N'awlins Chicken Okra Gumbo

With fresh garden okra

Hi, y’all. I’m a Yankee from Pennsylvania, but after my 20 years in Louisiana, I earned the right to say “y’all”.

I can also say it’s nice on Sunday morning to walk 2 blocks to buy shrimp fresh from the Gulf. If you don’t feel like cooking, you can get a dripping shrimp po-boy not far from that seafood shop. Notice I’m not talking about a sub.

If you’ve lived there yourself , you probably have the spiral-bound River Road Recipes by the Baton Rouge Junior League. My copy is dated June, 1991. It’s the 67th printing, at 20,000 copies per printing.

The introduction to the Gumbos and Soups section says,

Gumbo is an ORIGINAL creation and a cherished possession in South Louisiana kitchens. The word ‘gumbo’ comes from the Congo ‘quingombo’ which means okra.

Sam is just now bringing some in from our garden, so I have River Road Recipes open to “Chicken Okra Gumbo”, submitted by Mrs. Charles Hustmyre. In about 2 hours I’ll be boiling water for the rice. Here’s the recipe.

If you are a vegetarian, instead of chicken you can use cauliflower florets, button mushrooms, chopped bell peppers and celery, thyme and bay leaf. Look on your pantry shelf. You might have some Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning, as we do. (We use it on catfish, too.)

Bon appetit!

Artwork by Deda Edney