On another really cold day, I was craving the flavors
of New Orleans, so I decided to make Gumbo!
I had everything in the freezer that I needed, and I always have the right
spices on hand.
This isn’t your typical recipe because I started with leftover
roast beef and gravy, so I didn’t need to make a roux!
I began by sautéing about half a cup of chopped
celery, and 1 cup portions of chopped onion and bell pepper. I used bacon grease as the oil for sautéing. After the vegetables began to soften, I added
my chopped roast beef and 2 cups of dark brown gravy. At this point, I turned my pot to ‘slow cook’
on the low setting.
I added a big frozen tomato, a small can of tomato
sauce (plus a couple cans of water to rinse the can), 1 teaspoon of minced
garlic, half a teaspoon of Paul Prudhome’s blackened beef flavoring, 1
teaspoon of file powder, a pinch of hot red pepper flakes and a bay leaf. I love carrots and had a few slices left from
another meal, so I threw those into the pot!
At this point, I add my frozen okra. I freeze whole pods, then slice them to use
them.
Slow cook for 2 hours on the low setting. Serve with cooked white or brown rice.
Freezing fresh vegetables doesn't always require blanching. I simply cut peppers and onions into sections and put them in containers or zipper bags and put them in the freezer. I do the same thing with whole pods of okra. Freezing okra actually eliminates the mucilage ... and it is the mucilage that helps thicken gumbo. Whole tomatoes can be frozen without any additional preparation. Pop them in a bag. When you thaw one, the peel will slide right off. I usually just throw them in the pot whole. The peels have lots of nutrition and I don't mind them.
