Holy Trinity Louisiana Gumbo
This one is proper special to us. Louisiana Gumbo is the kind of recipe that fills your whole kitchen with this deep, smoky, spiced aroma and you just know dinner is going to be really good tonight. The holy trinity of onion, celery and pepper builds this incredible flavour base, and with okra, mushrooms and all those Cajun spices going in, it's rich and hearty and genuinely satisfying in a way that only a proper slow-cooked stew can be. We've been making versions of this for years and it never gets old. If you want something a bit different for dinner this week, trust us on this one.
Before You Start
- Large casserole dish or heavy-bottomed pot with lid
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp plain flour
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp Tabasco
- 2 onions
- 2 celery stick
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 green bell peppers
- 300g okra
- 250g chestnut mushrooms
- 4 tomatoes
- 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
- ¼ tsp salt - plus a little extra
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- 750ml vegetable stock
- 2 fresh bay leaves
- 240g can of kidney beans
- 4 spring onions
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 500g cooked basmati rice - or 2 x 250g bags of microwaveable rice
Method
First get all your veg ready
- Peel the onions
- Trim the celery
- Cut the peppers in half and cut out the stems and seeds
- Roughly chop the onions, peppers and celery into small pieces
- Peel and finely grate the garlic
- Trim the okra and cut into 1cm-thick slices
- Quarter the mushrooms
- Finely chop the tomatoes
- Roughly chop the thyme (if the stem is woody, remove the leaves by running your thumb and forefinger from the top to the base of the stem)
Next, fry the veg
- Put the casserole dish on a medium heat and pour in the oil
- Once the dish is hot, add the onion, celery, peppers and 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
- Sweat for about 10 minutes, until softened
- Add the garlic, okra and mushrooms and fry for a further 7–10 minutes, until the mushrooms are cooked through
- Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the flour and stir to combine
- Cook for another 5–7 minutes, stirring constantly to avoid burning, until golden brown (don’t stop cooking too early, this browning is what gives your gumbo its rich colour)
Then add the rest of the gumbo ingredients
- Add the chopped tomatoes and tomato purée to the pan and stir for 2 minutes
- Add the apple cider vinegar, thyme, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, oregano and Tabasco and stir for 2 minutes
- Pour in the vegetable stock
- Add the bay leaves and kidney beans, reduce the heat to a very gentle simmer and cook for 30–35 minutes, until the broth is thick and hearty, stirring occasionally to make sure the bottom doesn’t catch
- Taste and season with salt and pepper
Serve and enjoy!
- Heat the rice or cook it following the instructions on the packet
- Trim and thinly slice the spring onions and sprinkle over the gumbo
- Serve with the rice
Tips & Variations
- Make the roux with patience: We know it's tempting to crank the heat up but keep it medium-low and keep stirring. It takes about 10 to 15 minutes to get that lovely dark caramel colour and it's absolutely worth it.
- Serve it right: We love this ladled over fluffy white rice with a big hunk of crusty bread on the side to mop up every last bit of that sauce. Don't skip the bread.
- Spice it your way: If you like it fiery, add an extra pinch of cayenne. If you're cooking for people who prefer things milder, hold back a bit and let people add hot sauce at the table. File habanero is also brilliant if you can get hold of it.
Why This Works
The trick is taking your time with the roux at the start. It's just flour and oil but cooking it low and slow until it goes that deep golden brown colour is what gives the whole gumbo its nutty, complex backbone. Rush it and you'll miss out on the flavour that makes this dish feel so special. The okra also does a brilliant job of thickening everything naturally, which is very satisfying.