Name: Shrimp & okra gumbo
Yield: Serves 4-6
Ingredients: 1 glass of dry white wine; 2 litres fish stock (or a good-quality fish stock cube dissolved in that amount of hot water); 1 small (220 g) can of chopped tomatoes, drained, reserving the juice, and the flesh chopped a little further; 1 tbsp tomato purée; ½ tsp fennel seeds; 1 onion, roughly chopped; salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1 tbsp vegetable oil; a few splashes of Tabasco sauce; 200 g okra, trimmed and thinly sliced; 3 garlic cloves, crushed; 4 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 green pepper, deseeded and chopped into 5 mm dice; 4 tbsp plain flour; 1 small onion, finely chopped; 500 g raw prawns, preferably with the heads on; a few sprigs of thyme; 2 celery stalks, peeled if stringy and chopped into 5 mm dice; 10 black peppercorns

Preparation info

Serves
4-6

Difficulty
Complex

Appears in

Fish etc.

By Mark Hix

Published 2004

About

Probably the best-known dish to come out of Louisiana, gumbo is an African word for okra, which is an essential ingredient and contributes to the thickening process, mostly achieved by a roux base and the addition of filé powder, the ground leaves of the sassafras tree. You can make this hearty soup/stew out of almost anything, for serving a main course or as a starter. It traditionally has some cooked rice in it, but I prefer it without when serving it as a soup.

A gumbo is