I've been insanely busy with work and college... but I will be
posting soon, and something really awesome! Homemade gumbo from scratch!
Now, I can tell you that there are a lot of gumbo recipes out there, and
if you don't live in southern Louisiana, chances are the only way you're going
to find decent gumbo is to make it yourself. (Even when I've gone to
Shreveport, LA, I have yet to eat a decent bowl of restaurant gumbo) If you’ve never been to NOLA (New Orleans,
LA), and you don’t know someone from there, chances are that you’ve never
actually had a good bowl of gumbo.
My gumbo has
developed over years and years of making it, originally from Chef Paul
Prudhomme's recipe. However, I finally visited New Orleans a couple of years
ago. Eating the 'real deal' at Mulatte's completely changed the way I think
about gumbo. Now, the awesome thing about gumbo is, you make it your own.... as
long as it's fantastic, it's all good. There’s plenty of argument about
whether gumbo has okra or tomatoes, and when to add the filé. There are as many varieties of gumbo that you
can imagine - I've even had gumbo with beans in it. Seriously!
I’m getting ahead of myself though. What exactly is gumbo? I can tell you that it’s not the canned stuff
you find at the grocery store. Gumbo
originated in Southern Louisiana during the 18th century, and like
the people of the region, gumbo is literally a melting pot meal from a wide
variety of cultures, such as French, Spanish, German, West African, and Choctaw. The name “gumbo” probably comes from the Bantu
word for okra “ki gnombo” or else the Choktaw word for file (ground sassafras
powder) “kombo”. There are some that
prefer their gumbo without okra, but I feel that real gumbo requires it – it’s
where the name probably originated from after all! Gumbo will always contain the “holy trinity”
which is onions, bell peppers and celery, and starts with a base or roux. Traditionally, the color of the roux will
depend on the type of gumbo you’re making.
Gumbo containing seafood and lighter meats such as chicken will have a
dark roux. Gumbo made with game meats,
or darker colored meats will have a lighter colored roux. New Orleans gumbo will usually be a mixture
of seafood (shrimp, crawfish, oysters, crab) or poultry (usually chicken, but
sometimes duck) and sausage (andouille sausage). I generally combine all three, using what I
have one hand.
