Dandelion Green Gumbo with Good Thyme Rice
- Level: Easy
- Total: 40 min
- Prep: 10 min
- Cook: 30 min
- Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 cup white rice, such as Carolina brand
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
4 to 5 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tablespoons butter
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 to 4 ribs celery from the heart, chopped with greens
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon sweet paprika, 1/3 palm full
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 bottle pale beer
3 to 6 teaspoons hot sauce (recommended: Frank's Red Hot) medium to spicy heat level
1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, eyeball it
1 (15-ounce) can petite diced, crushed or stewed tomatoes
4 to 5 cups, 2 bundles, dandelion greens, stemmed and chopped
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 scallions, finely chopped
Directions
- Heat a sauce pot over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil and rice. Toast rice 2 minutes, add 2 cups stock and thyme sprigs and bring to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce heat to simmer and cook 18 minutes or until tender.
- Heat a soup pot over medium to medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, and 2 tablespoons butter to the pot. When butter melts into oil, add garlic, celery, bell pepper and onion and season with salt, pepper and paprika. Cook to soften veggies, 5 minutes. Add bay leaf and flour and cook the flour another minute. Stir in the beer and reduce the liquid by half, a minute or so. Add hot sauce, Worcestershire and tomatoes. Add 1 quart stock to the pot, stir in the greens and season with nutmeg. Raise heat to bring to a quick boil then simmer 15 minutes until greens are no longer bitter. Adjust seasonings, to taste.
- Uncover rice and add lemon zest and scallions. Remove the thyme stems and fluff rice with a fork. Remove bay from gumbo. Scoop up gumbo and top with scoops of rice and serve.
