Leah Chase Creole Gumbo Recipes

CREOLE GUMBO

Steps:

• Peel and devein shrimp. Place heads and shells in stockpot with 12 cups water, and simmer over low heat until needed.
• In a 6-quart stockpot, combine crabs, sausages, beef or stew meat and gizzards; cook, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching, over low flame for 30 minutes.
• In a heavy-bottomed saute pan, whisk oil and flour together over low to moderate heat, and cook, whisking constantly until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Add onions, and cook, stirring, until soft. Pour mixture into pot with meats, and stir gently until well combined. Strain shrimp stock. Add to pot with enough water to make 14 cups liquid. Bring to a boil. Add chicken wings, smoked ham, paprika, garlic, thyme, bay leaves and salt, and simmer 30 minutes. Add peeled shrimp, and simmer 10 minutes. Add oysters, and turn off heat. Stir in file. Serve over rice, and garnish with fresh parsley.

LEAH CHASE'S GUMBO Z'HERBES

Steps:

• Combine first 11 ingredients and water to cover in a 15-qt. stockpot; cover. Bring to a boil over high heat (about 20 minutes). Uncover; boil, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes. Drain, reserving cooking liquid. Coarsely chop greens.
• Combine smoked sausage and next 2 ingredients in pot with 2 cups reserved cooking liquid. Bring to a boil. Boil, stirring once, 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook chorizo in hot oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes or until browned. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels, reserving 3 Tbsp. drippings in skillet.
• Make a roux: Stir flour into reserved drippings with a wooden spoon, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until flour is medium brown (about 15 minutes; see "Master the Art of Making Roux," page 5, as a guide). Add flour mixture to mixture in stockpot, and stir well. Add chopped greens mixture and 5 cups reserved cooking liquid. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes. Stir in salt, thyme, red pepper, and chorizo. Cook, stirring occasionally, 40 minutes. Stir in filé powder; stir vigorously. Serve over hot cooked rice.

DOOKY CHASE'S SHRIMP GUMBO

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a skillet over low heat and add the flour to make a roux, browning until golden about 3 minutes. Add the onions and cook over low heat until the onions wilt about 4 minutes.
• Put the shrimp, sausages, stew meat and ham in a 5-quart pot over medium heat. Pour the onion mixture over the ingredients and add 3 quarts water, the chicken wings, file powder, paprika and salt. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 minutes or until broth reaches desired thickness.
• Add the oysters, parsley, garlic and thyme. Lower the heat and cook until the shrimp is pink, about 10 minutes more, before serving.

MRS. ELIE'S CREOLE GUMBO

Steps:

• Clean the crabs by removing the lungs, heart, and glands so that only the parts of the shell containing meat, including legs, swimmers, and claws, remain. Refrigerate the meaty parts and transfer the discarded parts into a 6 or 8-quart stockpot to which you also add the shrimp heads, shells and 5 quarts of water, then bring to a boil and leave to simmer for 30 minutes. When done, remove from heat.
• In a skillet cook the sausages in batches, turn them occasionally until they are slightly brown, and most of the fat has rendered. Before each new batch of sausage remove the excess fat from the skillet. Place the cooked sausage aside on a plate lined with a paper towel in order they drain. Once you finish with cooking of all the sausage, wipe all the excess oil from the skillet but do not remove any bits of sausage stuck to the bottom of the skillet.
• Next, heat in the skillet 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium heat and add to it okra. Cook okra on medium heat for 45 minutes while frequently stirring until slightly brown and dried.
• While the okra is cooking, to make the roux, heat ½ cup of vegetable oil in a 12-quart stockpot over medium heat. When hot, add to it ½ cup of flour slowly tablespoon by tablespoon while constantly stirring until all the flour has been added and the roux becomes medium brown, at about 10-15 minutes.
• Add the onions to the roux while constantly stirring until they have softened, then add the garlic, celery, parsley, green onions and bell pepper.
• Filter the seafood stock to a large stockpot, then add the browned sausage and bay leaves. Cook over medium-high heat until boiling, then reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking. Add to it the cooked okra, then cook for another 60 minutes. Proceed by adding the crab and shrimp that you've set aside and cook for 15 minutes more.
• Remove from heat and stir in the Creole seasoning and file powder, then leave to rest for 15-20 minutes. As gumbo cools oil forms on top that needs to be skimmed off with a ladle or a large spoon and discarded.
• Stir in the crab meat and then check the taste; if need be, add more salt and pepper. To serve, ladle gumbo over steamed rice.