Gumbo
Photo: Stephanie · CC BY 2.0

History

Gumbo descends from West African okra stews (the word gumbo itself comes from a Bantu word for okra), Choctaw file (powdered sassafras leaves) and the French roux. It coalesced into its modern form in 18th-century colonial Louisiana, where enslaved African cooks and French cooks worked in the same kitchens. By the 1830s it was on every New Orleans Creole menu, in seafood, chicken-andouille, and Lenten z'herbes (greens) variations. The Choctaw influence (file) and the African influence (okra) are still visible in the alternate thickening choices. Gumbo is rarely thickened with both. It is always served over rice, not noodles.

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Common allergens: Shellfish, Gluten

Make it at home

Yield 6Hands-on 1 hrTotal 3 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 180g all-purpose flour
  • 180ml neutral oil (vegetable or peanut)
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 450g andouille sausage, sliced
  • 1.5 litres chicken stock
  • 450g chicken thigh meat, cubed
  • 450g raw Gulf shrimp, peeled (optional)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne
  • 2 teaspoons file powder (or 450g sliced okra)
  • Cooked long-grain white rice, to serve
  • Sliced green onions, to garnish

Method

  1. Make the roux. Heat the oil in a heavy Dutch oven over medium. Whisk in the flour. Cook stirring constantly for 30 to 45 minutes until the roux is the colour of milk chocolate. Do not stop stirring; this is the dish.
  2. Add the holy trinity (onion, celery, bell pepper) and the garlic. Cook 8 minutes until softened.
  3. Add the andouille and cook 3 minutes. Whisk in the stock a ladle at a time so the roux doesn't clump.
  4. Add bay leaves, thyme, salt, cayenne and chicken. Simmer 90 minutes uncovered, skimming any fat that rises.
  5. Add shrimp if using and cook 5 minutes until pink. Stir in the file powder off the heat (file gets stringy if it boils). Or fold in cooked okra at this stage.
  6. Taste, adjust salt. Serve over hot rice with green onions on top.

Tip from the editors. The roux is the dish. Use a cast iron Dutch oven, never stop stirring, and aim for the colour of milk chocolate (not coffee, not peanut butter).

Where to eat gumbo

Gumbo in New Orleans

Commander's Palace ★ 4.8

$$ $50 to $90BrunchJazz brunch

Commander's Palace in New Orleans is the Garden District grande dame on Washington Avenue, with the canonical New Orleans Sunday jazz brunch.

OrderTurtle soup with sherry, then eggs Sardou.

TipThe 25-cent martini (3 max) is the brunch tradition; jacket suggested for the men in the upstairs Garden Room.

Directions

Brigtsen's ★ 4.6

$$$$ Tasting $50 to $85 a la carteCajun & CreoleChef Frank Brigtsen

Brigtsen's in New Orleans is Frank and Marna Brigtsen's 1986 Victorian-cottage Creole Acadian room near the streetcar terminus, a Paul Prudhomme alumnus.

Book1 to 2 weeks ahead

Directions Book

Liuzza's by the Track ★ 4.5

$ Cajun & Creole

Liuzza's by the Track in New Orleans is the Bayou St John lunch counter near the Fair Grounds that invented the BBQ shrimp po-boy, $15 with butter-pepper.

TryBBQ shrimp po-boy

TipCash only at peak; check the Jazz Fest schedule, the room turns into a circus on festival weekends.

Directions

Mandina's Restaurant ★ 4.3

$$ Cajun & CreoleMid City

Mandina's in New Orleans is the 1932 Mid-City Italian-Creole corner room on Canal Street, founded by Sicilian immigrant Sebastian Mandina and still serving.

OrderThe trout amandine. Add the spaghetti with red gravy and a side of bread.

TipSit at the bar for the streetcar view; the kitchen runs faster off the bar pickup.

Directions Book

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