Gumbo is a soup popular in the U.S. state of Louisiana and is the official state cuisine. This dish relies on the smokey, deep, full-bodied flavours from a blend of spices that slowly soak into the meat and stock throughout the cooking. Made colourful with the addition of a tricolour of peppers, this sharing dish is vibrant and punchy in its nature whilst also being comforting and wholesome
Main INGREDIENTS
- Meat
FOR THIS RECIPE WE LOVE TO USE
Ingredients
Method
Ingredients
FOR THE CHICKEN
- 4 skin-on chicken drumsticks
- 4 skinless & boneless chicken thighs
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- ½ tbsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp smoked rapeseed oil
- Sea salt & cracked black pepper
FOR THE GUMBO
- 1 tbsp smoked rapeseed oil
- 2 large celery sticks, finely diced
- 1 large red onion, finely diced
- 1 small red pepper, roughly chopped
- 1 small green pepper, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp dried mixed herbs
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 300g sweet potato, diced into large chunks
- 150g smoked sausage, diced into chunks
- 1L chicken stock, hot
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 6 sprigs thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- Sea salt & cracked black pepper
TO SERVE
- Freshly chopped parsley
- 90g uncooked White or Brown Rice
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Method
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1With a sharp knife, score all the chicken and place in a large bowl. Add the paprika, cayenne pepper, oil, and pinch of seasoning. Massage the marinade into all the chicken before placing on a baking tray and roasting for 30 minutes.
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2In the meantime, make the gumbo base. Heat the oil in the shallow casserole over a medium heat. Fry the finely chopped celery and onion for 5 minutes until it starts to soften. Add the chopped peppers and fry for a further minute.
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3Sprinkle in the mixed herbs before adding the paprika, cayenne pepper and garlic and fry for 2 minutes.
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4Stir in the flour, coating all the ingredients in the flour and spices whilst ensuring it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
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5After 30 minutes, add the cooked chicken and all the cooking juices to the casserole along with the sweet potato and smoked sausage. Pour in the hot stock followed by the maple syrup. Stir to combine all the ingredients before adding the thyme and bay leaves. Season with a little salt (depending on how salty your stock is) and plenty of cracked black pepper.
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6Allow the gumbo to gently simmer with the lid off to allow the gumbo to reduce, if the sauce is reducing too quickly, turn down the heat and place on the lid. Simmer over a low to medium heat for 45 minutes until the sweet potato is cooked through and the sauce has reduced and become thick and glossy.
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7Season again as necessary before sprinkling the dish with freshly chopped parsley and serve with boiled rice.
Smoked oil is advised for this recipe but not essential if you cannot get hold of it - its aromatic flavour helps to enhance the smokey notes of the recipe even further.
The cayenne pepper gives a little warmth to the dish. If you don’t like it too spicy, omit the cayenne and make sure you choose a sweet paprika.
To retain moisture and flavour, cook the chicken bone-in; but if you don’t like meat on the bone, simply swap for boneless chicken thighs and chicken breast.
