Make some gumbo; party like it’s Mardi Gras
Asked their favorite meal, many might say, “A good soup.” A restaurant is often remembered for a signature soup. For those who cook, a soup can often support a burst of creativity. It is one food group for which not too many rules apply.
Soup often starts from a standard beginning with minor variations -- “mirepoix” to the French (2 x onion, 1 x carrot, 1 x celery); ”soffritto” to Italians (olive oil, onion, parsley, garlic); the combination of onions, garlic and ginger to Indian cooks; or onion, garlic and chilies to cooks south of the border. What is added afterward is only limited by one’s pantry and taste buds. Dump it all in a pot. Simmer. Add stock or water. Puree or don’t. Enjoy.
Gumbo, which will be the soup of the day at the National Press Club on Friday, July 17, is a little different. There are prescribed steps to build the soup and to ignore any is to result in something that might be satisfying, but not gumbo.
It starts with roux. The very word can be off-putting. Caveats abound that the roux should be “dark” but not black. Too beige means a flour under-taste; go too far and a burnt undertone will pervade the result. After the auspicious beginning the litany of ingredients—and their order-- follow an exacting order.
Having said that, there are a zillion different finished gumbos. It can be all meat with no seafood. It can have a plethora of shellfish. It can feature calamari or mussels, but no chicken.
But it will always have okra, a vegetable with legions of aficionados and an equal number of nay-sayers. It will always have tomatoes. And it will usually have andouille sausage and a touch of heat.
But as any soup cook knows, lack of andouille is no reason to blink. The sausage is one ingredient about which one can fudge. You can substitute chorizo, kielbasa, smoked sausage or any other spicy member of the charcuterie or antipasto families and the results will be satisfying and delicious.
Gumbo with chicken, shrimp, mussels & andouille
The roux:
½ cup vegetable oil (½ butter ok)
½ cup all-purpose flour
The base:
3 large onions, chopped
2-3 red bell peppers, seeded, chopped
4-5 celery stalks, peeled and chopped
5-6 garlic cloves, chopped
1-2 pepper with heat: cayenne, serrano or jalapeno, chopped
½ bottle dry white wine (variable)
½ cup chopped fresh thyme
3 bay leaves
28-ounce cans diced tomatoes with juice
1-2 8-ounce bottles clam juice (optional)
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (depending on desired heat and heat of whole pepper added)
4 cups chicken broth or fish fumet
The variations:
1-2# andouille sausage, cut ½ inch slices
1-2# boneless chicken thighs, cut 1” cubes
1-2# fresh or frozen okra (more or less)
2#peeled deveined shrimp (21-25 count or smaller)
2”mussels in shell, see below
Clams, calamari, fin fish (all optional additions)
Service:
Minced fresh Italian parsley
Steamed rice or red beans and rice (canned ok)
Instructions:
1. Roux: Heat oil in heavy pot over medium-high heat until very hot and almost smoking. Add flour and stir constantly until mixture is dark reddish brown, about 5 minutes. The secret is the dark roux: brown, but not black. If the roux goes too far and blackens, discard it and start again. Really. Don't try to save it. Toss and start over.
2. Add chopped onions, chopped bell peppers and celery and cook until onions are soft, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes.
3. Add garlic and chopped pepper and stir 2 minutes. Add wine (if using), thyme, and bay leaves; bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Pour a glass of wine for the cook and proceed.
4. Add tomatoes with juice, clam juice, broth, sausage, and chicken; simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.
5. Add okra and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. DO AHEAD Gumbo base can be made 2 days ahead. Cool slightly. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Label, date and refrigerate. Bring base to simmer before continuing.
6. To finish: Add shrimp to pot and cook shrimp until just opaque in center, about 5 minutes. Add mussels in shell. Season gumbo to taste with salt and pepper. [A word about mussels. Most are now farm raised, that is raised on ropes hanging freely in open water-- and thus, free of sand, but they do have a gritty reputation. Early in the soup preparation, if you want to assure no grit, cover mussels with salted cold water, and a bit of cornmeal or oats. Allow to soak a couple of hours; even overnight. Any grit will be expelled. This is also a good opportunity to discard any mussels that are cracked or open, i.e., dead. Often a slightly opened mussel can be checked by gently tapping it. A live mussel will close]
7. Garnish with minced parsley and serve with steamed rice (or red beans and rice) alongside.
Trick for fluffy rice: Heat oil in medium sauce pan until smoking. Add white rice (basmati, jasmine or plain). Swirl rice in oil. Add salt, pepper and whole clove of garlic. Add cold water about a knuckle worth above the rice (a trick taught me by an Indian cook who grew up making rice daily), about ½ inch. Bring to boil. Cover. Take off heat and allow to steam and absorb. Fluff. Yum.
Susan Delbert is the National Press Club's executive chef.