Cydni Journal #1: Gumbo

My favorite dish is Gumbo. Gumbo is a creole soup dish. The soup is made from a flour and oil base know as roux. The roux is then seasoned with the creole trinity that includes, bell pepper, onion, and celery. The roux is then diluted with a stock, usually seafood stock. Finally, a variety of meats are added to the soup. My family usually adds chicken, shrimp, blue crab, ham, and a variety of sausage. Gumbo represents my cultural background because the dish has roots in my hometown, New Orleans, and has both Creole and Cajun influences. My family is Creole, and I grew up making all types of Creole and Cajun dishes with my grandmother as a kid. She taught me how to make jambalaya, crawfish étouffée, stuffed bell peppers, and crawfish bread just to name a few. These dishes are unique because they are influenced by French, Spanish, West African, Native American, and Haitian cultures. Similarly, my family heritage is very diverse and has roots in Haiti, West Africa, France, and Spain. In fact, my mother’s maiden name is “Jeanpierre”, which is a Haitian Creole surname.

I could’ve picked any Creole dish, because I think they are all equally delicious, but gumbo holds a special place in my heart, because preparing it has become a family tradition for me. My family only prepares gumbo for Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I only eat it a couple of times a year. We usually wake up very early to do all of the preparation. My mother, sister, grandmother, aunt, and I each have our own specific roles. I usually peel and devein shrimp. My mom boils fresh shrimp heads to create her homemade seafood stock. My sister cuts up huge amounts of garlic, onion, celery, and bell pepper.  My aunt cuts up different types of sausage and seasons the chicken that goes inside the gumbo, and my grandmother makes sure that everyone is doing their job. After hours of hard work, the dish is finally ready. We all grab our bowls and fill them with a generous serving of rice, and a nice serving of gumbo. I was known for eating all of the shrimp out of the pot. We would pass the bottle of file seasoning around the table and enjoy. The first few bites made all of the hard work worthwhile. Over the years, my family has made so many memories in the kitchen preparing gumbo, and for this reason it is my favorite dish.

There are plenty of theories on how gumbo originated. Some people say that it originated from Bouillabaisse, which is French seafood soup. However, that theory has been disproved because of the major differences in preparation technique. Some critics of the theory claim that the Bouillabaisse explanation for gumbo is an attempt to white wash gumbo by implying that gumbo began with the French elite in New Orleans. Other scholars believe that Gumbo came from West African slaves that were brought to the French colony in large numbers. In many West African languages, the word for okra is “ki ngombo” or simply “gombo” and okra is included in many gumbo recipes and is used as a thickener. Gumbo was once associated with both the West Indies and New Orleans, because both places had a variety of soups that used okra as a base. However, as time passed, the dish solely became associated with New Orleans because of how much the people in Louisiana embraced the dish. Beginning in the 19^th century, recipes for different varieties of New Orleans style gumbo began to appear in cookbooks. The interesting and complicated history of gumbo, mirrors the history of New Orleans. Gumbo makes me proud to be from New Orleans.

Photo of myself (far right), my older sister(far left), my grandmother, and my little brother.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds unpeeled fresh large shrimp
• 1/2 cup butter, divided
• 2 (32-ounce) cartons chicken broth
• 1 pound andouille sausage, sliced
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups finely chopped yellow onion
• 1 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
• 1 cup finely chopped celery
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle amber beer
• 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup green onion tops
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 pound lump crabmeat
• Cooked rice for serving

Instructions

1. Peel and devein shrimp, placing shrimp shells in a large pot. Refrigerate shrimp until needed.
2. In a large pot, melt 1/4 cup butter over medium heat. Add shrimp shells and cook until pink. Then add broth.
3. Bring broth to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat and keep warm until needed.
4. In a large Dutch oven, cook sausage until browned. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon and set aside.
5. Add oil and remaining 1/4 cup butter to Dutch oven. Heat over medium heat until butter is completely melted.
6. Add flour and stir with wooden spoon until smooth.
7. Reduce heat to medium low and cook, stirring frequently until roux is a dark caramel color. This will take 30 to 40 minutes.
8. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
9. Add green pepper and celery and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring often.
10. Add garlic and cook 1 minute.
11. Add beer and stir in well.
12. Pour shrimp stock through a fine-meshed sieve into Dutch oven. (I like to add it in 3 separate additions, mixing well between additions.
13. Add Cajun seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and bay leaves, plus the reserved andouille sausage. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
14. Add green onions, parsley, and shrimp. When shrimp are pink, remove from heat and stir in crabmeat.
15. Serve with white rice.

Source: https://spicysouthernkitchen.com/seafood-gumbo/

Source for information about the history of Gumbo: https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/09/history-new-orleans-gumbo-okra-file-powder.html