Written by Gumbo is a cajun soup/stew that has African origins. There are as many variations of gumbo as you can imagine, some include chicken, ham and or fish chunks. The one thing they all have in common is the okra, its used as a thickening agent. This version serves 3-4 servings with rice.
Ingredients:
1/2 stick butter/oleo/vegetable oil
4 Tbsp flour
1/2 C chopped pepper; your choice.
1/2 C chopped celery
1/2 C chopped onion
pinch each of cayenne pepper, black and white pepper (add a pinch of hot paprika if you like it spicy!)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 C okra (frozen is ok)
1 tomato, peeled & rough chopped
1 bay leaf, crumbled
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp oregano
1/2 lb shrimp (peeled and deveined)
1/2 lb andouille sausage, cooked and crumbled (smoked polish can be substituted)
2 C broth (chicken, vegetable or shrimp)
1 C rice – cook and fluff
Make a roux of the first two ingredients; keep stirring until its a very brown color (2 cautions – Do not get any on you and don’t let it burn). When the color of the roux gets just `past “peanut butter” – add the pepper, onion, celery, garlic, red and white pepper -allow the veggies to start to soften up – remove from heat. Heat your broth and slowly add to the roux, making sure that it gets thoroughly mixed. Add your okra, sausage, tomato and the rest of the spices. Allow this to simmer for about an hour. Toss in the shrimp about 10 minutes before your ready to eat – adjust seasonings at this point- a dash of salt? Serve gumbo over the rice in bowls.
One note – Locally Colisimo’s brand is a wonderful cajun/andouille sausage that is reasonably priced.
I found this cajun/creole cookbook written in 1885 – should be some interesting reading!
