I can't believe it's almost a decade since I cooked one of my favourite Deep South dishes, but it is. I don't really have any excuse. It is one of the most delicious dishes I know; re-proven this week. I learned to cook it when I was still a kid; one I've loved much of my life.
You can use a variety and combination of meats to make this dish—poultry, sausage, crustaceans and apparently even alligator—but my version uses the two that repeated experimenting has led me to feel work best: sausage and wild red shrimp.
This version is for a meal of 2 to 3 diners. Scale it up or down as you need for more or fewer diners.
Shopping list
Rice, one cup. The most traditional is American long grain. I've opted for a mix of 85% basmati, and 15% red Camargue and wild rice, approx. but you can mix it up. This delivers more flavour
2 large echalion shallots; finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic; crushed or finely grated
4 sticks of celery; finely sliced
Extra virgin oil; at least 6 tbspns. Some traditional recipes opt for peanut oil if you prefer it. It works just as well.
3 sausages. If you can get them, the most traditional for this recipe is Andouille(-style) sausage (also called "Toulouse sausage"). Instead I found really good "Louisiana BBQ sausages" at a niche London butcher
Wild red shrimp in their shells; about 5 or 6 per diner. If you can't get these, opt for King Prawns or langoustine, in their shells. You work out the portions.
Plain flour; approx. 5 tbspns, sifted
A clutch of flat leaf parsley
The zest of 1 lime
The freshly squeezed juice of 1 lime
A clutch of spring onions, finely sliced
4 tspns "Cajun spice mix" (or 1 tspn each of paprika, ground cumin, ground dried chilli and dried basil and a pinch of cayenne pepper, mixed with pestle and mortar)
Black pepper and salt to taste
2 shots of bourbon
Cooking method
It's something of a "bitty" cooking method, even though it doesn't take that long. You need to partially cook various ingredients before re-adding to create the delicious final result.
the gumbo
The sausages: either fry partially or grill until they are roughly ¾ cooked. Place onto a plate, slicing into segments of approx. 2 to 3cm.
The red shrimp: if frozen and partly cooked (red shells), simply allow to fully defrost. If fresh, drop into boiling water for a few minutes and remove when the shells turn red. Cool and then cut off the heads; clean out the "guts" and discard both. Alternatively, if you prefer a whole crustacean experience, clean them raw and leave the heads on
Into a large, deep frying pan with a lid, add enough oil to barely coat the bottom of the pan. Heat on a high heat. Add the chopped shallots and garlic once the oil is hot. Allow to sweat, stirring regularly, ensuring they don't stick. Add a shot of bourbon and cook off the liquid
Once the shallots and garlic are sweated, add the chopped celery and cook, stirring regularly. When the celery begins to soften and the onions and garlic are very slightly browned, tip from the pan onto the plate with the sausage
To the same pan, without cleaning out any remnants, add four tbspns of oil and heat on a high heat. Once the oil is hot, add five tbspns of sifted plain flour, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon of spatula; no "sharp" metal edges. Add a little water at a time if required to ensure that the roux remains a smooth-ish paste. Throw in half of the Cajun spice mix, folding it into the roux
Add a vegetable stock cube diluted in 250ml of boiling water (or 250m of hot fresh vegetable stock), thoroughly stirring into the roux so that no lumps remain. Bit-by-bit, add the remainder of the Cajun spice and the chopped flat lead parsley, still stirring constantly
To this golden brown mixture, return the onions, celery and sausage, stirring gently. Add the second shot of bourbon and the juice and the zest of ½ of the lime, bringing the mixture to the boil. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for approx. 15 to 20mins, stirring occasionally
Decant to a tureen or serving dish or plate. Dress with raw, finely sliced spring onions.
the rice
Time cooking the rice so that it is ready at the same time as the gumbo
In a pot with a lid, heat a little olive oil. Once the oil is hot, pour in 1 cup of the washed raw rice, stirring so that it is completely coated with the hot oil
Add 1 cup of hot vegetable stock (or a vegetable stock cube diluted in 1 cup of boiling water). Add the juice and zest of ½ the lime
Cover, bring to the boil and allow to boil rapidly for approx. 3 to 4 mins
Reduce and allow all the liquid to boil off (usually 12 to 14 mins) stirring regularly so that the rice does not stick. If necessary, at a little water at a time to ensure that the rice is properly cooked but not soggy or too dry
Alternatives
Veggie: try a combination of veggie sausages (something like Quorn sausages or any other veggie bangers not strongly flavoured with herbs or spices) and whole button mushrooms. Or smoked tofu and unsmoked tofu. The main rule is to use two different kinds of "meat".
Vegan: actually a dish that is oddly easy to make fully vegan. Leave out the cream in the final stages (very traditional recipes don't use it since it wasn't widely available in the swamps of Louisiana). Instead, opt for relevant ingredients from the veggie suggestions above. Another good ingredient to consider is large chunks of butternut squash or pumpkin (leaving the scrubbed skin on), adding them about 15mins before the end of the cooking time so that they are fully cooked, but don't become soggy.
Pairings
On the good-value end of the market, I went for the praiseworthy Drakenskloof Pinotage 2019 from South Africa's Western Cape. There's a distinct liquorice note in there that pairs perfectly with the spices of this dish. Naturally, I shall be inviting Karel to give us hardcore tips on this one since he always excels with the challenge of a spicy meal.
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