Gumbo

I have this goal to learn how to make traditional dishes. When making these dishes I feel connected to the history of how they came about and the people that made them. One of the first things I made was gumbo! It's one of the first foods I think about when talking about New Orleans.

I started off with Emerald's recipe, because he is my go to for traditional New Orleans, and went from there. So it's not really healthy for you and it starts off with a lot of fat but hang with me it is fantastic!

Gumbo
1 c of fat: I like to use half bacon fat and a stick of butter
1 c of flour
1 onion diced
2 bell peppers diced
1c celery diced
4 cloves of garlic minced
A whole chicken
2T basil
Salt to taste
2T Cajun seasoning
2lb andouille sausage cubed
1lb fresh or frozen okra cut
1T tomato paste


To make the roux:
This is where the main part of your flavor and texture for the soup comes from. Heat a large stew pot on med heat. Melt the fat and whisk in the flour. Simmer the roux for about 30 minutes whisking constantly. No your arm won't fall off. You want it to be the color of peanut butter. The darker the roux the darker tasting the gumbo.
Add the veggies cooking them until they are soft then throw in the garlic. It is important to stir constantly here so you don't burn the roux you just worked so hard on.
Turn the heat off and rinse the chicken and take out the giblets. Put the chicken in the pot and cover with water. Add spices. Put it back on the heat and bring it up to a boil. Let it simmer for an hour until the chicken is cooked through.
Put the chicken on a pan to cool. Put the sausage in the pot and simmer. Put okra and tomato paste in the skillet on med low heat to de-slime. Cook until all the slime is gone and add to pot.
Cut meat off chicken and shred it. Add to the pot. Let everything cook through. Try not to stir it too much because you will break up the okra.

10 hours later you are done! Now wasnt that easy!

Not really but it is a good 2 hour process. It is worth the effort I promise! I like to start it in the morning so that it has a chance to settle.

Enjoy!