Spicy Nine Vegetable Gumbo Recipes

VEGETARIAN GUMBO

Steps:

• Place vegetable oil and flour in a Dutch Oven with a heavy bottom. I like to use a cast iron Dutch oven. Turn the heat on medium and whisk continuously until mixture becomes fragrant. This should take about 5 minutes.
• Turn heat to low or medium-low depending on the size and heat your burner gives off. Continue to whisk continuously (it's alright to stop for a few seconds here and there, but not for any length of time) until roux becomes a dark caramel color, like the color of an old penny. This could take 20 to 25 minutes.
• Remove Dutch oven from heat.
• In a food processor, process tomato, onion, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, liquid smoke, vinegar, hot sauce, soy sauce, thyme, red pepper flakes, paprika, nutmeg, and oregano until mixture is smooth.
• Place Dutch oven with roux over medium-high heat and add tomato/onion puree. Stir to mix together. Continue to cook until most of liquid has evaporated.
• Add vegetable stock and stir. Bring to a simmer.
• Add beans, mushrooms, zucchini, green and red pepper, and celery and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Serve with rice and green onions.

SPICY GUMBO

Steps:

• Combine 1 1/2 cups oil and 1 3/4 cups flour in a heavy skillet or pan over low heat.
• Stir constantly until the flour thickens and turns light brown.
• Add more flour if needed to absorb oil and make a smooth paste.
• It takes approximately 15 minutes or so, but be careful to not burn the flour.
• Set the roux aside.
• Mix together all spices in a bowl and set aside.
• In a large 12 quart pot, sauté onions, garlic, bell pepper and celery in 3 tbsp olive oil.
• Cook for approximately 3-4 minutes.
• Add the chicken, shrimp, cat fish and okra (and sausage if desired).
• Cook for approximately 4-5 minutes.
• Add the peppers, tomatoes, seasonings, chicken stock, V-8 and clam juice.
• Simmer, uncovered for approximately 1 hour.
• With a wire whisk, slowly incorporate the roux into the mixture to desired consistency.
• Add more chicken stock if necessary.
• Add the rest of the seafood to the mixture.
• Turn down heat, cover and simmer on low for about 10 minutes.
• In a shallow bowl, mound 1/2 cup rice and ladle the gumbo on top.
• Serve with oyster crackers and a dash of Tabasco sauce.

SPICY RED FILE-THICKENED GUMBO WITH CRAWFISH AND ANDOUILLE

Steps:

• In a bowl blend together the crawfish seasoning mixture. Add the crawfish tails, and reserve in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours. Make the gumbo: Place the vegetable oil in a heavy skillet over high heat. When it's smoking, add the flour, about 1/3 at a time, whisking well after each addition. Cook over fairly high heat, whisking constantly, until the roux reaches a dark, reddish brown, about 10 minutes. If the roux seems about to burn (you'll start to notice a burning smell), move the pan off the heat for a few minutes continuing to whisk. When the roux is ready, add the garlic, onions, celery, bell peppers, and scallions. Place the pan over low heat, and cook the vegetables in the roux for 5 minutes. Bring the stock to a boil in a large soup pot. When the vegetables have cooked in the roux, add the roux-vegetable mixture to the boiling stock by 1/4 cupfuls, blending well. Crush the tomatoes in your hands, and add them, along with the liquid in the cans, to the soup pot. Add the bay leaves, thyme, oregano, allspice, cayenne, cloves, hot sauce and lemon juice. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for20 minutes, partially covered. Add the andouille and simmer the gumbo for another 20 minutes, partially covered. Add the seasoned crawfish tails, and simmer for 5 minutes. Off the heat, blend in the file powder, blending until the desired thickness is reached. Taste for seasoning. Serve immediately over rice. Garnish with the whole, boiled crawfish.;

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.

SPICY SHRIMP GUMBO

Steps:

• Combine vegetable oil and flour in a large stockpot over medium heat; cook, stirring often, until roux is dark brown, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Stir onion, celery, green onion, parsley, and garlic carefully into the hot roux; it may splatter. Cook and stir until onion mixture is tender, about 5 minutes. Pour in broth. Season with salt and red chile pepper. Simmer gumbo, covered, until flavors combine, about 15 minutes.
• Stir shrimp into the stockpot; cook until pink and opaque, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Place 1/3 cup rice into each serving bowl. Ladle shrimp gumbo on top. Garnish with fresh parsley.

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.

SPICY NINE-VEGETABLE GUMBO

Steps:

• Heat the oils and add the onion, celery, and garlic, cooking until soft. Add flour and Creole seasoning, and stir until thickened. Turn heat down and cook until mixture has browned a bit.
• Add broth and tomatoes with juice, and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer and add remaining vegetables, sherry, and seasonings.
• Simmer for 15 minutes, or until carrots and potatoes are done.
• (If a thicker gumbo is desired, dissolve 1 T cornstarch in 1/4 cup water and add while soup is simmering.).
• Even better the next day!