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!

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.