LICK THE SPOON: Serve Up Some Louisiana Flavor With Gumbo
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When my sister finished nursing school, she decided shed accept a job at any hospital that would put her directly onto the labor and delivery unit. A little town in Louisiana made the offer.
I think her plan was to give it a year and then move closer to home, but little did she know that shed meet a real life cowboy, and spend the next 30 years in the same place.
If youve spent any time in southern Louisiana, you know that gumbo is a staple. My sister got her recipe from her mother-in-laws housekeeper, and passed it on to me.
Of course, I cant just keep things the way they are, and have made some non-traditional changes.
There are three major components to a gumbo, the meat; the roux and the mirepoix.
In Louisiana you can get a jar of roux at the grocery store, but Im not so lucky here in Tennessee. Fortunately, its not hard to make, just a bit time consuming.
The mirepoix is where my sister and I clash.
Traditionally a mirepoix is mix of onions, celery and carrots, diced finely and cooked in butter or olive oil over a low flame, so they dont ever start to brown.
I like my veggies chunky, so thats how I choose to chop them.
(My kids like it my way, so my sister is just going to have to learn to deal with it.)
As far as the meats go, Im allergic to shellfish, so I just use chicken and sausage in my gumbo, but its more traditional with the addition of shrimp or crawfish, just be sure to peel them first.
This is one of my sons favorite meals. When he was a teenager, there was bo point in asking him what he wanted for dinner, because the answer was always the same.
Because theres really no way to make a small pot of this, I make it less frequently since hes moved out, but its always a big hit when I do.
Rushmies Gumbo
Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 4:00 am