Gumbo is a dish quite popular in Louisiana in the United States of America. In fact, it is the official state cuisine. Gumbo is, essentially, a strongly flavoured soup with either meat or shellfish and vegetables – usually celery, bell peppers, and onions.
Recipe and styling by Nomvuselelo Mncube
Seafood gumbo
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil + extra, to fry
- 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 large green pepper, seeded and diced
- 150g okra, sliced
- 220g chorizo, sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely grated
- 2 tbsp cake flour
- 400g sustainably sourced kingklip fillets, cut into large chunks
- 800g sustainably sourced queen prawns, cleaned and shelled (we used SPAR Argentinian Prawns)
- 424g mussels, cleaned
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp cajun spice
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 4 tomatoes, diced
- 2 bay leaves
- 750ml (3 cups) fish stock
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- fresh baguette, to serve
Instructions
Pour the 2 tbsp olive oil into a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, green pepper, okra and chorizo and sauté for 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and fry until the mixture is lightly browned, about 1 minute. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Wipe the skillet with paper towel. Add the flour, reduce the heat to medium, and cook, stirring constantly, until it turns light brown, 1 minute. Remove from pan and set aside until needed.
In the same pan, heat more olive oil over medium-high heat and sauté the kingklip fillets and other seafood for 8 – 10 minutes. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, spices, diced tomato, bay leaves, fish stock, reserved onion mixture and toasted flour.
Cook until the mixture has thickened, 10 – 15 minutes. Discard any mussels that have not opened. Season to taste and serve hot with the fresh, crusty baguette.
Imka Webb is a freelance digital marketing expert and the digital editor of Food & Home Entertaining magazine. www.imkawebb.com
