28
MY
ROUSES
EVERYDAY
NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2013
A couple of years ago, the Smithsonianmagazine asked me
to write about gumbo. What I said then still stands now.
E
very south Louisiana boy is honor-bound to say
that his mother makes the world’s best gumbo. I am
distinguished from the rest of my tribe in that regard
in this one particular: When I make that claim, I am telling
the truth. My mother’s gumbo is made with okra, shrimp, crabs
and several kinds of sausage (the onions, garlic, bell pepper,
celery, parsley, green onions and bay leaf go without saying). My
mother’s gumbo is a pleasing brown shade, roughly the color
of my skin. It is slightly thickened with a roux, that mixture of
flour and fat (be it vegetable, animal or dairy) that is French in
origin and emblematic of Louisiana cooking.When served over
rice, my mother’s gumbo is roughly the consistency of chicken
and rice soup.
meaty parts of the crabs. Put the portions of
the crabs that have been removed into a 6 or
8-quart stockpot. Add the shrimp heads and
shells and 5 quarts water to the pot and bring
to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to
low and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from
the heat.
Cook the sausages in a skillet in batches over
medium heat, turning occasionally, until the
pieces are slightly brown and much of the fat
has been rendered. Remove the sausage and
set aside on a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
Discard the excess fat remaining in the skillet
before cooking the next batch of sausage.
Once all the sausage has been cooked, wipe
the excess oil from the skillet, being careful
not to scrub away those bits of sausage that
have stuck to the bottom of the skillet.Add the
2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Heat the oil over
medium heat and then add the okra. Lower
the heat to medium and cook the okra until it
is slightly brown and dried, stirring frequently,
about 45 minutes.
While the okra cooks, place the 1/2 cup
vegetable oil in a 12-quart stockpot. Heat the
oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, a
tablespoon at a time slowly add the 1/2 cup
flour to prepare the roux, stirring constantly.
Once all the flour has been added, continue
heating and stirring the roux until it becomes
a medium brown color, somewhere between
the color of caramel and milk chocolate, about
10-15 minutes. Add the onions to the roux,
stirring constantly. Once the onions are wilted,
add the garlic, parsley, celery, green onions
and bell pepper. Strain the seafood stock into
the large stockpot. Add the browned sausage
and bay leaves and bring everything to a boil
over medium-high heat. Then reduce the heat
RECIPE,
try me!
Mrs. Elie's Gumbo
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
5 quarts water
1 dozen fresh crabs, raw, boiled or steamed
2 pounds medium to large shrimp, peeled
and deveined (reserve the shells and
heads to make seafood stock)
2 pounds smoked sausage, cut into 1"
rounds (1 pound each of two different
sausages is optimal)
¾ pound Creole hot sausage (if available),
cut into 1 inch rounds
2 pounds okra cut into rounds
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
6 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped
5 stalks celery, chopped
1 bunch green onions, tops and bottoms,
chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 pound crab meat, picked and cleaned of
shells and cartilage
2 tablespoons Creole seasoning, such as
Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning
4 bay leaves
4 tablespoons filé powder
Salt and pepper to taste
6 cups steamed white rice
HOW TO PREP
Clean the crabs, removing the lungs, heart and
glands and other parts so that only the pieces
of shell containing meat (including the legs,
swimmers and claws) remain. Refrigerate the
to medium and continue to cook.
Once the okra is cooked, add it to the gumbo
pot. Continue cooking the gumbo for 60
minutes. Add the reserved crabs and shrimp
and cook for 15 minutes longer. Remove the
gumbo from the heat and stir in the Creole
seasoning and filé powder. Let the gumbo rest
for 15 to 20 minutes. As it cools, oil should
form on the top. Skim the oil with a ladle or
large spoon and discard. Stir in the picked crab
meat. Taste the gumbo and adjust seasoning
with more salt and pepper as needed. Serve
the gumbo ladled over steamed rice.
Lolis Eric Elie and his mother Mrs. Elie
Lolis Eric Elie was a writer for the HBO series
Treme and the current AMC series Hell on Wheels.
He is a writer, documentarian, and author of the
new cookbook Treme: Stories and Recipes from
the Heart of New Orleans.
About the Writer
