This is an original American dish, hailing from the collision of French, African and other American cultures in Louisiana. Some of the ingredients are indispensable, and may be difficult to obtain outside of the USA, but if you can find them, this is a spectacular and uniquely American meal.
Gumbo takes its name from the word for okra in one of the languages spoken by the African members of the Cajun community. Okra is a vegetable that forms long (5-15 cm) skinny (1-3 cm around) green pods, filled with soft seeds. Its flavor is unlike any other vegetable I am familiar with, and it is the heart of the gumbo. Even within the USA, it can be hard to find if you’re far away from the Gulf of Mexico. You can buy seeds on the Internet, though, and you can grow it in a warm climate. You can even grow it indoors, if you have the room for the 2-meter-plus tall plants – just use 10-20 liter pots.
Gumbo filé is also necessary – it thickens and flavors the gumbo. Fortunately, as a dried spice, this is easy to obtain through the mail. The andouille (pronounced an-DOO-ee) sausage is just a nice spicy pork sausage; you can substitute keilbasa or similar sausages without changing the flavor too much.
Worchestershire (pronounced “WUH-ster”) Sauce is a slightly spicy, vinegary sauce made in the USA by the Lea & Perrins company. You can purchase it through the mail, as well, or substitute 10 ml vinegar, ½ of a small anchovy, a pinch each of salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and dried chili pepper, blended until smooth in a blender.
Peanut oil for the roux is important because it will come to a higher temperature before it starts to smoke than many other kinds of oil. You can substitute margarine, if necessary, though, and just cook your roux a little less dark.
Put into a large bowl:
2 large onions, diced
6 stalks of celery, diced
2 bell peppers, cored & diced
Put into another large bowl:2 large tomatoes, skinned & diced (I have Been Informed that these are WRONG.)
1 kg of okra, cut into 1 cm sections
125 ml of garlic, minced
Put into third large bowl:
½ kg smoked ham, diced
½ kg andouille sausage, cut into bite-sized slices
1 kg shrimp (111-132 per kg size), peeled & deveined
1 kg chicken wings, cut at wing joints
Make the roux, heating in a large heavy pot over high heat just to the point of smoking:
200 ml peanut oil
Using a long-handled whisk and wearing an oven mitt, slowly mix in:
300 ml flour
As you add the flour, stir it constantly, breaking up any lumps that form. Reduce the heat to medium, and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until it turns a dark reddish-brown. Don’t let any of it burn to the bottom of the pan – if it does, start over to avoid a burnt flavor in the finished gumbo.
Add the “trinity” – the onions, celery, and bell peppers – and cook, stirring often, until softened.
Add:
2 ℓ chicken stock
Add the remaining vegetables, 15 ml Worchestershire (or substitute) and 15 ml filé powder. Cook for 20 minutes.
Add the meats and simmer for another 40 minutes.
Add hot sauce to taste, and then simmer for another 30 minutes.
Serve over white rice, with a sprinkling of filé powder on top.