RECIPE: Ad hoc gumbo for ad hoc times
You say “okra.” I say “gumbo.”
Okra. Gumbo! Okra. Gumbo!
I was about 10 years old when I discovered okra. It was on a trip to see Uncle Bob and his family in Omaha, Nebraska. I stuffed myself silly with his munchy, crunchy pickled okra. After that excursion, my mom started buying the canned stuff, as a treat. I wasn’t a kid who snatched sweets late at night; I slipped briny pickled okra spears from the jar, hoping no one noticed.
By the time that I was old enough to grow my own okra, I was also growing my own family. There wasn’t time to pickle pods, so I snipped them off the tall, slender stalks until I amassed enough to cook with them. Then I cracked open cookbooks in search of ideas.
If you look up “okra” in most any cookbook index, a recipe for gumbo usually makes the list. That’s what I made. Again and again. Now, I can’t think “okra” without thinking “gumbo.”
This shrimp gumbo recipe is adapted from one for spicy chicken gumbo printed in the 1994 edition of the “More-with-Less Cookbook.” Talk about versatile. You can swap the shellfish for chicken. Add andouille. Mix surf and turf in the same pot. Amp up the spice. Just don’t nix the okra.
Fellow gumbo lovers: Please, don’t get all huffy about what this recipe does not call for. I don’t have celery growing in my garden right now nor gumbo filé in my pandemic pantry. This is ad hoc gumbo for ad hoc times.
- 4 tablespoons butter (substitute with 1/4 cup vegetable, canola or olive oil)
- 2 onions, sliced
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 1/2 cups diced fresh tomatoes or canned tomatoes
- 2 cups okra, stems removed, cut into 1/2-3/4-inch disks
- 2/3 cup tomato paste
- 3 cups seafood stock (see note)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 1/2 pounds fresh or frozen (raw) jumbo shrimp, thawed, deveined, shelled and cut into 1/2-3/4-inch pieces (see note)
- Steamed white rice, for serving
- 1/3 cup chopped parsley (optional)
- Heat the butter in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the green pepper and garlic, stirring to combine and let cook another 5 minutes, stirring periodically. If necessary, lower the heat to medium to ensure that they do not scorch. Stir in the flour. Lower the heat and stir until the vegetables are tender.
- Add the tomatoes, okra, tomato paste, stock, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, cloves, chili powder, and bay leaf. Simmer 45 minutes to an 1 hour, until flavors have melded. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add the shrimp, let simmer until shrimp has cooked through.
- To serve: Combine hot steamed rice with chopped parsley, if using. Ladle gumbo in soup bowls over rice. Serves 8.
- Note: If desired, replace the shrimp with 2-3 cups cooked, diced or shredded chicken and substitute seafood stock with chicken stock.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving: 188 calories (percent of calories from fat, 36), 16 grams protein, 15 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 8 grams total fat (4 grams saturated), 123 milligrams cholesterol, 771 milligrams sodium.Read more stories like this by liking Atlanta Restaurant Scene on Facebook, following @ATLDiningNews on Twitter and @ajcdining on Instagram.
About the Author
Ligaya Figueras is the AJC's senior editor for Food & Dining. Prior to joining the AJC in 2015, she was the executive editor for St. Louis-based culinary magazine Sauce. She has worked in the publishing industry since 1999 and holds degrees from St. Louis University and the University of Michigan.
