I went to the farmers’ market yesterday, and saw that okra was looking terrific. So I bought a pound and plan to make a nice shrimp and sausage gumbo some time in the next couple of days.
But I’ll need some roux. I’ll follow America’s Test Kitchen’s advice and make dry browned flour in the oven, which requires little effort. You simply put a couple of cups of flour on a rimmed baking sheet or in a skillet, and brown it in the oven at 400 degrees, stirring it every ten minutes or so, until it’s the color of cinnamon. It won’t look as dark as an oil-stirred stovetop roux, but once you add it to your gumbo and the oil or water wets it, it will become dark as an old penny. And you get the bonus of some leftover browned flour which you can use to thicken your next pot roast or meat loaf gravy.
So it’s browning right now, and tomorrow morning I’ll get a pound of shrimp, a green pepper and some celery. Gumbo for lunch tomorrow!
Yum yum! My other favorite thing to make with okra, besides gumbo and breaded and fried okra, is okra curry, or bhindi masala. Whenever I end up at Indian vegetarian events (and that’s relatively often), it’s the first thing I hit at the buffet table.
I’m making gumbo tonight, for the same reason as you: I was at the local farm market and the okra was too good to pass up. I’m making it with shrimp and andouille sausage from a local butcher, plus Tabasco peppers from my garden.
I have to remember to make rice in the rice cooker the first thing in the morning, so that it’ll be dealt with and out of the way.
The dry roux is done and cooling off and I’ll put it in a jar in the cupboard, at the ready.
Safeway’s frozen wild-caught white shrimp are good and flavorful, so that’s what’ll go in the gumbo. And now for something completely different: I have a bunch of little Japanese smoked sausages, which will be the other protein in the mix. If you’ve never had these, you’re missing out. The Japanese make a delectable small smoked pork sausage, no doubt learning the art from early Portuguese immigrants.
I’m an event/wedding photographer whose primary clients over time has evolved to be be South Asian; mostly Gujarati, with some Mayali (Kerela), Hyderabadi, and Bengali thrown in. Occasional Punjabi and Pakistani, too.
I am from Louisiana. And my gumbo is the best in the world.
Make a roux – it takes a while, but it’s not actually that difficult. Heat about a half-cup of oil on med-high heat, then slowly add a half-cup of white flour, stirring continuously. Keep stirring until the roux is chocolate colored, then remove from heat and put aside. Then, in a big pot, saute chopped onions, green peppers, and celery (about 2 onions, 2 peppers, and an equal volume of celery) in oil. Add a pound of frozen chopped okra (or fresh, if you prefer). Saute and stir all these veggies for about 15 minutes or so. Add about 8 to 10 cups of chicken broth (or water with bouillon cubes). Add the roux and stir.
Season to taste (I use Zatarain’s creole seasoning, garlic, hot sauce, and some salt and pepper) after simmering for 30 minutes or so. Simmer for 2 hours or more (it will be fine after 2 hours and even better after 4-6 hours). Then add the seafood – I like about 3 pounds total catfish nuggets and shrimp, but you can add anything. Turn off the heat about 15 minutes after adding the seafood, and let it cool for a while.
Serve over white rice. This will be enough for a family of 4 for two meals if eaten as an entree. It will be amazing.
Okra can be called “gumbo”. It’s a plant in the mallow family.
We don’t call the pods “gumbo”
It’s a high nutrient, low calorie veg.
It’s off-putting to lots of people because it can be slimy when cooked improperly or if picked soon after rain.(This last one may be an old wives tale, don’t know, works for us)
The “gumbo” they’re talking about cooking is a hearty stew. It can consist of lots of meat and vegetables. But okra is a main requirement.
It is of Cajun, Gullah Island and many other place close to coast lines, concoction. Served over rice.
I’m Team Fried Okra too, although I definitely won’t turn down gumbo.
I got an air fryer a while back and have found that I really enjoy some lightly oiled, seasoned and air-fried broccoli and Brussels sprouts and really want to try it with okra. (I never really liked it heavily-breaded anyway.)
Thanks @Beckdawrek. ( I know there’s Google, but I find it more interesting to hear about such culinary mattes directly from people who make and eat it.
I note that some recipe call for some stewed tomatoes to be added with the vegetables, and some recipes omit tomatoes. I’ve always added a small amount of tomato, but I don’t know if this is authentic to the original recipe.
I always lose my nerve and don’t let the roux get dark enough. I made gumbo yesterday and it came out okay, but the roux was the color of peanut butter. I bet the gumbo will be better today. Next time I’m going to make it, refrigerate it overnight and then add the shrimp and serve the next day.
I’ve heard of making roux this way, but I’ve never tried it. I imagine this is how restaurants prepare their roux, since it would be difficult and time consuming to make it the traditional way every time.
I am a northerner, but I do like to make gumbo. My understanding is that adding tomatoes is Creole-style, no tomatoes is Cajun-style. I’ve made gumbo both ways.
I hesitate to question a Louisianan who makes the best gumbo in the world, but oil? I thought a true roux was flour and butter. Though, I did see an episode of “New Orleans Kitchen” on PBS where they made roux from the rendered fat of some sausage they cooked for the gumbo, and I have to imagine that was some mighty fine tasting gumbo. What type of oil do you use?
Traditionally it was animal fat and flour, I believe (at least for Cajun/Creole). Then it changed to oil or even vegetable shortening. Not sure about butter. It seems like it would burn quite easy in dark Cajun roux. I have a number of Cajun and creole cookbooks around the house and they all use oil and flour. I see gumbopages.com (a great resource on Lousisiana cooking) does say oil or butter can be used, but that you have to be careful using butter and it’s going to take a long time if you want a dark roux. They do say that crawfish etoufee could benefit from a butter-based roux.
Fried okra is a food of the gods. When flying somewhere I try to connect through Charlotte, where there’s a barbecue outlet that serves fried okra as a side dish.
It’d be even better if they had a Pappadeaux’s serving seafood and sausage gumbo, but I think you need to fly through Dallas or Houston for that.
I’ve had only modest success growing okra here in Kentucky. Production is limited, and the varieties I’ve tried have about a 24-hour window between pods that are too small and those that have turned fibrous and inedible. Fortunately, frozen okra (and sometimes fresh) are available in the supermarket.
Well, if you want to get really traditional, roux is originally French, which typically used butter as the fat, I believe. But the old Cajun / Creole cooks probably used whatever fat they had on hand.
I just looked up the recipe for ‘Creole Gumbo’ in my copy of the ‘Picayune Creole Cook Book’ and, interestingly, it calls for using either ‘butter or shortening’ but not to make a roux, just to cook the meat in. It calls for adding ‘File’ (powdered sassafrass leaves) to the gumbo at the end of the cooking process to thicken it.
