G U M B O
my mother is a funny cajun from Lafayette, Louisiana.
my great grandmother, Maw Maw Boo, spoke some seriously broken English.
Maw Maw + her daughters would gossip low in Louisiana French when they didn’t want us younger kids to understand.
so, I naturally grew up loving gumbo.
every family has their particular iteration that may or may not shift by generation.
we’re not fans of sausage in our gumbo - too overpowering.
chicken okra was always my favorite.
it’s simple and, for me, it does everything right.
CHICKEN OKRA GUMBO
Here’s another two parter. When Okra season rolls around i like to buy it a couple pounds at a time and have a batch cooked in the fridge for snacking. if i were smart, I’d buy twice as much and freeze batches ahead of time so I could whip this up any time. if you can’t find fresh you can always buy it frozen and sliced. no big deal and half the work. the point is - I like to have the okra already done.
Okra
1 lb okra sliced
2 garlic cloves finely sliced
1/2 yellow onion diced
6-8 cherry tomatoes
in a pan over medium heat add a glug of olive oil and sauté onions and garlic until translucent.
add okra and be prepared to stir for like 40 minutes.
if you aren’t constantly stirring all the slime is going to start burning to the bottom of your pan - it likely will any ways depending on your pan. when this happens add a little splash of water and it will come right off.
as the slime dissipates and the okra is a sort of golden olive color add the tomatoes and keep stirring.
the tomatoes will burst + everything will be incorporated - smelling roasty + caramelized.
For the Roux
2 Tbsp AP Flour
2 tbsp oil (my family always used Canola, but i’ve made it with Grapeseed and Olive Oil - i, personally use Olive, b/c it feels cleaner)
2 tsp Gumbo Filé
This is the hardest part as it is the foundation of the entire gumbo.