It all starts with a roux. (And a hankering for a soul-warming bowl of Classic Seafood Gumbo and a wedge or two of buttermilk cornbread.) Gumbo, a South Louisiana classic Creole dish, literally translated into the word ‘okra’ in North African cultures, has a few essential elements: a thickener (a roux, file, or okra), stock, and trilogy (the mixture of onion, celery and bell pepper). Proteins such as seafood, Andouille sausage, shredded chicken or turkey, or even a mixture of herbs and greens for a vegetarian version, are traditional add-ins as well.
In my version of a seafood gumbo, my add-ins are cubed ham, shrimp, and fresh oysters. Not to mention both a roux and okra picked right from our very own vegetable garden. A can of diced tomatoes and an hour-and-a half of simmering time later, it’s time to top this hearty soup with perfectly cooked white rice and sliced green onions.
The dark brown roux: the base of the gumbo
(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
Classic Seafood Gumbo
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup canola oil, plus 2 teaspoons, divided
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 lb. okra, sliced into ¼-inch rounds
- Cajun seasoning
- 1 cup trilogy
- 1 cup cubed, cooked ham
- 2 quarts seafood stock, or water
- 1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 lb. oysters, rinsed
- ½ cup green onions
- White rice, for serving
- Cornbread, for serving
- Hot sauce, for serving
Directions:
- In a thick-bottomed soup pot, add the ¼ cup canola oil. Heat over low heat and add in the ¼ cup of flour. Whisking constantly for 20-25 minutes, the dark-brown roux will be formed. (It is important to constantly whisk the roux while it cooks, so that the flour does not burn!)
- In the meantime, heat 1 teaspoon of canola oil in a small sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add in the okra, season it with a touch of Cajun seasoning, and cook until lightly seared. Remove the okra from the pan and set aside. Add an additional teaspoon of oil into the same pan and this time, cook the trilogy over medium-high heat, stirring often for 4-5 minutes, or until tender.
- Once the roux is the desired shade of brown, add in the stock or water, the cooked okra and trilogy, the ham, and the drained tomatoes. Increase the heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally for 1 ½ hours. Adjust the seasonings as desired.
- Add in the shrimp, oysters and green onions; cook for an additional 5-10 minutes or until the shrimp are pinked and curled.
- Serve the gumbo with hot sauce, rice and a wedge of cornbread.
Tagged: Cajun, cornbread, Creole, green onions, gumbo, ham, hot sauce, Louisiana, okra, oysters, rice, roux, seafood gumbo, shrimp, soup, trilogy, white rice
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