I love gumbo. A piping hot bowl of gumbo is the perfect cold weather meal. Its a great way to feed a lot of people and to use up ingredients in your cupboard and fridge. A basic recipe follows but you should feel free to improvise. Sometimes I add collard greens, okra or green beans. I've also added crawfish, clams, and pork loin. The key ingredients are the dark roux, the andouille and tasso.
INGREDIENTS
-6 T butter
-6 T Flour
-1 1/2 T Worcestershire sauce
-2 1/4 c stock
-1/2 t dried thyme
-1 15 oz jar stewed tomatoes diced
-1 8 oz jar tomatoes diced/ sauce
-1 package SRC Andouille                                        Â
-1 package SRC Tasso (for spicy) or Dry-Cured Bacon (less spicy)
-1/2 lb shrimp and/or boneless chicken (optional)
-1 medium onion, diced
-6 garlic cloves, minced
-1 sm green bell pepper, diced
-2 celery stalks, diced
-3 green onions
-2 T chopped fresh parsley
-Salt, Pepper and tabasco to taste
-3-4 c cooked white rice
In a stock pot (at least 6 quarts capacity) make a dark roux by melting the butter (or lard or duck fat) over medium heat and adding flour. Stir until the roux darkens to a peanut butter color (this will take about 5 minutes.) Whisk in the cold stock, worcestershire, tomatoes and thyme. Boil for about 5 minutes and then turn down to simmer.
In a frying pan, saute andouille, tasso/ bacon on low until a little fat is rendered, then add the chicken (if using) and diced vegetables and saute on med-high (you may need to add a little oil or butter if pan is dry) until some of the veg. start to brown a little but are still crunchy.
Add veg and meat mixture to stock and simmer for 10-20 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Add parsley, green onions, and shrimp if using. Turn off heat and let sit for about 5-10 minutes. Taste and season with salt, pepper and tabasco.
Serve over plain white rice.
