Directions: |
Directions:•Simmer the stock covered for 80 minutes (if using my stock recipe) before doing anything else
•Mix the oil and flour (hereafter referred to as the roux) in a 1 litre or larger Pyrex glass bowl or measuring cup
•Microwave the roux for 6 minutes and watch it carefully. If it starts to bubble towards the top of the glass, stop the microwave and stir the mixture. As the roux cooks and the moisture in the flour evaporates, this will be less and less likely to happen (bubbling over). Stir well at the end of 6 minutes.
•Continue microwaving the roux for 2 more minutes, again watching carefully. The roux will start to darken. Stir well.
•Continue microwaving the roux now for 30 second intervals watching the color of it very carefully and stirring in between. You want a brown to dark brown color depending on your tastes. The darker the roux gets the more character the flavor has but the less thickening capability it will have.
•When the roux reaches the desired color, pour it into a large pot and put on the stove at medium heat.
•Add all the vegetables and stir well, cooking the veggies in the thickening roux.
•After about 30 seconds, slowly start adding the stock, whisking it into the roux well.
•After all the stock has been mixed in, cover and simmer for 25 minutes.
•While the stew simmers, cook whatever rice you plan to use with the meal.
•After the simmer, add all the meats and stir well.
•Add the fish sauce and Cajun seasonings and stir well.
•Add the filé powder and stir well.
•Simmer for 8-10 more minutes. Feel free to taste and add hot pepper to the gumbo at this stage if you want it spicier.
•Form the rice into small mounds in the center of your serving bowls.
•Carefully ladle the gumbo around the rice.
•Serve. |
Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: This dish is a strong flavored American classic with roots in the swamps of Louisiana. Cuisine like this was developed with the idea of stretching ingredients (with lots of sauce and seasonings as well as cheap rice) for the purpose of feeding larger groups of people. When the Acadians of Canada resettled in the Southern edge of the US after 1755, life was hard. The people there literally had to eat whatever they dragged out of the swamp. Anyone who has watched an episode of “Swamp People” on television knows how hardy these people are. If you go after 10-12 foot carnivorous lizards to make a living, you’ve had to make some harsh adaptations. And some families have made their living hunting alligators in the swamps for the last 300 years.
My recipe here uses seafood and the ubiquitous Andouille sausage found everywhere in Louisiana. Gumbo traditionally also uses okra as both a vegetable and as a thickening agent. I do not like okra except fried or pickled in a bloody mary so my recipe here omits it. But feel free to add it with the aromatics during that step if you want okra in your gumbo. What separates my method from traditional Cajun cooking is my use of a microwave to make the roux. This saves an hour off the cooking time easily despite the groaning of traditional Cajun cooks.
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This recipe for Cajun Seafood Gumbo is from