Big ole pot of somethin’ hot!
As cliche as it may seem, when a big winter storm is rolling into town, I just can’t stop thinking about what kind of soup or stew is going to be simmering away on the stove top or in the Crock Pot. It’s even better when this kind of weather hits on a weekend, because those of us who love to while away hours in the kitchen will have plenty of time to do it.
So far, I’ve heard from an editor who plans to make chili in the Crock Pot and our wonderful librarian, Belinda Harris, who will be making her mother’s cream of potato soup this weekend. Personally, I’m going for gumbo. I have never made gumbo before, but since the New Orleans Saints are playing in the Super Bowl in a little over a week, I want to run a good gumbo recipe in the paper.
I don’t usually put recipes out on the blog before I run them in my column, but in this case I think it would be nice if any of you want to try it out with me and give me your opinion. Gumbo, it seems, is not a soup for beginners because it requires the darkest roux you can make without burning it. The color of a dark brown roux is sometimes compared to chocolate. It requires quite a bit of time and patience to stir the fat (oil or butter) and flour mixture over a medium-low heat to achieve the correct color. This darkest of rouxs is what gives the gumbo its depth of flavor.
The recipe I found is from Emeril Lagasse, and it calls for vegetable oil in the roux instead of butter. That gives me a little pause. It also calls for duck legs, but I’ve called around and have not had much luck finding duck legs in town. Breasts and whole ducks, sure, but not legs. So I’m omitting the duck legs. This recipe already calls for 3 pounds of chicken anyway, and duck is expensive.
I’ll paste it below. UPDATE: Check the next blog entry for a report on how this recipe went for me.
If you’ve made gumbo before, I want to hear from you. If you try this recipe, I want to hear from you. And if you plan to make a big old pot of something hot this weekend, I want to hear from you!
Looking for a soup or stew recipe? Let me know and I can consult my library of cookbooks for ya.
Chicken and Smoked Sausage Gumbo
Makes 4 quarts
Editor’s note: If this is your first time making a roux, the slower you cook it, the less likely you will be to burn it. The important thing is to cook the roux to the desired color, as specified above.
For the roux:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup flour
Gumbo ingredients:
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped bell peppers
2 lbs. smoked sausage, such as andouille or kiebasa, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices, browned in a skillet, and drained on paper towels.
2 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne
3 bay leaves
10 cups chicken stock
3 lbs. boneless chicken meat, cut into 1-inch chunks
2 tsp. Creole seasoning (available in the grocery store spice aisle)
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/2 cup chopped green onion tops
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Steamed White Rice, for serving
Hot Sauce, for serving
Directions:
1. Place a heavy, iron Dutch oven over medium heat and heat the oil until just smoking. Whisk in flour, a little at a time, and cook, whisking constantly, until roux becomes smooth and thick. Continue to cook, constantly stirring with a wooden spoon and reaching all over bottom of pan, until roux darkens to the color of chocolate. The roux must remain an even color throughout process. If black flakes appear, you must start over.
3. When the roux is ready, add the onions, celery, and bell peppers and cook, stirring constantly for 4 to 5 minutes, or until wilted. Add the browned duck legs, sausage, salt, cayenne, and bay leaves. Continue to cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the stock in a slow stream, whisking until incorporated.
4. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes. Skim off any fat that rises to the surface. Season the chicken with the Creole seasoning and add to the pot. Return the gumbo to a simmer and cook an additional 45 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the parsley and green onions. Remove the bay leaves and serve in warmed bowls with steamed white rice. Pass hot sauce at the table, if desired.
Adapted from “New New Orleans Cooking”, by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch, published by William and Morrow, 1993.
January 29, 2010 - 11:22 AM
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Lindsey, you should know better by now. Really, I am disappointed in you. If you plan on posting ANYTHING related to New Orleans/Cajun/Creole cooking, you simply MUST accompany that with a link similar to this…
Let me present THE MAN…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpeM_s10g0s&feature=related
A wink for ya, hoping you take this in the joyeux spirit it was intended…
Lindsey, I’ve fixed Jumbalaya numerous time but never Gumbo so please let us know how it turns out! As for me, I fixed a pot of beans,a pork roast and a beef roast this week so I could throw the leftovers in to make an awesome pot of chili tomorrow. I also have everything to make homemade bread and a pan of brownies. Diet-schmiet…You can’t eat salad when it snows!!!
Yes, Ab!!! I LOVE Harry Connick, Jr.! Thanks for a link. Son of a gun, we’re gonna have big fun… makin’ gumbo!
Whitney, that sounds like a deeeeelicious plan.
YMMV, but I like adding file at the end. And mine is ALWAYS seafood gumbo.
I’m planning on making something this weekend along these lines… I have seafood sausage I bought at a Trader Joes recently. I was going to do it with some chicken thighs, some sort of smoked pork product, and various veggies – all to end up on top of a pile of rice.
It’s probably more a jambalaya than a gumbo, although I’m not sure of the difference.
I have had some venison steaks soaking in the fridge since yesterday. I plan to stick them in the CrockPot on Saturday with some onions, peppers, and maybe some Golden Mushroom soup and let them simmer until they fall apart. Then serve over some mashed potatoes.
Yuuummm!
Gdad, do you have any tips on the roux? And where can I find file powder in these parts? That fear was what led me to chose a recipe w/o file.
Kristen, that does sound more like jambalaya, except jambalaya has the rice mixed in with the meats and vegetables. It is more like a paella, I think, whereas gumbo is soupier.
Tami, that sounds super. One of my favorite comfort foods is home-canned venison with gravy over mashed taters.
I lived in New Orleans for about 10 years and love gumbo! I make mine vegetarian, with Kidney beans and either tofu or tempeh marinated with a little liquid smoke. I’ve also used veggie sausage with good results too.
Oh, and if you can’t find file powder get some okra. Both are traditionally used as a thickener.
Lindsey, the only place I remember finding file powder is at Annie Kay’s in Blacksburg. Couldn’t find it even at the co-op in Roanoke. As for the roux, I sometimes make it and sometimes don’t (sacrilege I know) . Because I can’t eat anything with wheat, rye or barley in it, any roux I make isn’t quite the same anyway. Corn starch and flours other than wheat just don’t darken the same and don’t taste the same. Nevertheless, my daughter the gumbo fanatic declared mine quite good.
Kathy, I agree on the okra. Mine gets it even when I DO use file.
Looks like there will be a lot of good cooking going on in town. Lets just hope the power doesn’t go out on everyone!! I have a woodstove to cook on for backup.
I just returned from the Kroger at Towers Mall in Roanoke. It’s busy, but they had a ton of registers open and I only had one person in front of me.
Got okra!!!
I saw an Alton Brown Good Eats episode where he made the roux in the oven. It sounded easier than browning it on the stovetop. You might want to google the technique.
I am planning on making the lentil recipe from your blog, some falafels and some pita bread from a recipe in the Falling Cloudberries cookbook.
For Gdad – try soy flour. You dont use nearly as much flour as normal, but I have found this to be a good substitue for cooking for al-pourpose flour.
pinto beans and bacon in the crockpot for me this weekend!
Debbie, what’s your falafel recipe?
I have a can of chickpeas sitting here and a whole day of nothing to do but cook. Can canned chickpeas be used?
The crockpot is bubbling with any ingredients I could find in the house without going back out to the grocery store. This weekend that means stew beef, hot sausage, potatoes, home canned tomatoes and some other hodgepodge. It smells great so far but won’t have the verdict on taste for a few more hours.
I am currently making gumbo! I use a recipe from The New Orleans Cookbook by Rima and Richard Collin. I do not put the sausage or gumbo crabs in. The sausage because we tried it and didn’t like it and the crabs because it’s not available here.
Gumbo Base: 2 c. chopped onion, 3/4 c. chopped green pepper, 1/3 c. thinly sliced green shallot tops, 2 tbs. finely minced parsley, 1 tbs. finely ,minced garlic, 1 1/2 c. coarsely chopped tomatoes, 2 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined, 2 lb. okra sliced 3/8 inch thick.
The Roux: 3/4 c. vegetable oil, 3/4 c. flour
The liquid and seasonings: 2 1/2 qt cold water, 3 whole bay leaves crushed, 1 1/2 tsp thyme, 5 tsp. salt, 1 1/4 ts. black pepper, 1/4 tsp. cayenne, 4 tsp. lemon juice, 10 whole all spice, 1/2 t. mace, 8 whole cloves
Clean and devein shrimp, chop all vegetables, measure all seasonings.
Make the roux by stirring the oil and flour over medium heat until the color of pecan shells or hazelnuts. This process takes about 30 minutes. Add the onion, green pepper, shallot tops, parsley, and garlic and cook for another 10 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and stir thoroughly. Add 2 quarts of the cold water, 1 lb. of shrimp, the okra, and the seasonings Raise the heat and bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 1 hour. Stir occasionally. At the end of the hour, add the remaining 1/2 qt water and stir. Remove the pot from the heat and let stand at room temperature.
Before serving, bring the gumbo to a boil and add the remaining shrimp Simmer about 10-12 minutes or until shrimp turn pink. Stir and turn off the heat and cover the pot. Let it sit covered for about 15 minutes before serving. Serve over mounds of cooked rice in deep soup bowls.
This recipe can be halved successfully. The full recipe will feed 6 hungry adults with some left over. I hope you enjoy this one!
Cathy
Here you go Kristen. These are baked in the oven instead of deep fried, so a healthy food is even healthier.
Falafels with cucumber-yogurt sauce
For the falafels
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1-15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup diced onion
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1/4 each packed fresh cilantro and parsley leaves
Zest of one small lemon
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 egg, beaten
For the yogurt sauce
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt ( I used Greek yogurt)
1/4 cup seeded and minced cucumber, squeezed dry
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp minced garlic
Salt and cayenne pepper
Mix together, season to tase with salt and cayenne pepper and chill until ready to serve.
Coat a 9 x 13 inch metal baking sheet with nonstick spray and 1 Tbsp olive oil and place inside oven.
(I used Reynolds Release foil on my cookie sheet and spread the oil on it)
Preheat oven to 375
Pulse chickpeas and all other ingredients, except flour and egg, in a food procesor until minced but not a paste. Transfer to a bowl and stir in flour and egg until fully incorporated. Drop mixture in balls the size of golfballs onto hot baking sheet. ( a medium size ice cream scoop works well) and bake 20 minutes. Brush falafels with remaining oil, flip and bake until golden on both sides, 15 minutes more.
BTW the falafel recipe came from Cuisine at home magazine
You’re not the only one! When I went to the grocery store on Friday there were only two roasts left!
vickie, many thanks for the suggestion. I’ll try that. More than 8 years gluten free and for the most part I just don’t do bread. I do really like chickpea (gram) flour as a coating for stuff like chicken or onion rings.
Provisions has File’ powder, most folks put it on the table when serving gumbo and use it as a condiment. You can also make a decent roux in the microwave, just remember, stirring is next to Godliness.
http://www.realcajunrecipes.com/recipes/cajun/roux-microwave/129.rcr
I’m making red beans and rice flavored with andouille sausage along with a roasted pork butt marinated in citrus, garic, and fresh herbs. The leftover pork will do nicely as a filling for soft tacos later this week.
Thank you Debbie! I have a can of chickpeas crying out for this recipe. Not to mention a weirdly large amount of parsley I need to get rid of.
I really love this blog – cooking, food, and talking about cooking and food are my favorite ways to get through the winter. My friends and I call it “food porn”, and a great smell in the house is the best remedy for the cold icy weather.
Harry Connick Jr is all well and good But if you really wanna rock by your crock, it’s gotta be Little Feat and “Mighty Rad Gumbo”!
http://www.getalyric.com/mp3/lyrics/songs/little_feat-10382/rad_gumbo-29160/rad_gumbo-146143/
Actually, it’s a cassoulet bubbling away on my stove right now, but somehow Little Feat still works!
You’re welcome Kristen. Enjoy!!
A blog reader has alerted me that file powder can be found at Fresh Market, FYI.