National Dishes of the World

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Gumbo
Photo: Amadscientist, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

soup

Gumbo

A thick Louisiana stew built on a dark roux, with andouille sausage, chicken or seafood, served over rice.

Eaten in: United States

Prep
25 min
Cooking
2 h
Total
2 h 25 min
Servings
6

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About the dish

Gumbo is a thick, fragrant one-pot dish from Louisiana that brings together French, Spanish, West African and Native American influences. It starts with a roux – flour slowly toasted in fat until it is the colour of chocolate – and the so-called holy trinity of onion, celery and green bell pepper. It is thickened with okra or with filé, ground sassafras leaves. Cajun versions lean on chicken and smoked andouille sausage, while Creole gumbo from New Orleans is more often made with shrimp, crab and oysters and sometimes tomatoes. It is ladled into deep bowls over a mound of white rice, especially in the cooler months and at family gatherings.

Main ingredients

  • chicken
  • andouille sausage
  • flour-and-oil roux
  • onion
  • celery
  • green bell pepper
  • okra
  • rice

United States: A symbol of Louisiana's Creole and Cajun cooking.

More: Wikipedia (en)

Recipe

Gumbo

https://foodmap.ominuvo.com/dish/gumbo

Ingredients

6 servings

6 servings

Method

  1. Cut the chicken into chunks and the sausage into half-moons. Chop the onion, celery, pepper and garlic, and slice the okra into rounds.

  2. In a large heavy-based pot, brown the sausage and chicken in a tablespoon of oil, then lift them out onto a plate.

  3. Add the rest of the oil and the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 30–40 minutes until the roux is the colour of milk chocolate. Take care not to burn it.

  4. Add the onion, celery and pepper and cook for 5 minutes, then stir in the garlic. Pour in the stock gradually, whisking hard so no lumps form.

  5. Return the chicken and sausage to the pot with the bay leaves, thyme and cayenne. Cover and simmer gently for about an hour.

  6. Add the okra and simmer for another 20 minutes until the gumbo thickens. Season with salt and pepper.

  7. Meanwhile cook the rice. Serve the gumbo in deep bowls over the rice, scattered with chopped spring onion.

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