| 1 | That will make the base. |
| 2 | Here is how you do it: |
| 3 | there are three critical tasks: |
| 4 | 1)make the roux. |
| 5 | Heat the oil in a small saucepan under low to med heat, add flour slowly. |
| 6 | Stir non stop for about 20 - 30 minutes. |
| 7 | This is made less painful if you have a glass of wine to drink and some music playing. |
| 8 | Don"t try to rush it, or you"ll end up having to start all over. |
| 9 | When you get a pretty brown color and a nice nutty smell, it is ready. |
| 10 | A suggestion, if you discover you like gumbo, make extra roux. |
| 11 | It can be frozen for later use. |
| 12 | 2)slice the okra crosswise, and saute. |
| 13 | It will do something very amusing. |
| 14 | It is called roping - it will look like there are strings of cheese between pieces. |
| 15 | When it stops making "new rope" (that is, a nice steady state) it is ready. |
| 16 | 3)adding the roux to the hot stock. |
| 17 | Do a little at a time, try to have at the same temp, stir. |
| 18 | You don"t want the roux to separate. |
| 19 | It always does a little on me, just stir. |
| 20 | obviously 1 and 2 should not be attempted simultaneously. |
| 21 | Unless you have someone to share the wine and cooking chores. |
| 22 | stir in the fresh crushed chili. |
| 23 | Now you have your base. |
| 24 | Time to make it ready to eat. |
| 25 | the original idea was to use 7 or more greens. |
| 26 | The exact interpretation and balance does not matter. |
| 27 | Kale, collard, mustard greens, parsley, chard, escarole (my favorite), whatever you like. |
| 28 | Saute an onion, green pepper if you like. |
| 29 | Throw it all in, and 20 minutes later you have a nice gumbo. |
| 30 | Sorry i don"t give exact numbers. |
| 31 | Still, a good guess might be 2.5 pounds greens to make this. |
| 32 | A lot depends on personal preference. |
| 33 | Gumbo should not be viewed as a special recipe, it should be a fun experiment. |
| 34 | If you would like to make it more "meaty" than consider using some of the "fake meats" available in oriental grocery stores. |
| 35 | Mock duck, mock abalone, mock shrimp, whatever, all work. |
| 36 | to serve: put a scoop of rice in a bowl, ladel gumbo over. |
| 37 | Have some spoonbread on the side, or just ordinary cornbread. |
