We often eat gumbo and red beans & rice, so I tried to adapt the recipe to align with our new commitment to the MD lifestyle. I used EVOO and flour (and a ton of spices – cayenne, salt, pepper, oregano, garlic, parsley, hot sauce) to make a roux. Used 3 onions, 4 ribs of celery, 2 green bell peppers, chicken breast and sausage, fresh parsley, and vegetable stock. Ate it over a brown rice & quinoa mix. I meant to add in some collard greens but I forgot to. It was really good…Anyone else have a good gumbo recipe?
by Odd_Stock6396
4 Comments
My gumbo is more of a go with the flow process…recipe from my recollection:
Heat EVOO in deep skillet
Add chicken breast (I used 3 pieces from a tray I bought from Walmart) and sausage (2 sausages) that are cut in bite-sized pieces
Add pepper, salt, cayenne
Simmer until cooked
In my large pot I heated more EVOO and sautéed 3 onions, 4 ribs of celery, and 2 green bell peppers that were chopped fairly small. You want a bit of it all to fit on a spoon.
I added fresh chopped parsley and a big spoon of diced garlic to the onion mix. Added about 1 tbsp pepper and season all and dusted with cayenne. Sprinkled in some red pepper flakes.
When the onions and celery softened I added 2 bags frozen okra.
When the chicken was cooked, I used a slotted spoon to take the meat out of the skillet and added it to the onion mix. I added a carton of vegetable stock to the pot. Should’ve added 2.
I used the chicken and sausage juices plus a bit more EVOO to make my roux. The spices listed above, flour, and these liquids. I whisked constantly over med-low heat for 30 min until a nice rich brown color. Then I incorporated some liquids from the pot into the roux before mixing it all together.
This was my first attempt at making a roux and idk if I did it properly but it tasted great so…
I’ve never really cooked Cajun style meals. The one ingredient that would not be a part of the MD is the sausage. Maybe it would be if it’s made from turkey but even there would not be sure how much fat would be added with the turkey to make a classic sausage. A simple adjustment would be to remove the sausage and sub in chicken. However, is the sausage a critical component to what would make it a gumbo? That I don’t know.
My recommendations to make this MD compatible: Maybe sub more chicken meat for the sausage. Also, instead of making the classic roux maybe try to add in lentils IF you would cook your gumbo long enough for the lentils to completely disintegrate. I think the lentils could act as your natural thickener to eliminate the flour completely.
Looks good and I wouldn’t blame you one bit if you want to keep this recipe as is. You don’t have to eat every meal according to MD standards. I’m new to the community too so apologies if you feel offended with my suggestions.
The gumbo/Cajun style of cooking never appealed to me, at least for health and weight reasons. Ever see photos of people during Hurricane Katrina?
I love this! I find this community can sometimes be too stringent with the dietary guidelines. The Mediterranean diet isn’t just about eating certain grains or vegetables found in the Mediterranean, but instead about incorporating those types of food into your meals. Finding a way to eat the foods local to you and creating the meals of your culture in a healthy way is what this lifestyle is all about. Food and certain dishes are so important to many communities and families and it’s good to remember that you don’t have to stop eating them. Anyways thank you for sharing and this looks delicious!! I’ll definitely be making a gumbo soon.