Cajun Vegetable Gumbo Recipes

AUTHENTIC CAJUN GUMBO

Steps:

• Place the first 11 ingredients in a stockpot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-1/2 hours., Remove chicken and allow to cool. Strain broth, discarding vegetables; skim fat. Remove meat from bones; cut chicken into bite-size pieces and set aside. Discard bones., In the same pan, cook and stir oil and flour over medium heat until caramel-colored, about 14 minutes (do not burn). Add finely chopped onion; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Gradually stir in broth. Bring to a boil., Carefully stir in sausage and reserved chicken. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Stir in okra and oysters. Simmer, uncovered, 10-15 minutes longer or just until okra is tender. Stir in file powder. Serve with rice.

CAJUN VEGETABLE GUMBO

Steps:

• Place the greens in a large soup pot with enough water to just cover the greens. Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes. Drain, reserving 2 cups of the cooking water.
• On a cutting board, coarsely chop the greens and set aside.
• In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, whisk 1/4 cup oil and the flour together and cook, stirring constantly, until the roux is a dark reddish-brown, about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
• In the large soup pot, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and sauté the onions, bell pepper, celery, and tomatoes for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are wilted.
• Add the hot sauce, bay leaves, file powder, cayenne, thyme, oregano, basil, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper and cook for 5 minutes.
• Add the roux, vegetable or faux chicken broth, and the reserved greens-cooking water, stirring well to blend in the roux.
• Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Add the cooked collard greens, okra, kidney beans, and rice and cook for 5 minutes.
• Remove the bay leaves and serve warm.

VEGETABLE GUMBO

Steps:

• Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until golden, about 3 minutes. Add the onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, 3 tablespoons water and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften, about 8 minutes.
• Add the soy sauce and paprika and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Stir in the vegetable broth, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot, then cover and bring to a boil.
• Add the greens and black-eyed peas to the pot. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with the rice, if desired.

CAJUN GUMBO

Steps:

• Boil chicken pieces in 1 gallon of lightly salted water for approximately 1 hour, or until done. Reserve the chicken broth for the base of the gumbo.
• Wash okra and dry with a paper towel. Cut off the ends of the okra and slice into round pieces. Saute the pieces in a skillet with 1/2-cup of the butter until all of the slime has left the okra. This takes 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. You must stir the okra throughout this process to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
• Saute the onion, green pepper, and celery in remaining 1/2-cup butter until lightly browned. Place the cooked okra and onion mixture into the chicken broth. Add the basil, thyme, bay leaves, and garlic to the broth. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 15 minutes.
• Remove skin and bones from chicken, and cut into bite sized pieces, and set aside. Add the chicken, sausage, and ham to the broth at the same time. Return mixture to a boil. Add the shrimp and crabmeat, and cook for another 5 minutes. Season with file, black pepper, and hot pepper, to taste.
• Serve with rice.

FIRE ROASTED VEGETARIAN GUMBO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to broil.
• Arrange the serrano, banana, and jalapeno chile peppers on a baking sheet and place in the oven. Watch carefully and broil just until the skins blacken and blister, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn the peppers and continue broiling until all sides are blackened. Remove the peppers from the oven and place in a sealed paper bag to steam. After 15 to 20 minutes, remove peppers from the bag and peel off the crispy black skin. Remove stems and seeds from the peppers, coarsely chop, and place in a bowl.
• Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat until a pinch of flour sprinkled over the oil just begins to bubble. Whisk in the rest of the flour and cook, whisking continuously, until the mixture is well blended and dark brown, about 20 minutes. Once it becomes dark brown, remove the roux from the heat.
• Place 2 tablespoons of canola oil into a deep soup pot and heat over medium-high heat. When the oil is just about to smoke, stir in the celery with half of the onions and bell peppers. Cook and stir until the vegetables are tender and the onion is transparent, about 5 minutes. Stir 1/4 cup of the vegetable broth into the pot. Cover, and simmer until almost all the liquid is evaporated, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Stir the serrano, banana, and jalapeno chile peppers, along with the uncooked bell peppers and onions, garlic, Cajun seasoning, smoked paprika file powder, into the cooked bell peppers and onions. Stir the roux and 1 cup of stock into the vegetable mixture until the roux dissolves. Cover and simmer 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, sweet potato, parsnip, red beans, black-eyed peas, okra, and remaining stock. Simmer uncovered 30 minutes more. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

REAL CAJUN GUMBO (FROM A LOUISIANAIAN)

Steps:

• Using a sharp boning knife cut the stewing hen into 8-10 serving pieces.
• Remove as much of the fat from the chicken as possible.
• Cut andouille into ½-inch slices and set aside.
• In a 2-gallon stockpot, heat oil over medium-high heat.
• Whisk in flour, stirring constantly until golden brown roux is achieved. Do not scorch. Should black specks appear, discard and begin again.
• Add onions, celery, bell pepper and garlic. Sauté 3-5 minutes or until vegetables are wilted.
• Blend in chicken and andouille. Sauté approximately 15 minutes.
• Add chicken stock, one ladle at a time, stirring constantly until all is incorporated.
• Bring to a rolling boil, reduce to simmer and cook approximately 1 hour.
• Skim any fat or oil that rises to the top of the pot.
• Add green onions, bay leaf, thyme and basil.
• Season to taste using salt, pepper and hot sauce.
• Cook an additional 30 minutes or longer if necessary, until chicken is tender and falling apart.
• Add parsley and adjust seasonings if necessary.
• Serve over hot, steamed white rice.
• NOTE: You may wish to boil the chicken 1-2 hours prior to beginning the gumbo to tenderize the meat. Reserve this stock, bone the chicken and use the meat and stock in the gumbo.

VEGETARIAN GUMBO

Steps:

• In a medium pot, whisk together oil and flour to combine. Cook over medium heat, whisking frequently, until mixture is the color of butterscotch, about 10 minutes.
• Add onion, celery, and bell pepper. Season with salt and cook, stirring, until vegetables soften, about 8 minutes. Add tomatoes and Creole seasoning; cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes more.
• Stir in broth, okra, squash, and peas. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Serve over rice, sprinkled with scallions.