New Orleans inspired Gumbo

Passport & Plate - Chicken and chorizo Gumbo (made with love)

USA | Friday, March 6, 2015 | 3 photos

Ingredients
ROUX:
1/3 C flour
1/3 C sunflower oil

GUMBO:
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
3 chopped chicken thighs
50g chopped chorizo

1/2 C (heaped) celery
1/2 C (heaped) capsicum - whatever colour you like, I used half yellow and half green
1 C chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, crushed
500ml chicken stock
Joe’s Stuff seasoning

1 bay leaf
sprinkle of chilli flakes

salt
pepper


rice cooked to packet instructions
2 generous handfuls of spinach
chives
file

 

How to prepare this recipe
Start by seasoning and browning the chicken and chorizo in a pot in the sunflower oil over a medium heat and then set aside.

Make a roux; add the oil to a pot on a medium-low heat (of a size that will fit all the other ingredients) and then slowing sieve in the flour, stirring constantly. You will want the mixture to turn a copper/dark chocolate colour.

Add, onions, celery, capsicum. Stir continuously and get the vegetables to a crispy/soft stage. Add the garlic and add the chicken and chorizo to the pot. Gradually stir in the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer and add the bay leaf and your seasoning – I used lots (at least 2 tablespoons) of Joe’s Stuff seasoning and a sprinkling of chilli flakes for added heat. Enjoy the chance to season the gumbo to your taste. Simmer for an hour to let the flavours develop. Keep an eye on the gumbo and stir occasionally. Cook your rice as the hour is ending. Remove the gumbo from the heat and tear in the spinach.

Serve the gumbo with fluffy white rice and chopped chives. The file can be added at the table and is used for flavour and thickening.

 

The story behind this recipe
Some people arriving in New Orleans (N’awlins) the day after they hosted the Super Bowl might feel they’d missed out on a highlight of the city but for my friend and I our trip through the States was centered on amazing food and the variety of different cultures. We planned each stop on our trip with foods in mind we wanted to try and in New Orleans we knew we had to try some proper Creole specialities. Rather than just try the food we wanted to learn the process too and discovered The New Orleans School of Cooking. Not only did I learn how to make Gumbo and Jambalaya but I also found out how much love goes into making it. Our teacher shared her passion and I’ll never forget how quick she was to correct my Kiwi pronunciation of Andouille (it should be ‘on-dou-ee’), the traditional smoked sausage used in Gumbo.

This dish wraps you up in a warm and spicy hug of love and takes me back to an awesome trip with a friend I grew even closer too after our month of exploring the USA together.