While travelling in the USA on my epic Food Tour across the States (see the Food Travel Blog section) I attended a cookery class at the New Orleans School of Cookery. Our teacher taught us a number of traditional Nola dishes which I have decided to share! Everything I tried was absolutely delicious and I hope that they work out as well for you all as well.
Gumbo is one of the most famous Creole dishes and consists of a rich stew, made from a darkly browned roux loosened with stock, and containing seafood and the Nola ‘holy trinity’ of celery, bell peppers and onions. It is thickened with file powder, powdered dried sassafras leaves, and/or okra. In fact the name Gumbo itself may come from the African word for okra, ki’ ngombo, which reached New Orleans through the once booming slave trade. Other varieties also include Andouille smoked sausage and chicken or other proteins too.
Gumbo is one of the most famous Creole dishes and consists of a rich stew, made from a darkly browned roux loosened with stock, and containing seafood and the Nola ‘holy trinity’ of celery, bell peppers and onions. It is thickened with file powder, powdered dried sassafras leaves, and/or okra. In fact the name Gumbo itself may come from the African word for okra, ki’ ngombo, which reached New Orleans through the once booming slave trade. Other varieties also include Andouille smoked sausage and chicken or other proteins too.
Gumbo is made using a roux in a different manner to the traditional French manner. A roux is the mixture produced when flour is added to butter and sauteed until it darkens slightly. Once milk is added to it, it becomes a Bechamel sauce (the white sauce on the top of your lasagne!) and is probably the usage most familiar to most people. In Creole cooking the roux is taken much further in the saute stage and is darkened significantly to a deep coffee colour, sometimes even further. This adds a deeper, more savoury flavour and a darker colour. Rouxs also serve to draw flavours together and enhance them – almost like salt. Make sure that you don’t burn anything that your roux mixture is added to, or the roux itself – these properties of the roux will ensure that that burnt flavour is unpleasantly enhanced. The picture below shows samples of a roux at different stages of its cooking progression. The photo below that shows the stage that the Gumbo requires. It takes a bit of bravery from those accustomed to making more traditional French rouxs but….take a deep breath and go for it. The results are lip smacking.
This recipe is for a Gumbo made with chicken. If you want to add seafood, add it in around 4 minutes before the very end of its simmering. Serve it with rice and some nice crusty French bread.
PS – another tip! Brown your flour in a baking tray in an oven on 60 Celsius for 45 minutes before using it. It increases the flavour of your roux even further!
www.neworleansschoolofcooking.com/
Recipe
Ingredients (Makes 15-20 servings):
250g lard – lard is key; the flavour of the pork fat really ties the dish together and it is actually better for you than butter
1 chicken, deboned and cut up into 1 inch chunks
1.5 lbs of Andouille sausage, or smoked sausage, chopped
1 cup plain flour
4 cups white onions, diced
2 cups celery, chopped into small pieces
2 cups green pepper, chopped into small pieces – approx. 1cm
1 cup garlic, minced (if you can get it use 1/2 cup fresh minced garlic + 1/2 cup chopped dehydrated garlic)
8 cups chicken stock
2 cups spring onions, chopped
salt and pepper
vegetable oil
optional: file powder and paprika or a Creole seasoning mix – season at the very end after serving. In Creole cooking these act kind of like table salt and pepper; they are set on the table as people eat and they add as desired. File powder is really interesting – it adds as a thickening agent but makes the gumbo more luxurious and rich. Try and get some – I really liked it. It will continue to thicken however with cooking, so just be aware of that and be prepared to add more liquid if you cook with it, rather than season with it.
Method:
1. Season the chicken and brown in the oil in a pan. Remove from the heat and set to one side. Brown the sausage too and remove from the pot and set to one side. Deglaze the pan with a bit of chicken stock and add this to the chicken stock, to be used later. This means that you can preserve all the yummy meaty sausage and chicken flavours and so that they don’t get wasted!
2. Saute onions, celery and the peppers in a big saucepan for a few minutes. Add the sausage.
3. In a new pot (food particles will make it burn) melt the lard and get it nice and hot. Add the flour and stir until it is all incorporated. Continue to stir – never stop stirring and never leave the pan!! – until the roux starts to darken. Take it to a deep caramel/coffee colour (as shown above). It will go very grainy and lumpy – don’t worry about this, this is meant to happen – but should soon start to smooth out.
4. When it has reached the desired colour dump it on top of the vegetables and sausage, add the garlic, and saute again for around 5 minutes.
5. Add a little bit of stock and continue to saute for a few minutes. Add another ladle or so of stock and continue to saute. Then add the rest of the stock and the chicken and bring to a boil. If you have the bones from the chicken, add them in too – it will add more flavour and just make sure that you remove them before serving. This bit is optional though.
6. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about an hour or so. About 10 minutes before the end add the spring onions. Skim, season and serve.
Note – The Gumbo improves over time so if you let it cool overnight and then reheat the next day it will taste even better!
Ingredients (Makes 15-20 servings):
250g lard – lard is key; the flavour of the pork fat really ties the dish together and it is actually better for you than butter
1 chicken, deboned and cut up into 1 inch chunks
1.5 lbs of Andouille sausage, or smoked sausage, chopped
1 cup plain flour
4 cups white onions, diced
2 cups celery, chopped into small pieces
2 cups green pepper, chopped into small pieces – approx. 1cm
1 cup garlic, minced (if you can get it use 1/2 cup fresh minced garlic + 1/2 cup chopped dehydrated garlic)
8 cups chicken stock
2 cups spring onions, chopped
salt and pepper
vegetable oil
optional: file powder and paprika or a Creole seasoning mix – season at the very end after serving. In Creole cooking these act kind of like table salt and pepper; they are set on the table as people eat and they add as desired. File powder is really interesting – it adds as a thickening agent but makes the gumbo more luxurious and rich. Try and get some – I really liked it. It will continue to thicken however with cooking, so just be aware of that and be prepared to add more liquid if you cook with it, rather than season with it.
Method:
1. Season the chicken and brown in the oil in a pan. Remove from the heat and set to one side. Brown the sausage too and remove from the pot and set to one side. Deglaze the pan with a bit of chicken stock and add this to the chicken stock, to be used later. This means that you can preserve all the yummy meaty sausage and chicken flavours and so that they don’t get wasted!
2. Saute onions, celery and the peppers in a big saucepan for a few minutes. Add the sausage.
3. In a new pot (food particles will make it burn) melt the lard and get it nice and hot. Add the flour and stir until it is all incorporated. Continue to stir – never stop stirring and never leave the pan!! – until the roux starts to darken. Take it to a deep caramel/coffee colour (as shown above). It will go very grainy and lumpy – don’t worry about this, this is meant to happen – but should soon start to smooth out.
4. When it has reached the desired colour dump it on top of the vegetables and sausage, add the garlic, and saute again for around 5 minutes.
5. Add a little bit of stock and continue to saute for a few minutes. Add another ladle or so of stock and continue to saute. Then add the rest of the stock and the chicken and bring to a boil. If you have the bones from the chicken, add them in too – it will add more flavour and just make sure that you remove them before serving. This bit is optional though.
6. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about an hour or so. About 10 minutes before the end add the spring onions. Skim, season and serve.
Note – The Gumbo improves over time so if you let it cool overnight and then reheat the next day it will taste even better!
