Sausage Gumbo

Scott and I have been very lucky to live may different places. We often play a game that you might call "Dream Town." Our "Dream Town" would be made up of all of our favorite businesses and restaurants from all the places we've lived. For example, Dream Town would have our vet from Louisiana, it would have our favorite breakfast joint (The Courier) from Illinois, and it would have the pizza parlor (Hillside Pizza) from Massachusetts.

One place that would definitely be on that list is Nina P's from Lake Charles. One of the reasons it would be on that list is because of the gumbo on their menu. Their gumbo was probably one of the most comforting foods I've ever had--it made you feel better on a chilly gray day in the bayou.

Since Mardi Gras is coming up, Scott and I are missing our favorite things from Louisiana, so I decided to make some gumbo this weekend. And since it's going to snow on Monday (again), I can't think of a better way to stay warm.

Notes: I have Tony Chachere's cookbook. It doesn't contain a recipe for sausage gumbo, so I read through all the different gumbo recipes and constructed a kind of hybrid from all of them.

It's likely that my roux was not dark enough. I was afraid of burning it. The gumbo we used to get in Lake Charles was much darker than mine. Also, I substituted carrots for the more traditional bell pepper because Scott isn't crazy about peppers. It still tasted great even though it's not 100% correct.

This is not a quick meal, but boy is it worth it. Make it on a chilly weekend and you'll have plenty of leftovers for the week!

If you wanted to make a vegetarian version, you could use red kidney beans or sliced fresh mushrooms in place of sausage. Just add them to the broth about 30-40 minutes before the 2 hours is up. If you add them at the beginning, they'll just fall apart.

Ingredients:
1 pound kielbasa
5-6 carrots
5-6 celery stalks
1 onion
1 small bunch parsley
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 heaping tablespoons of Tony's Original
1 quart of water plus 3 cups
1 stick of butter
4 tablespoons of flour
3 cups minute rice

Directions:

Start by prepping all your veggies. Peel and dice the carrots. Dice the celery and onion. Mince the parley and garlic. Slice the kielbasa

Melt the butter in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour. Let the roux cook until it's the color of milk chocolate (not dark chocolate). Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the veggies until they stop sizzling. Season with Tony's. Return the pot to the heat and add 1 quart of water.

Stir in the garlic, sausage, and parsley. Bring everything to a boil and then turn the heat back to a simmer. Allow the gumbo to simmer for 2 hours.

When the gumbo is almost done, bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a smaller pot. Stir in the minute rice, turn off the heat, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork when it's done.

To serve, put the gumbo into a wide-mouthed bowl. Use an ice cream scoop to make ball of rice and plop it right in the middle. Top with parsley or serve with file (if you can find it in your grocery store!)

Bon appetit, mais cher!