Monday, February 8, 2016

Exercise 2-option #2 Gumbo (Antonio)

The food that I have chosen to investigate is gumbo, specifically Cajun gumbo. Gumbo has a tricky history that is usually associated with Acadian's who were originally from Nova Scotia and migrated to Canada. They were not happy with being coerced to pledge allegiance to Great Britain and so were forced to migrate again, and ended up in Louisiana. After settling in this area the pronunciation of Acadian turned into "Cajun". Since this group of people wandered so much they integrated many foods into their gumbo dish, which is why gumbo has many forms.

Gumbo is the perfect food to experience the culture of many peoples together.

***(All information above is referenced from the television show "Good Eats" hosted by Alton Brown, season 2 episode 12).

Ingredients
4 ounces vegetable oil
4 ounces all-purpose flour
1 1/2 pounds raw, whole, head-on medium-sized (31-50 count) shrimp
2 quarts water
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced green peppers
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 cup peeled, seeded and chopped tomato
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 bay leaves
1/2 pound andouille sausage, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and browned
1 tablespoon file powder

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the vegetable oil and flour into a 5 to 6-quart cast iron Dutch oven and whisk together to combine. Place on the middle shelf of the oven, uncovered, and bake for 1 1/2 hours, whisking 2 to 3 times throughout the cooking process.

While the roux is baking, de-head, peel and devein the shrimp. Place the shrimp in a bowl and set in the refrigerator. Place the heads and shells in a 4-quart saucepan along with the 2 quarts of water, set over high heat and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour or until the liquid has reduced to 1-quart. Remove from the heat and strain the liquid into a container, discarding the solids.

Once the roux is done, carefully remove it from the oven and set over medium-high heat. Gently add the onions, celery, green peppers and garlic and cook, moving constantly for 7 to 8 minutes or until the onions begin to turn translucent. Add the tomatoes, salt, black pepper, thyme, cayenne pepper, and bay leaves and stir to combine. Gradually add the shrimp broth while whisking continually. Decrease the heat to low, cover and cook for 35 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the shrimp and sausage and stir to combine. Add the file powder while stirring constantly. Cover and allow to sit for 10 minutes prior to serving. Serve over rice.

Recipe courtesy of Alton Brown, 2007

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/shrimp-gumbo-recipe.html?oc=linkback



2 comments:

  1. One of my dreams is to travel the United States and taste the food that each state is known for. Gumbo and Jambalaya are the two dishes that I really want to try. I'm not talking about the crap we can get at the store but real Gumbo made in Louisiana. I'm am sure I would fall in love with this dish. I especially love your recipe with shrimp and sausage both.

    ReplyDelete
  2. One of my dreams is to travel the United States and taste the food that each state is known for. Gumbo and Jambalaya are the two dishes that I really want to try. I'm not talking about the crap we can get at the store but real Gumbo made in Louisiana. I'm am sure I would fall in love with this dish. I especially love your recipe with shrimp and sausage both.

    ReplyDelete

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