Description
Make a hearty meal with Gumbo z'Herbes (sometimes called green gumbo). It's a famous New Orleans dish with a dark roux, smoked meat, and mixed greens.
Ingredients
Units
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- 1 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound of smoked sausage, sliced
- .25 cup extra virgin olive oil
- .25 cup all-purpose flour
- 1.5 cup chopped onion
- 1 cup chopped red and/or green bell pepper
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 3 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
- 8 cups vegetable broth
- 20 cups mixed greens (collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, spinach, arugula, kale, beet greens, carrot tops, swiss chard, etc.)
- 2 cups chopped parsley, loose packed
- 2 cups chopped cabbage
- .5 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 4 dried bay leaves, optional
- water, optional
- chopped green onion for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large gumbo pot and brown the sausage, stirring often.
- Remove the sausage from the pot and place it in a medium bowl to set aside.
- Pour the oil into the pot for the roux, and heat until hot.
- Add the flour to the hot oil and stir often until the roux is dark chocolate in color.
- Stir in the onion, pepper, and celery, and cook for 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Pour the broth into the roux mixture and stir until well blended.
- Let this come to a boil, then add the greens in small amounts until they are all wilted.
- Add the parsley and cabbage, stirring well.
- Stir in the seasonings.
- Add bay leaves to the gumbo, or omit them altogether.
- Stir the sausage into the gumbo.
- Bring the gumbo to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower the heat, cover the pot, and simmer for 1 hour.
- Add 1/4 cup of water at a time as needed to thin the gumbo to the desired consistency; this is optional.
- Serve with cooked white rice.
Notes
- Be sure to stir the roux constantly so it doesn't burn, and promptly add the Cajun holy trinity vegetables when it reaches the desired color. The vegetables will keep the roux from browning any more.
- When cooking with greens, rinse them thoroughly to ensure there's no sand or dirt left on them. Biting into grit isn't a pleasant experience, and you know what they say? If you think they're clean, rinse your greens one more time!
- The sausage can be substituted with smoked ham, ham hocks, beef brisket, tasso, shrimp, Spanish chorizo, or chicken.
- Made without meat, this gumbo, simmered with a variety of mixed greens, makes a perfect vegetarian meal.
- This thick gumbo is easily thinned with water or more broth.
