Okra Gumbo Food

OKRA AND TOMATOES (A.K.A. OKRA GUMBO)

Steps:

• Fry bacon in a large skillet that can be covered, until crisp. Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels. Saute onion in bacon drippings until tender. Add okra and tomatoes, stir to blend. Cover, reduce to low heat. Cook for about an hour, or until okra is tender, stirring occasionally. Do not stir too much or too briskly, because the okra will fall apart. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• **Note: Nanny diced the bacon and fried it and the onion together. My family doesn't like the bacon cooked into it because the bacon becomes soft. If you do it my way, you can sprinkle the bacon on right before serving.

OKRA GUMBO

Steps:

• Saute' onion and peppers in margarine until tender.
• Add remaining ingredients including cooked chicken.
• Cook on low for about 2 hours to blend flavors.
• This can be served over steamed rice.

GUMBO

Steps:

• In a large pot, heat the oil. Fry the okra, stirring constantly, for 10 to 12 minutes or until most of the slime disappears. Season with Essence. Add the tomatoes, onions, and celery, stirring occasionally, cook for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are wilted. Season with salt and cayenne. Add the bay leaves, thyme, garlic and water. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook for 30 minutes. Serve with rice and garnish with green onions and Essence.
• Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.
• Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch. Published by William and Morrow, 1993.

SEAFOOD OKRA GUMBO

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large pot over high heat, add onions, celery and bell peppers, and saute 1 minute. Season with salt and 4 turns of pepper and saute 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, garlic, and shallots, and saute, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes more.
• Stir in stock, then add fish, Worcestershire, hot sauce, bay leaves, basil, oregano and thyme, and bring to a boil. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium.
• Stir in shrimp, okra and Creole seasoning, and simmer 10 minutes. Fold in oysters and crabmeat and simmer 5 minutes more. Skim the impurities from the top of the gumbo, turn the heat to high and boil vigorously 5 minutes. Slowly sprinkle in the file, stirring to incorporate thoroughly, and cook, stirring, 2 minutes more.
• To serve, ladle gumbo into bowls or soup plates, add rice and sprinkle with green onions.
• Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
• Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch, published by William Morrow, 1993.

OKRA GUMBO

Steps:

• In a large Dutch oven over medium-high, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the onion, chili, cumin and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are lightly browned, about 4 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes with juices, the sugar and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, then add the okra. Cover, reduce to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the okra is tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve sprinkled with the scallions and with hot sauce on the side.

OKRA GUMBO

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garlic, onion, and green bell pepper, and saute until tender. Stir in okra, mushrooms, diced tomatoes and their liquid, tomato paste, file powder, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 40 minutes.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Stirring constantly, add flour, and cook 2 to 5 minutes, until a golden brown roux has formed.
• Spoon the roux into the okra mixture, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, 5 to 10 minutes, until thickened.

OKRA SHRIMP GUMBO

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, heat the stock and keep warm.
• In a large pot over medium heat, add the oil and onions and saute, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Add a little hot stock if needed to avoid burning and to keep the onions soft.
• Add the salted pork and ham and cook for 10 minutes. Add the garlic, celery, bell pepper and 1 cup stock and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Add the mild and hot smoked sausages and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the remaining stock and the Slow Cooker Smothered Okra and cook until thickened slightly, 15 minutes. Stir in the shrimp, parsley and green onions and add salt and red pepper to taste. Cook another 5 to 8 minutes, then turn off the heat and stir in the crab.
• Combine the okra and oil in a slow cooker and stir well. Cover and cook on high until tender, 3 to 4 hours. Stores well in ziptop bags in the freezer.

EASY GUMBO (OKRA SOUP)

Steps:

• Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir until slightly softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in grape tomatoes; cook until they begin to release their juices, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and crushed tomatoes. Cover and cook until fragrant, about 5 minutes.
• Remove saucepan from heat. Add water, okra pods, red pepper flakes, chicken bouillon, salt, and curry powder.
• Return saucepan to medium heat; simmer soup for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in shredded chicken. Simmer until okra is soft and chicken is heated through, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes.

CHICKEN AND OKRA GUMBO

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large heavy pan and add the flour.
• Cook over a low heat, stirring, to make a dark brown roux (the color of hazelnut shells).
• Add the onion, garlic, green pepper and celery and cook until lightly browned, stirring occasionally.
• Add the okra, parsley, bay leaf, thyme, salt, peppers, and cayenne and tabasco to taste, then stir in the tomatoes, tomato puree, and half the stock or water.
• Bring to a boil, stirring well.
• Simmer for 1-1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• During this time, the okra, which is initially slimy, will turn the mixture very dark and glutinous.
• Meanwhile, remove the chicken meat from the carcass.
• Discard all skin and cut the meat into bite-sized pieces.
• Add the chicken meat and corn to the gumbo with the remaining stock or water and simmer for 30 minutes longer, stirring from time to time.

CRAB AND SHRIMP GUMBO WITH OKRA

Steps:

• Heat 1/2 cup oil in a large stockpot over medium-low heat until a pinch of flour sprinkled into the oil just begins to bubble. Whisk in the flour to form a thick paste the consistency of cake frosting. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the flour is very dark brown and the color of melted chocolate, about 45 minutes.
• Reduce heat to low and add okra, onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, until onions are translucent and veggies are cooked, 6 to 8 minutes. Add diced tomatoes, cover, and bring to a simmer.
• Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add okra and cook, stirring constantly, until tender and no longer stringy or slimy, about 10 minutes. Add to simmering roux mixture and simmer over low heat, stirring frequently, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add 6 cups water plus file powder, Creole seasoning, salt, pepper, cayenne, and bay leaves. Cook, uncovered, tasting a few times as it cooks to adjust spices and adding more water if necessary, until gumbo is as thick as you would like, at least 2 to 3 hours. The longer it cooks, the better.
• Stir in shrimp and crabmeat; cook for 15 more minutes. Ladle gumbo over hot rice in serving bowls.

ROUX-BASED AUTHENTIC SEAFOOD GUMBO WITH OKRA

Steps:

• Put flour into a Dutch oven or large heavy pot and add flour. Turn heat to medium-high, put the pot on the burner, and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until thick and bubbly, has a 'peanutty' smell, and is dark brown, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool and thicken.
• Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir celery, green onions, and bell pepper in hot butter until tender, about 10 minutes; add to pot with the roux.
• Stir water, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt, hot pepper sauce, and thyme into the vegetable mixture. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 1 hour.
• Stir okra into the vegetable mixture and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Add catfish, stir gently, and cook until the flesh is easily flaked with a fork, about 5 minutes. Gently stir shrimp into the mixture; cook until the shrimp are bright pink, about 3 minutes. Season with the file powder and salt; stir.

SHRIMP AND OKRA GUMBO

Steps:

• Season the shrimp with salt, pepper and cayenne to taste and set aside. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the okra and saute for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the tomato paste, tomato, onion, garlic, celery and green bell pepper and saute for 15 more minutes.
• Add the water and season to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes. Add the shrimp and simmer for 20 more minutes. Finally, add the green onion to the soup and stir thoroughly.

SHRIMP GUMBO WITH OKRA

Steps:

• Peel shrimp and toss shells with 1/2 tablespoon of Cajun seasoning. Place seasoned shells into a pot with water, 1 tablespoon diced onion, and 1 tablespoon diced bell pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cover. Let cook for at least 2 hours; the longer it cooks, the more flavor will be in your stock.
• Meanwhile, devein shrimp by gently running a knife along the back; this will also make your shrimp plump nicely when cooking. Toss shrimp in remaining Cajun seasoning and place in the refrigerator.
• Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add flour slowly, stirring constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon. When all flour is added, continue stirring frequently until roux turns brown in color and has a nutty aroma, about 5 minutes. Add remaining onion and bell pepper; saute with roux until onion is translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in tomato paste.
• Stir in tomatoes, okra, and shrimp stock slowly. Add crab boil seasoning. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer and let cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Stir in shrimp and continue cooking until shrimp are bright pink but not tough, about 20 minutes.

OKRA GUMBO (FOR THOSE WHO DON'T LIKE OKRA)

Steps:

• To shorten the cooking time of the okra, place it in a microwave safe bowl add two tbsp water, cover with plastic wrap, and cook 15 minutes. Stir, and cook an additional 5-10 minutes until the okra has changed color from bright green to a duller more olive color.
• Meanwhile, cook your chicken as desired, and chop into edible sized pieces. Dice the veggies. If you are using frozen veggies, microwave them a few minutes and drain off the excess liquid.
• Meanwhile, if time permits, slice the sausage and brown in a skillet over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. (You can cook it in the pot you plan to make the gumbo in and set it aside if preferred.)
• In a large pot (preferably a cast iron dutch oven) brown the onions, bell peppers, and okra over medium high heat. The okra takes forever to cook, and requires constant stirring since it burns easily. It is done when the seeds begin to turn purple/brown - after about 25-30 minutes of cooking. If you didn't microwave it to begin with, you will need to cook it for about an hour. NOTE: I made this about 5 times before I realized that the okra must be cooked until the seeds are at least slightly brown. Otherwise, it will taste good but it won't get the right consistency.
• Add the chicken, sausage, tomatoes, broth/juice/bullion and water. I try to add about 1 1/2 times the amount of water as the amount of stuff already in the pot.
• Bring to a low simmer, simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally and adding water if needed. Add salt, pepper, and Tony's at the end of cooking. Serve over warm rice.
• I don't care for it, but my husband's cajun family serve potato salad as a side dish with their gumbo.

EASY OKRA & BEEF GUMBO

Steps:

• Brown ground meat and onions. Season with cajun seasoning while browning. I like Tony Cacchere's. Add tomatoes and okra. Cover and simmer about 20 minutes, adding corn in the last 10 minutes. Serve over rice.

BUBBA GUMP'S GREENBOW COUNTY OKRA GUMBO

Steps:

• Cook okra in 2 Tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until lightly browned.
• Set aside.
• Combine remaining butter and flour in a large dutch oven, cook over medium high, stirring constantly until roux is chocolate colored-around 20-25 min (I say have a beer while doing this) Stir in green onions, celery and garlic, cook stirring constantly until veg is tender.
• Add okra, water and the next 6 ingredients.
• Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer uncovered 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Peel and devein shrimp, add that and crab to okra mixture.
• Simmer an additional 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Remove and discard bay leaf.
• Serve gumbo over rice.
• Sprinkle with file if desired.

CHICKEN AND OKRA GUMBO

Steps:

• Place chicken and water in a large kettle. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until chicken is tender. , Remove chicken; reserve broth. Set chicken aside until cool enough to handle. Remove chicken from bones; discard bones and cut into meat into cubes; set aside. , In a soup kettle, combine oil or drippings and flour until smooth. Cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir about 5 minutes more or until mixture is reddish-brown (the color of a penny). Turn the heat to high. Stir in 2 cups reserved broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. , Add the onions, celery, green pepper and garlic; cook and stir for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, okra, bay leaves, basil, salt, pepper and pepper sauce. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Add chicken; heat through., Discard bay leaves. Garnish with green onions and parsley. Serve with rice.