Gumbo Z'Herbes

Cajun Week Part 2: Gumbo Z'Herbes!  As I mentioned before, this version of gumbo is surprisingly meat-free.  The dish below looks a lot like the gumbo I had last week in New Orleans, though due to a salt-related mishap, it was much saltier. 

Gumbo Z'Herbes, soon to be topped with rice.

I'll post the recipe below with a more palatable amount of salt.  Give it a try!

Recipe:  
Gumbo Z'Herbes

• 2 quarts water
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup minced shallots
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 3 bay leaves
• 3/4 teaspoon thyme
• 1.5 teaspoons black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 pound mushrooms, chopped
• 10 ounces frozen collard greens (or a bunch of fresh greens)
  
• 1 small head of cabbage, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 5 ounces frozen turnip greens (or a small bunch of fresh greens)
  
• 6 scallions, diced
• 1/8 cup chopped parsley 
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 - 15 ounce cans red kidney beans
• Brown rice, prepared according to package instructions.

First, bring the water to a boil in a large soup pot.  (While waiting for the water to boil, continue with the recipe in the next paragraph.  Once the water boils, continue with the third paragraph.)     

Meanwhile, prepare the roux.  Heat the olive oil in a separate large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat.  Then add the flour and stir constantly until a peanut butter colored roux is attained.  Immediately add the onion, bell pepper, and celery and sauté until the vegetables become tender.  Add the shallots, garlic, herbs, spices, and salt and continue to cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally.  Next, add the mushrooms to the roux mixture and cook for two more minutes.

Once the water in the soup pot is boiling, add the collards and cabbage and boil until tender.  Then stir in the turnip greens and scallions and bring the soup mixture back to a boil.   

Stir the roux mixture into the soup mixture.  Once combined, add the parsley, soy sauce and kidney beans and simmer for at least 10 minutes.  Top with brown rice and serve hot. 

Yields 8 servings.

Comments:

Taste:       

Mistaken saltiness aside, this dish had a great, deep flavor.  That's probably partly due to the addition of mushrooms (something I don't cook with very much, to Rachel's chagrin) and the roux base.  I also love that the gumbo is packed with a variety of dark leafy greens, cabbage, and other vegetables.   

Accessibility:      

There are a lot of ingredients in this version of Gumbo Z'Herbes, but they're all easy to find at the grocery store.  If you can't find some of the dark leafy greens (turnip greens, collard greens), I'm sure you could swap in some other dark leafy greens (mustard greens, etc.) in their place.      

 Ease of Preparation:    

Apparently Cajun cooking isn't the easiest.  Like the Seitan Jumbalaya I made earlier in the week, this dish has a number of steps and takes a while to make. Plus, it requires a pretty high level of attention during some more complex steps, such as roux-making.  But, don't be discouraged: I'm pretty sure this was my first time making a real roux and it was straightforward enough. 

Non-vegan friendliness:    

While we did have this as the main dish at dinner, I could see some non-vegans being unsatisfied with such a light main course.  This dish is less filling than some of the soups I've made previously, so it might work better as an appetizer. 

Seitan Jambalaya

I'm back from a great trip to New Orleans and I'm ready to cook up some flavorful Cajun favorites.  First up: Seitan Jambalaya.  Jambalaya is usually made with meat and/or seafood, as far as I can tell, but this vegan version is a great alternative.

Jambalaya garnished with parsley

Recipe:  
Seitan Jambalaya

• 6 tablespoons olive oil (divided into 2 tablespoons and 4 tablespoons)
• 16 ounces seitan strips, pulled apart or cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 heaping tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups long-grain brown rice
• 1 - 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 - 15 ounce can cannellini beans
• 1 - 15 ounce can light red kidney beans
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon marjoram
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

First, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and have ready a large, deep casserole dish or 13 x 9 inch baking pan.

Next, brown the seitan.  In a large saucepan or soup pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the seitan and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned.  (It's okay if the seitan sticks to the bottom of the pot--the pan will be deglazed later. on in the recipe.)  Remove the seitan from the pot and set aside.  

Add the remaining oil to the pot and stir in the vegetables.  Sauté for about 12 minutes until the vegetables become very soft.  Stir in the tomato paste and cook, stirring frequently, for another 4 minutes.  Then, add the water, cook for 30 seconds stirring frequently, and add the rice.  Stir the rice for about 4 minutes.  Next, add the browned seitan and all of the remaining ingredients except the vegetable broth and parsley.  Bring to a simmer, pour in the vegetable broth, and return to a simmer.  

Finally, pour the mixture into your baking dish, cover tightly with aluminum foil or the dish's lid, and bake for 40-45 minutes.  Once you remove the dish from the oven, stir the jambalaya and recover the dish, allowing it to sit for about 10 minutes.  Garnish with parsley and serve hot. 

Yields 6 or 7 servings.

Comments:

Taste:       

I've made this aromatic dish a few times before and it always tastes great.  The herbs have plenty of time to build a complex flavor as the jambalaya bakes.  We mistakenly added a bit too much rice this time, meaning we had a difficult time getting the rice to cook all the way, but the dish ultimately comes out as a thick, protein-rich, and delicious one-pot meal.   

Accessibility:     

Unfortunately, this recipe doesn't yield the most accessible dish in this blog.  Seitan is hard to find at many grocery stores (we had to go to Whole Foods to get it).  Luckily, seitan freezes well, meaning you could stock up on it; or, you can always make your own.  Also, though this recipe does call for many spices, it's not the end of the world if you don't have all of them.     

 Ease of Preparation:   

This dish isn't particularly difficult to make.  However, it does take a long time to prepare, given the fact that you cook it first and then bake it.

Non-vegan friendliness:    

If you're cooking for someone who doesn't like seitan or is generally suspicious of meat alternatives, this could be a great dish to serve.  The seitan is mixed in with all of the other, more recognizable ingredients and adds more protein than anything else.  

Thoughts from New Orleans

Hello from the French Quarter Festival in New Orleans! Simon and I are here for a quick trip (this is what it's like to have vacation days?!) and it's been great so far.

To my surprise, there is a fair amount of delicious vegan food in the land of po' boys and alligator! Last night I had gumbo z'herbes--a traditionally meat-free gumbo, originally served during lent (see below). I plan to recreate this dish when I return to the North, so stay tuned!

I also went to the Southern Food and Beverage museum today, where I found a great quote from 1901: "The Creoles hold that boys and girls who are raised on beans and rice... will be among the strongest and sturdiest of people." (Again, see below.) Excellent!