On one of my first trips to New Orleans, I arrived late on a rainy night, and almost every restaurant around my hotel had already closed for the night except one. A rather dingy looking place with a wooden carved sign hanging out front that said “The Old Coffee Pot.”
The place was empty and it was nearly closing time, so the waitress was clearly not pleased to see me. “Kitchens closed,” she said gruffly, “all we got is gumbo.” I was hungry and wet, and a warm cup of soup sounded pretty perfect. ”That’s fine, can I still get a bowl of gumbo?”
She gestured to a seat at the window and disappeared in back. I had barely taken off my raincoat and sat down when she returned with a small bowl heaped with white rice and a soup bowl filled with a dark brown liquid. She set both in front of me without a word, and went about the room flipping chairs on top of the tables.
I hadn’t expected the gumbo to be so dark. I could not identify anything in the murky soup. I did not care. I took the first spoonful, and was suddenly warmed to my toes. The perfect mix of earthy, briny goodness, with a spicy kick that taught me quickly to add the rice to the bowl. I finished it in no time, to the relief of the exhausted waitress who smiled kindly at my rapturous gratitude. I think that first bowl of perfect soup in that glorious little dive was the thing that first made me fall in love with New Orleans.
There are many, many styles of gumbo to be found in Louisiana, and this one is not a remotely authentic version of any of them, because it has neither okra nor the dried sassafras known as filé, and it combines seafood and meats. But it is my simple, lazy version that has all my favorites and gives that deep, dark deliciousness. If you want, throw in a bag of frozen sliced okra, or a fresh if you can find it. Better yet, substitute duck for chicken for a richer flavor. And if you find andouille sausage too spicy, use chorizo or even mild Italian as you prefer. We’re not Cajun, so we break all the rules.
Seafood Gumbo
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken thighs
- 1 pound andouille sausage
- 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 bell pepper, diced
- 6 scallions, thinly sliced all white and green
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1/3 cup flour
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 6 cups water
- 1 teaspoon thyme, dried
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne optional
- vegetable oil
- salt to taste
Instructions
- In a large sauce pan or Dutch oven, heat a bit of oil and brown the chicken thighs well on all sides. Remove to a plate.
- Slice the sausage into coins, and brown in the chicken fat. Remove to a plate.
- Add the shrimp to the pan, with a little oil if needed, and sauté until just pink. Remove to a plate.
- At this point, you want to have about 5 tablespoons of oil in the pan, so add more if needed. Then add flour to the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring continuously until it turns a reddish brown. Do not let it burn. About 5-10 minutes.
- Add chopped onion, pepper, scallions, and celery and stir frequently. Cook about 5 minutes until all are soft.
- Meanwhile, chop or pull the chicken.
- Add water, stock, shrimp, sausage, chicken and all its juices to the pan. Add thyme, bay leaves and cayenne, and combine well. Simmer 30 minutes.
- Salt to taste. Serve with white rice.