Gumbo Zherbes Food

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GUMBO Z'HERBES



Gumbo Z'herbes image

This hearty vegetable gumbo is traditionally eaten on Holy Thursday to fortify worshipers for Good Friday, a day of fasting and abstinence from meat. I've seen recipes that contain everything from chicken wings to spicy chaurice sausage (a Cajun cousin of chorizo) to smoked brisket. Custom also dictates that the gumbo is supposed to have an odd number of greens--five or seven or nine and as many as fifteen--for luck. Many recipes include foraged herbs such as peppergrass, as well as the green tops from radishes, carrots, and beets. Leah Chase, the Grande Dame of NOLA, is world famous for her Gumbo Z'herbes. At her restaurant, Dooky Chase, there are three lunch seatings on Holy Thursday, serving nearly five hundred guests. Most recipes are quite the production, featuring multiple pots and pureeing vast quantities of simmered greens. I've streamlined the recipe by using baby greens and prechopped greens to avoid pureeing them at the end. Aim for the odd number in any combination of "z'herbes" you'd like. This amount of liquid is suitable for 3 pounds of greens.

Provided by Virginia Willis

Categories     main-dish

Time 1h15m

Yield 6 to 8 servings

Number Of Ingredients 19

6 tablespoons pure olive oil, canola oil, or rendered bacon fat
1 pound chaurice, fresh chorizo, or hot pork Italian sausage, removed from casing
16 ounces andouille sausage, sliced
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 poblano pepper, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
6 garlic cloves
2 quarts homemade chicken stock, reduced-fat low-sodium chicken broth, or water
1 smoked ham hock (about 8 ounces)
1 (16-ounce) bag chopped collard greens, or 1 (1 1/2-pound) bunch collard greens, stems removed and leaves coarsely chopped
1 (12-ounce) bag chopped kale or baby kale
1 (16-ounce) box baby spinach leaves
1/2 cabbage (about 8 ounces), cored and thinly sliced
6 green onions, chopped
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Hot sauce, for serving
Cooked white rice, for serving

Steps:

  • Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add both kinds of sausage; cook until the sausage is cooked through and the fat has rendered, about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the meat to a plate.
  • Add the remaining 5 tablespoons oil to the pot. Add the flour and cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until deep golden brown, about 15 minutes. Add the onion, poblano, and celery and cook, stirring often, until onion is translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 45 to 60 seconds. Add the stock and stir to combine.
  • Plop the ham hock in and bring to a boil over high heat. Return the chorizo and andouille to the pot. Add the collard greens, kale, spinach, cabbage, green onions, and thyme. (You may need to let the greens cook a bit between additions so they will all fit in the pot. Don't be tempted to add additional liquid too soon: It's easy to add but hard to remove, and you want the gumbo to be dense and like stew, not soup.) Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Cook until the greens are tender, about 45 minutes. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper. Add hot sauce to taste. Serve ladled over cooked white rice with hot sauce on the side.

GUMBO Z'HERBES



Gumbo Z'herbes image

Provided by Emeril Lagasse

Categories     main-dish

Time 3h30m

Yield 8 to 10 servings

Number Of Ingredients 15

3 tablespoons rendered bacon fat
1 ham hock, about 2 pounds, with several 1/2-inch slits cut into it
2 cups chopped onions
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 bay leaves
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
5 assorted bunches of greens, such as spinach, collards, mustard greens, turnip greens, watercress, chicory, beet tops, carrot tops, or radish tops, washed, rinsed and chopped
1 bunch parsley, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/2 small green cabbage, chopped
2 quarts chicken broth or 2 quarts water
Salt and pepper
File powder
Cooked white rice for serving with gumbo

Steps:

  • In a stockpot or large saucepan, heat the bacon fat. Add the ham hock and onions and cook for 10 minutes, until onions are softened and slits in ham hock have begun to open up. Add garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and cayenne pepper and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chopped greens, parsley, green onions and cabbage and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until greens are wilted. Add broth or water and increase heat to high. Bring to a boil, skim surface, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 2 1/2 hours, until greens are very tender. Season with salt and pepper and add file, to taste, just before serving in large bowls over hot white rice. (Do not allow gumbo to boil after adding the file.)

More about "gumbo zherbes food"

Coarsely chop all of the greens and add to a very large pot, along with the onion, garlic and scallions. Add 2 quarts of water and bring to a boil.
From foodandwine.com


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