Recipe courtesy of Curtis Aikens
Vegetable Gumbo
- Yield: 4 servings
- Total: 1 hr 40 min
- Prep: 20 min
- Cook: 1 hr 20 min
Ingredients
2 pounds greens (collard, mustard or turnip), washed, stemmed
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup flour
2 cups finely chopped onions
1 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 (16-ounce) can plum tomatoes, drained, coarsely chopped
3 bay leaves
1/4 cup hot sauce
1 teaspoon file powder
Cayenne pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon dried leaf thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/4 cup chopped parsley
3 garlic cloves, chopped
6 cups vegetable stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 (10-ounce) package frozen okra
1 (16-ounce) can kidney beans, drained, rinsed
2 cups cooked white rice, warm
Directions
- In a medium saucepan add greens and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes. Remove greens to a cutting board (reserving 2 cups of cooking water) and chop coarsely, set aside.
- In a heavy saucepan over medium low heat whisk 1/4 cup oil and flour together and cook, stirring constantly, until the roux is a dark reddish brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. In a large soup pot heat 2 tablespoons oil and saute onions, green pepper, celery and tomatoes for about 10 minutes or until vegetables are wilted. Add hot sauce, file powder, cayenne, thyme, oregano, basil, parsley and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes more. Then whisk in roux, stock and reserved greens cooking water, bring to a boil, add salt and pepper, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add okra, kidney beans and cook for 5 minutes more. Taste for seasoning. Serve with white rice.