Traditional chicken and andouille gumbo: the Louisiana stew with dark roux, okra and the Cajun trinity

Gumbo is Louisiana in a cauldron: the dark roux of French cooking, okra brought from West Africa (the word gumbo comes from ki ngombo, okra, in Bantu), sassafras powder from the Choctaw, smoked sausage from the Germans and the island's chile. It is the dish cooked in New Orleans on New Year's Day, at Mardi Gras and on every cold Sunday, and every Cajun and Creole family has its version and insists it is the only right one.

The base is the roux: flour and fat cooked over low heat, stirring constantly, for forty minutes or more, until the color of milk chocolate or darker. It gives the color, the toasted-nut flavor and the body of the gumbo, and it is the step that demands patience and no distractions. Then comes the trinity, onion, celery and bell pepper, and the rest falls into place.

Chicken and andouille gumbo is the Cajun classic, from the Lafayette area; seafood gumbo, with shrimp, crab and oysters, is the Creole one from New Orleans, with tomato. Both go over white rice, with scallions, chile and, at the table, filé, the sassafras powder that thickens and perfumes.

Recipe card

• Origin: Louisiana, United States
• Category: Main course, stew over rice
• Difficulty: Medium
• Prep time: 30 minutes
• Cooking time: 2 hours 30 minutes
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1 cup neutral oil or lard
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 500 g andouille or smoked pork sausage, sliced
• 1.2 kg boneless chicken thighs, in pieces
• 300 g okra, sliced
• 2 liters chicken stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning (paprika, garlic and onion powder, cayenne, oregano, thyme and black pepper)
• Cayenne pepper to taste
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup sliced scallions and chopped parsley
• Cooked white rice to serve
• Filé (sassafras powder) and hot sauce for the table

Method

1. In a skillet, brown the sausage for 5 minutes and set aside. In the fat it released, brown the chicken seasoned with salt and Cajun seasoning for 8 minutes and set aside.
2. In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil over medium-low heat, add the flour and stir constantly with a wooden spoon or whisk, scraping the bottom, for 35 to 45 minutes, until the roux is the color of milk chocolate. If black specks or a burnt smell appear, discard and start over.
3. Add the onion, celery and bell pepper to the roux and stir for 5 minutes; the roux stops darkening and the vegetables soften.
4. Add the garlic, bay leaves, thyme and okra and sauté for 3 minutes.
5. Pour in the stock gradually, stirring to dissolve the roux, and bring to a boil.
6. Return the sausage and chicken, lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours, skimming the fat from the surface now and then, until the gumbo thickens and the flavor deepens.
7. Adjust the salt, pepper and cayenne and remove the bay leaves.
8. Serve over white rice, with scallions and parsley on top and the filé and hot sauce on the table.

Tips and variations

• The roux cannot be rushed: high heat burns in seconds what took half an hour. Make it with music on and without leaving the stove.
• Oven roux: flour and oil in a cast-iron pot at 180 °C for 1 hour 30 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes, is the risk-free method.
• Seafood gumbo: shrimp stock, 1 can of tomatoes, and shrimp, crab and oysters in the last 10 minutes.
• Gumbo z'herbes, made with greens, is the Lenten one.
• It is much better the next day and freezes for 3 months.
• Okra thickens; without it, use more filé at the table.
• Potato salad alongside gumbo is a Cajun custom that surprises and works.

Gumbo is dark roux, smoked sausage, chicken and okra simmered for hours until they become one: the American South in a cauldron. Serve over rice and leave the filé on the table.