Photo by William P. Edwards
Gumbo (a West African word for okra) is a soup or stew served over rice. Gumbo purists insist that without the okra, you can’t call it gumbo!
Serves 8
½ cup vegetable oil (corn or canola)
1 whole chicken, cut up and skin removed
1 pound andouille sausage, sliced bite size
¾ cup flour
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped bell pepper
6 cups chicken stock, unsalted
1 teaspoon Cajun or Creole seasoning
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste
2 bay leaves
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 cups frozen sliced okra
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
Cooked white rice
Pepper sauce (optional)
In a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon oil. Saute chicken and sausage until brown on all sides. It’s fine if some meat sticks to the bottom of the pot and then releases. When brown, remove meat from pot. When chicken has cooled enough to handle, pull meat from bones, and discard bones. Set aside chicken and sausage.
Add remaining oil and flour to pot, stirring constantly for about 15 minutes. When flour is browned to the color of milk chocolate, add onion, celery and bell pepper. Saute on low heat 8–10 minutes. Gradually add chicken stock, stirring constantly, until blended and starting to thicken. Add chicken, sausage and all other ingredients except okra, parsley, rice and pepper sauce. Cover and simmer on low heat 30 minutes. Remove lid, and cook 30 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Add okra and parsley, and continue to cook on low heat, uncovered, 15 minutes. Serve in a soup bowl over rice. Season with pepper sauce, if desired.
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Recipe tip
Creole or Cajun?
It’s true that many of their ingredients are similar, but there are vast differences in these two cuisines. Creole cuisine is often described as more “urban” or “city” in nature, combining ingredients from many cultures, including Spanish, French, Italian, German and West African. Cajun cuisine is considered “country” food, with influences from the French and Native Americans.
The Cajuns, from French Canada, brought with them their French cooking techniques and black, cast-iron skillets, and incorporated game and seafood from the Louisiana bayous in their food. Creole cooks, drawing on more varied ingredients in their multicultural, urban locales, were more likely to use tomatoes in many of their dishes. You will seldom find tomatoes in Cajun recipes!