Versatile. Adaptable. Immensely satisfying to make, to serve, and to eat; a real one-pot wonder that marches on in defiance to economic & social conditions, an ace in the sleeve to play when you think you have nothing in the larder to cook and all you need is:
Flour
Canola oil (or clarified butter)
Seasonings for the roux: onions, peppers, celery, bay leaf, garlic, herbs, & c.
Vegetables/Bones to make a stock with
As the old saying goes, first you make a roux. In a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven heat the oil, stir in about an equal amount of flour with a heavy duty whisk or wooden spoon and put the iron vessel into the 300-350 degree F oven. Check on it with a good stir every 20 minutes and get that dark brown color that has a distinctive toasted hazel nut aroma. Expect an hour to get this effect, maybe a bit more, but do not compromise on this step. At all. A blonde roux in a gumbo is a kind of betrayal that will ensure the sort of retribution that you do not want to tangle with. So, when the time is right, that perfect blissful moment when you think the roux could scorch the bottom of your vessel, on the cusp of oblivion and failure, you have certainly pushed this one to the edge, this is exactly when you add the vegetables that you chopped in between your roux-stirring ritual. Onions, bell peppers, celery, garlic. Put in some bay leaves, cayenne, fresh/dried thyme. The initial heat of the roux is going to caramelize the vegetables but continue cooking them if they haven’t softened up yet. While all this is going on you already have a big stock pot of bones (or vegetables) simmering. You are religiously skimming this aromatic broth of the unwanted debris, foam, oil, etc. Vegetable stocks hit their peak in short time, 45 minutes for example. Salt it. Taste it and see. Chicken/fowl bones can go 3-4 hours and denser, heavier bones of cow, pig, veal, or lamb go longer. Keep a spoon handy and monitor the development of flavor and do not go over that diabolical line where the flavor just seems to disappear and fade from over-cooking, lost forever. Right, now you have a vast horizon of boundless options before you, the real pleasure of constructing your own gumbo because now you have the two main components, the heavy-hitters: a strong and flavorful stock/broth and a dark, deeply flavor-rich roux of the highest order. Put these two together because they were made for each other. They love one another like you can only imagine. Simmer & skim, simmer & skim. Here are some ideas for giving this beautiful union a cohesive personality:
* The time-honored and well respected chicken & andouille combination. Rich chicken stock, browned bits of sausage, scallions, parsley.
* The equally loved seafood & okra gumbo. The okra does well with a bit of tomato and only needs like 30-45 minutes of stewing, retaining its vibrant color and desirable slime. Do this in a separate pot, more manageable. Don’t overcook the seafood, gumbo-lover.
* Gumbo Z’herbes. Jesus take the wheel, this one, when done in a certain way, is ethereal, glorious. In traditional terms, it can be meat-less but also does very well with a ham hock(cured/smoked) based stock with all the little bits of shredded ham making their way to the soup. Seven types of greens for good luck is what they say and you can go wild here: pepper-grass, dandelion, scallions, kale, chard, mustards, choy, all manner of herbs. Be gentle in the cooking of the greens, adding at the end, or do what I do and pour the gumbo base over a bowl of the thinly sliced raw greens tossed with some chile vinegar and sea salt. This gives a pleasant and fresh counterpoint to the heaviness & richness of the broth. Please do it now.
* Grilled beef & mushrooms. I’ve done this in restaurants to take advantage of the butchers trimmings. The oh-so-common beef tenderloin chain makes a good addition to a stock and the trimmings left from the filet portions are oiled, tossed with salt, fresh cracked black P, fresh thyme/oregano and grilled to a dark char but rare. Add to the gumbo at the end. Saute some mushrooms, nice and browned, crispy (notice a trend here?). Finish with grilled and chopped green onions, fresh oregano.
* Chorizo & escarole
* Boudin & mustard greens
Now, are you going to grace your wonderful gumbo with that plain-jane and limp-flavored rice that you usually get from uncaring cooks the world over? No, you’re going to soften some chopped onions in a pot with some butter, bay leaf, crushed red pepper flakes and then add the raw rice and coat the rice with this goodness and do the standard three-and-a-half or four to one ratio of water/broth to rice. Finish it with salt, more butter. File powder as a last touch, if you please.
