Seafood Gumbo
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Named for the Bantu work for okra, gombo, gumbo is a thick stew-like soup from Louisiana. A specialty born of the Creole cooking of New Orleans, gumbo often contains okra and a variety of meat or seafood. It usually includes a dark roux, a well-cooked paste of flour and oil, which thickens the stew and adds a silky texture, as well as a deep, rich background flavor. If okra is unavailable, as sometimes happens in northern climates, you can substitute green beans or zucchini.
INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
2 jalapeno chiles, seeded and diced, optional
4 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups chicken broth, or 4 cups chicken broth and 2 cups clam juice
1 pound okra, stems removed and pods sliced
1/2 pound smoked andouille or other spicy smoked sausage, sliced
1-1/2 cups diced tomatoes, fresh or canned
1/4 cups chopped fresh parsley
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
Salt
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 pound crabmeat
1 pound scallops
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 to 6 cups cooked white rice, to serve
Filé powder and Louisiana-style hot sauce, to serveHeat the olive oil in a large pot. Sauté the onion, green pepper, celery, jalapeno, and garlic in the oil until the onion is limp, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add the broth, okra, sausage, tomatoes, parsley, bay leaves, thyme, cayenne, black and white peppers, and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the canola oil and flour in a medium-frying pan, stirring until you have a smooth paste. Cook over medium-low heat until the paste is a rich brown. This will take close to 30 minutes. Do not let the mixture burn. If it doesn, you must throw it out and start over again. This is the darkened roux that gives gumbo its characteristic flavor and color.
Carefully stir the roux into the gumbo, protecting your arms from hot splatters. Add the crabmeat, scallops, and shrimp. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Simmer for another 15 minutes, until the shrimp are pink and firm and the scallops are opaque. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if desired.
Remove the bay leaves. To serve, ladle the gumbo over the rice in a large soup bowls. Pass the filé powder and hot sauce at the table.
Makes 6 to 8 servings