Recipe: Gumbo

It's perverse, making gumbo in the summer, but the local grocery store happened to have frozen okra in stock.  You never know when they're going to have it so if you see it, it's prudent to grab a couple of bags.

I like okra.  I like it fried; I like it in soups; and I even liked it boiled, back in the day when my paternal grandmother's domestic Julia Mae (who called my grandmother her "white Mammy") was cooking for the family.  My husband's only exposure to okra prior to my appearing on the scene, however, was in college and involved West African students and a goat; it did not go well.

Between that traumatic event and the fact that the stores only rarely stock it (once in a blue moon you might find it in the fresh produce section, but by the time it's gotten here it's "fresh" solely in the sense that it is only partially desiccated), our okra consumption is limited to the occasional Cajun dish.  This week Shaw's has okra so we has gumbo.

Bad food photography alert.  

The recipe I use borrows heavily from one that came to me a couple of years ago through the Cook's Country recipe-testing process; it's the source of the innovative, hands-free oven roux I've since adapted to, oh, just about everything.  I simplified a couple of the fussier steps, removed some chicken and added okra and shrimp.  Other than that it's pretty much theirs. 

Gumbo

¾ cup flour
½ cup vegetable oil
4 bone-in chicken thighs (about 4 pounds), skin removed
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 celery rib, finely chopped
A healthy dollop of minced garlic (from a jar; I'm not proud)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 (32-ounce) box chicken broth

1 lb frozen sliced okra
¼ cup fish sauce (not a typo)
8 ounces andouille sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced thin

1 lb peeled, deveined shrimp

Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Toast ¾ cup flour in Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring constantly, until just beginning to brown.  In my experience this takes exactly 5 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in oil until smooth. Cover, transfer pot to oven, and cook 45 minutes. 

Pat chicken dry and season with pepper. 

Transfer Dutch oven to stovetop and whisk roux to combine. Add onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, thyme, and cayenne and cook over medium heat about 10 minutes, until the vegetables start to soften, stirring frequently.  It will be very thick and gloppy.  Add tomatoes, then slowly stir in broth and fish sauce, whisking until smooth. Add chicken and okra and bring to boil.

Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until chicken is tender, about 30 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate and allow to cool; debone and chop the meat into bite-sized pieces.  Return the meat to the pot (discard the bones). Add sausage and shrimp and simmer, uncovered, until heated through and the shrimp are opaque, about 10 minutes.  Correct seasonings and serve over hot cooked white rice and lashings of Tabasco. Gets better if you let it set a while and then reheat.

Serves 6 to 8