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In honor of Miss Gloria, my mother in law, on her birthday I’m posting my Gumbo recipe. It will never be as good as hers but I am happy to share my version with you here. And I have two other huge reasons to be thinking about Gumbo this week – Black and Gold Superbowl coming up on Sunday the 7th (Geaux Saints!) and Mardi Gras coming up on Tuesday the 16th!
Black and Gold Superbowl!!!
Let the good times roll!
So, let’s talk about Gumbo. If you go to Louisiana and ask 10 people how to make Gumbo you’ll get at least 10 different recipes…..seriously. Every person and every family has their own favorite way to make it. But they all have one thing in common – roux. You have to start with a good, dark roux and only then can you go your own way. Making a roux used to scare the daylights out of me! But just stay with it and follow these steps and you’ll be just fine.
Here’s my gumbo recipe (YES, we will be having this on Superbowl Sunday!). This recipe makes enough for about 6 people – feel free to make more…..it freezes well and makes awesome lunches.
Ingredients
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup flour
2/3 cup chopped yellow onions
1/3 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup chopped green pepper
4 cloves of garlic, minced
8 cups chicken broth or water
2 bay leaves
1 can lump crabmeat, drained
3 lbs. peeled shrimp
1 1/2 lb. smoked sausage, sliced into half moons
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
In a heavy dutch oven, heat oil until hot. Add flour and mix together with the flat side of a wooden spoon until mixed. Over medium heat, move oil and flour mixture in the pan back and forth with the spoon until browned the color of milk chocolate. Don’t stop stirring to answer the phone, feed the kids, chop the vegetables, pour a glass of wine, or converse with your friends. Seriously, this is the only way to make the roux – otherwise you will burn it and have to start over. So keep moving it around – this can take 20 minutes so hang in there.
Keep it moving - this roux has a long way to go!
You’ll see it starting to bubble and the color will slowly change. Sorry I didn’t get a picture of the color…I was too busy stirring at that point!
Once the color is just right, chere’, you add the trinity (onions, green pepper and celery). Add the garlic, too. Keep stirring it until the veggies are coated with the roux and the onion is just wilted. Add the broth or water slowly, keep stirring to make it all nice and smooth. Now you can relax and let this simmer while you start on your seafood and meats.
I like to saute’ my sausage before adding it to the gumbo so in a large pan, saute’ the sausage in a little canola oil over medium high heat until brown around the edges. Add this to the gumbo and then pour a little broth in the pan to scrape up all the yummy goodness and add this also.
About 15 minutes before you are ready to eat, add the crab meat and the shrimp. Cook it all together and serve over cooked white rice. Sprinkle with file’ powder if you can find it where you live (optional).
Ready to take to the table
Enjoy with a piece of crusty bread so you don’t miss any of the delicious flavors before you! It’s so good it will make you want to kiss your sistah!