The Real Gumbo Recipe

I wanted to follow up requests in response to my post on Spices, and share the gumbo recipe I mentioned. 

It’s my mom’s from her mom, Nannie (Louise P. Curtis)

I’ve used Nannie’s original language

Start with 1 large TBS bacon, ham or sausage drippings in heavy saucepan

Chop 1 pound of okra, 1 large onion, 1 large bell pepper and 5 cloves of garlic

Fry in oil until wilted. Okra will lose stringiness.

Add 1-2 TBS of flour. Cook slowly about 30-45 minutes until okra gets drier.

Add 1 can tomato paste

Add hot seafood water, about 4 cups

Add seafood 1  lb crabmeat and 1 lb peeled shrimp

Add seasonings:

  • 2 drops Tabasco or cayenne pepper
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • a couple of bay leaves
  • chopped celery (1/4 cup)
  • green onions and parsley (optional)

Simmer for about 1 hour over very low fire

Serve over rice

 

Note: I always added olive oil and Louisiana Crystal Hot Sauce and opened a bottle of Jax or two.

 

One thought on “The Real Gumbo Recipe

Comments are closed.