Improvising Cajun Gumbo with Chicken, Sausage, and Ham

You'll learn that this dish is as easy as your improvised pasta primavera.  Aside from the rice, it's a one skillet meal.

After water is added to the roux

I start with a dark roux, but then I add the spice "gumbo file" at the end.  To me, it isn't really gumbo without the file powder, which consists mostly of ground sassafras leaves--a unique taste you can't get from anything else.  It can be used as a thickener, but the roux does that as well.  I use just a few shakes of the file for the taste.

Find it in most markets, international section.

Every time I make this stew, I remember two experiences.  The first was watching a cooking competition, where one contestant was making gumbo--without file!--and I knew he would lose!  (He did.)  Second, I got a call from a friend I had sent some of my gumbo.  She just had to know what this "new, unfamiliar taste" was.  So you see, you can be a little smug about your gumbo with file.    You can even sing like Hank Williams:  "Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and filé gumbo."

If you don't have the file, you can still spice it up with plenty of coriander and thyme.  I learned this spice combo from a chef from New Orleans with whom I worked at a fine hotel restaurant.  I was woofing down his rice when I asked him, "Why is this rice so good?"

He replied, "Thyme."  When I protested that I used thyme in my rice, but it didn't taste this good, he added, "Lots of thyme."  Aha!  Plenty of thyme and coriander serve as the 2 most essential spices in many New Orleans dishes, in addition to salt and pepper.

To begin, make your roux with 1/4 c. oil and 1/4 c. flour.  Stir it well and cook for at least 15 minutes until it becomes a dark caramel color.

Next, add veggies, first a diced onion and a chopped green pepper.  (I added 2 peppers.)  At this point in summer, you can add some of your garden vegetables.  I wouldn't recommend carrots, but squash and celery work best.  Spinach also works, but I would add it at the end so that it doesn't overcook.  I add 1 clove of garlic to the roux and maybe another toward the end.  The recipe calls for okra, but I don't like it and omit it.  I use no tomatoes in cajun gumbo, only in creole seafood gumbo.

When the veggies are tender, add 1-2 quarts of water, depending on how much you want to make.  Now add meat:  chicken, ham, and sausage.  I used only one quart of water, one large chicken breast (3/4 pound), 1/2 pound of ham, and 1/4 pound of sausage, just the right amount for 4-5 servings over rice.  I always use meat I have already baked, fried, or roasted and then frozen, so all I have to do is to thaw each meat in the microwave and then add it.  I'm not sure a Cajun chef would use "summer sausage," but I find it the tastiest.  Plus, it's already cooked and can always be kept onhand.  You can cook your meat separately, following safe-handling and cooking instructions for each one.  Use leftover chicken and ham or tune in later for my post on baking and then freezing chicken breast.

Now the question is "How long to cook?"  Your answer depends on how many vitamins you want to destroy!  This dish is older than the Louisiana Purchase and was traditionally cooked at least 3 hours.  I simmer it on low for 1/2 hour, since every item is already done.

To season, add a little red pepper flakes, thyme, coriander, file powder, and salt and pepper to taste, and maybe another clove of garlic if you are making at least 8 servings.  Count the servings at 1/4 pound of meat for each one, and you can design your own and become a master of cajun gumbo.
Serve over rice.

Serve over rice.

You should have a stew, not a soup, but if you have enough water, you may want some French bread or corn muffins with apples to dip.  Yum!  This is a great dish for informal buffets.  You'll "have great fun on the bayou"!