Gumbo

Day 28: Feeling FAT

It's Fat Tuesday (Marti Gras!) and you know what that means: indulgence! Seemed like the perfect excuse to try making gumbo - that Creole (or Cajun) classic. I have never had gumbo and was excited to give it a whirl. After a few days of research I set forth to prepare a "light" gumbo. What basically makes a gumbo light or heavy is the amount of fat you use in your roux. Roux, apparently the essence of a good gumbo, basically consists of fat and flour, cooked slowly to a nutty brown. Apparently the more fat in your roux the easier it is to cook. The more roux in the gumbo, the thicker the stew. There are other ways to thicken your gumbo. Okra thickens a gumbo, so I decided to include okra and try to cut down on the roux a little. Additionally, a gumbo can be either Creole or Cajun style: a Creole style gumbo is made with a lighter roux and includes tomatoes, whereas Cajun gumbo (Cajun being of French Canadian descent rather than the European Creoles) uses a darker roux and no tomatoes. The last variation in gumbo is of course the meat. Traditionally gumbo includes a combination of shellfish and sausage or chicken. Seemed to me that, like minestrone or tortilla soup, it pretty much can be whatever you have on hand. So, (sigh) given all the options I opted for a gumbo with okra, Creole style, with shrimp and chicken. I generally followed this lowfat gumbo recipe from the New York Times' Mark Bittman with a little help from Paula Deen (of course). I opted for a simple 1 to 1 ratio for my roux, but tried to keep the oil content as low as possible. Because I am a meat cooking novice I went ahead and cooked the meat before hand. The chicken I bought whole and roasted (plan to use the carcass for chicken broth for French Onion soup later this week), and the shrimp I bought fresh and sauteed in a non stick skillet and cut into thirds (they were jumbo prawns). You can use the chicken fat to cook the roux, and cook the shrimp in the gumbo itself, but I opted for a more straightforward cooking method that assured thoroughly cooked meat.

Gumbo

2 cups shredded cooked chicken

1 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cooked

1/4 cup canola oil

2 tbsp butter

1/2 cup flour

1 onion, diced

3 celery stalks, diced

2 bell peppers (I used 1 green and 1 orange), diced

4 scallions, whiles and greens, diced and separated

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp red pepper flakes

2 bay leaves

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes, with juice

4 cups vegetable broth (chicken would work well too)

1/4 bunch parsley, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

In a cast iron skillet heat canola oil and butter over medium low heat until butter melts. Add flour and stir thoroughly. Cook over medium low heat, stirring often with a rubber spatula, 10 minutes or more, until the roux is darker and fragrant (smells like nuts). Set aside to cool, stirring occasionally. Heat 1/4 cup broth over medium heat and add onions, celery, scallion whites, and peppers. Cook for 5 minutes until vegetables are softened. Add garlic, thyme, oregano, red pepper flakes, and a pinch of salt and cook 2 minutes more. Add roux and mix thoroughly. Cook for 5 more minutes, stirring often until all the vegetables are soft. Add tomatoes, bay leaves, and remaining broth and bring to a slow simmer. Cook for 20 minutes until all the flavors are melded. Add chicken and shrimp and cook for a few minutes more. Add parsley and scallion greens and salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice.

Jay's review:

5.0 yums (out of 5)! Gouter bon!

Posole

Day 24: Pozole, Posole

Two day effort went into tonight's soup. Yesterday, I roasted a chicken and made broth with the carcass and was all prepared to cook Jay's favorite, posole, for dinner. Unfortunately Jay had to be an adult and work late and I wasn't about to cook posole for just myself... So I waited till tonight for the preparation. There are of course a multitude of variations. There is Mexican style pozole, served with a clear broth, and New Mexican style posole with either green or red chili. For those of you unfamiliar with New Mexican cuisine, it seems to pretty much revolve around one central choice: green or red. Green is milder and usually involves some diced cooked chili similar to a fresh pablano, while red is hot and spicy and usually ground into a powder. New Mexico red chili powder is far better than any chili powder I have ever used and quite honestly, I am not sure I could ever go back to the other stuff. When we are in New Mexico we buy it in bulk at the Albertson's (of all places) and use it for the rest of the year. So obviously, given the choices, I made my posole with red chili. It was delicious, easy and very, very satisfying:

Posole:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, minced

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp black pepper

4 tbsp New Mexican red chili powder

8 cups chicken broth

4 cups cooked posole (in cans available at many grocery stores)

2-3 cups shredded chicken

salt to taste

In a soup pot heat oil and cook onions over medium heat until just soft. Add garlic and jalapenos and cook for 3 or 4 minutes more. Add spices and cook for 2 minutes to release flavors. Add broth, cooked posole, and cooked chicken and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook 10 minutes until all the flavors are melded. Salt to taste.

Jay's review:

5 yums (out of 5)! chicken+chili+corn=kickass

New England Squash Soup

Day 22: El Nino says Punxsutawney Phil is full of it

Last time I made this recipe I was actually living in New England, and in the dark cold winter New England Squash Soup would hit the spot. So, after a bright and sunny 60 degree Groundhog day up here in Seattle (Punxsutawney Phil doesn't know about El Nino) eating such a wintery soup seems a little weird. However this recipe is awesome and needed to be included in the month because it is basically completely fat-free (0k so there are like 2.5 grams of fat in the entire thing - pretty dang close). I think the key to this recipe is the garnish - it's what takes the soup from totally fine to really special - so I don't recommend skipping it. I got it out of that old standby of mine Moosewood Restaurant's Low Fat Favorites, with some slight adjustments (including switching out apple juice for white wine and a whole apple - worthwhile improvement I think):

New England Squash Soup

1 cup dry white wine (don't you love a recipe that starts that way!)

1/2 medium onion, diced - about 1 cup

2 celery stalks, diced

1 apple, cored and diced

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed

1 small yellow skinned potato, cubed

3 cups vegetable broth

2 bay leaves

1 1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 cups sliced white mushrooms

1/4 cup dry white wine

2 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp dried marjoram

3/4 cup lowfat milk

salt and pepper to taste

In a large soup pot bring 1 cup of white wine to a boil. Add onions, celery, apples, and garlic and lower heat to a simmer. Simmer until the vegetable soften, about 10 minutes. Add squash, potatoes, stock, thyme, bay leave, and nutmeg and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook until squash is cooked through.

While the squash cooks, simmer mushrooms in an uncovered skillet with soy sauce, 1/4 cup wine, and marjoram until the mushrooms are soft and most of the liquid has evaporated. Set aside.

When the squash is very soft puree with an immersion blender or food processor. Add milk and salt and pepper to taste. Serve topped with a few of the sauteed mushrooms.

Jay's review:

5 yums (out of 5)! Even I am shocked by this...

Clam and Smoked Salmon Chowder

Day 15: This is what you get for working out

The last time I made chowder (corn chowder) I was very impressed/alarmed. The recipe literally started with cooking bacon in butter, and ended with adding cream and cheese. Needless to say I have severely limited my consumption of anything attached to the label of "chowder" ever since. That said, I knew I needed to pay homage to this classic soup at some point in my 31 days so I waited till I felt like Jay and I fully deserved this decadence. Last night we participated in our first boxing fitness class at a local boxing gym frequented by our (apparently very in shape) friend. It pretty much kicked our butts, but on the plus side it opened up a window of gluttony on the weekly soup sched. We don't live in the Northeast anymore though both of us have payed our dues there, so I wanted to try something that pays homage to both maritime traditions. I found my answer in a lovely cookbook that encourages locovorism here in the Northwest, The Farm to the Table Cookbook. I altered the recipe slightly, omitting the bacon, increasing the smoked salmon, and replacing parsley with scallions; but on the whole the recipe and instructions remained largely the same. I have to say this has been one of my favorites. As it turns out animal fat tastes good. I mean really good. Thank god I worked my butt off (literally) to deserve it...

Clam and Smoked Salmon Chowder

25 manila clams, in shell

2 cups dry white wine

2 cups good quality broth

3 tbsp butter

1 medium onion, diced

4 scallions, chopped

3 stalks celery, diced

4 tbsp flour

2 cups half and half

2 dried bay leaves

2 tsp dried sage

3 medium Yukon gold potatoes, diced (about 3 cups)

5 oz smoked keta salmon, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Tabasco (optional)

Rinse clams thoroughly in cold water. In a soup pot heat white wine to a boil. Place clams in the boiling wine and cover. Cook until the clams have fully opened and remove. Set aside to cool. Let the wine and clam juice boil a few minutes more and add broth. Boil for 4-5 minutes more and then pass through a fine stainer two or three times until free of sand. Set aside. Remove clam meat from shells and chop. Set aside with chopped salmon. In a clean pot melt butter on medium heat and cook onions, celery, and the whites of the green onions until the onions are translucent, about 8 minutes. Add flour and stir thoroughly. Whisk in half and half and then the reserved clam stock and bring to a slow simmer, whisking constantly. Add sage, bay leaf, and potatoes and simmer, stirring often until potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes. Once potatoes are cooked add the clams and salmon. Cook 1 or 2 minutes more and salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a garnish of the scallion greens and a dash of hot sauce if desired (I prefer it without).

Jay's review:

5.0 yums (out of 5)! Beats Boston!

Black-Eyed Pea Soup with Collard Greens

Day 1: For Luck!

When I asked Jay last night how we should start our 31 days of soup he politely listened to my 25 ideas and then pointed out, "You don't have anything with black eyed peas? That’s what we are supposed to eat on New Year's Day." I had never heard this. I will blame it on being raised Californian and apparently divorced from the southern belief that this meal is considered good luck. A little research revealed the tradition to be Jewish, dating back to the year 500. Apparently the tradition was brought to the southern United States by Sephardic Jews who immigrated to Georgia starting in the 1730s. The practice was adopted by non-jews around the time of the civil war when Union Soldiers, destroying or taking all the "edible" food or crops, left alone the black-eyed peas thinking them only suitable for livestock.

Traditionally black-eyed peas are prepared with pork fat and served with collard greens. The peas symbolize prosperity while the green of the collards symbolize money. I want prosperity and money and am not one to question 1500 years of wisdom so to start 2010 out right...

Black-Eyed Pea Soup with Collard Greens

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely diced

1 medium red bell pepper, chopped

1 small yellow or orange bell pepper, chopped

3 cups cooked black-eyed peas

6 cups vegetable broth

Tabasco to taste

salt to taste

coarsely ground black pepper to taste

1 small bunch collard greens

4-5 oz cooked bacon (or soy bacon) chopped into small pieces

4 scallions, whites and half the greens, diced

Saute onions in olive oil for 2-3 minutes until soft. Add garlic and jalapeno and saute another few minutes to release the flavors. Add bell peppers and cook until soft. Add cooked black-eyed peas and 4-5 cups broth. Season to taste with Tabasco, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

While you wait, braise collards in remaining broth. Cook until the greens are soft but still bright green, maybe 3-4 minutes. Drain remaining liquid and season with salt, a pinch of sugar, and some Tabasco to taste. Serve soup with a dollop of collards and garnish with bacon and scallions.

Jay's review:

5 yums (out of 5)! Absolutely delicious.