes simply when the mood hits me. Mind, it doesn't hit me very often given the time that it takes, but sometimes I surprise myself.
Gumbo is a southern Louisiana soup. The word Gumbo roughly means 'a little bit of everything'. When I lived with my parents - forever ago - my mother and I always cooked together. O.K., so I chopped vegetables or seasoning as my mother calls them; and, generally did what ever she said. When we cooked Gumbo, it took a couple of days. Why? Everything had to be fresh. The day before, we peeled and de-veined the shrimp--typically about 2-4 pounds. We picked crabs for crabmeat. And finally, we sliced fresh okra. Now, I prepare it in about 4 hours--here's how:
1. Spray a large pan or cookie tray with nonstick cooking spray. Turn the oven on 400 if gas or about 375 with electic and dump in about 32oz or 2lbs of fresh or frozen Okra - I use frozen, it works the same no matter what my mother says! Allow the okra to cook--check on it occasionally and stir it on the tray. It takes a while. The okra is finished when it is brown and no longer - for lack of a better description, slimy. It takes about 35-50 minutes depending on your oven, the size of your pan. The larger your pan/tray, the quicker the okra cooks because then it's easier to spread it out.
2. While the okra cooks or before starting, chop 1 large onion, 3 stalks of celery, 1 large green bell pepper, and 4 large cloves of garlic.
3. Boil about 2-3 chicken breasts or between 1-1 1/2 pounds.
4. Slice 2lbs of smoked sausage (Choose your favorite) I use two different types. One is hot (spicy) and one is medium (spicy). Put the sausage in a large pan and bake the sausage for about 15 minutes in the oven with the okra. After 15 minutes, take the sausage out and put the sausage on a plate that is padded with paper towels to drain the excess oil from the sausage
5. Chop 6-8 shallots and put them aside in separate bowl
6. In a separate large skillet, put in about 2 tablespoons of canola oil (I don't actually measure, I'm just guestimating.) and about 5 tablespoons of white flour (same applies for this amount as above). Cook this on low stirring constantly until the roux or gravy is dark brown.
7. When the roux is dark brown, slowly pour in 8ozs. of chicken broth (canned is fine) while stirring constantly so that the roux doesn't turn lumpy.
8. After the broth and roux are mixed thoroughly, add to the stockpot with the cooked Okra. Then add about 3-4 quarts of water, depending upon the size of your pot. Also, add chopped vegetables--onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic. Also, chop boiled chicken breast and add it to the pot. You might choose - I do - to add the water in which the chicken breasts were cooked as part of the 3-4 quarts of water. Also, add red pepper flakes to taste, black pepper and salt to taste, and 4-6 bay leaves. Cook this on about medium high for 45-65 minutes.
9. After the above has cooked for the prescribed amount of time add cleaned and de-veined shrimp, fresh crab meat and sausage
10. Cook for about 7 minutes then add shallots.
11. Cook for 10 more minutes then turn off pot.
12. Let Gumbo sit for about 30 minutes.
13. While waiting for the Gumbo to 'set', cook a pot of white or brown rice - I prefer brown.
14. Put a scoop of rice in a bowl then ladle Gumbo on top.
So there it is - Gumbo in 14 easy steps.
HBJ
Remember to thank Hope for sharing her recipe we certainly appreciate it!
Now off to the updates, enjoy 'em.
Elisa
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