Creole Fish Gumbo

Name: Creole Fish Gumbo
Yield: Makes 1½ quarts
Ingredients: 3 lbs. fresh cod fillet, cut in 1½-inch chunks (or thick fillets of haddock, striped bass, or sea bass); 2 cloves garlic, minced; ⅛ tsp. turmeric mixed with ½ tsp. powdered cumin (or 1/16 tsp. saffron if you can afford it); ⅛ tsp. turmeric mixed with ½ tsp. powdered cumin (or 1/16 tsp. saffron if you can afford it); ⅛ tsp. turmeric mixed with ½ tsp. powdered cumin (or 1/16 tsp. saffron if you can afford it); 2 Tbsp. olive oil; 1½ cups thinly sliced onion 1 cup fish stock (made from heads and trimmings); 1½ cups thinly sliced onion 1 cup fish stock (made from heads and trimmings); 1 cup dry white wine; ⅛ tsp. thyme; ½ bay leaf; 1- inch dried red pepper, bled (or 2 tsp. crushed red pepper); 1- inch dried red pepper, bled (or 2 tsp. crushed red pepper); 2 cups stewed tomatoes, slightly chopped; 1 package frozen sliced okra, thawed; cooked white rice; 2 Tbsp. bourbon; salt to taste

Preparation info

Makes
1½ quarts

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Good Cheap Food

By Miriam Ungerer

Published 1973

About

Christmas Eve often fills me with dismay at the thought of heaving around all those turkeys and pies the next day. So I plunder my geechee past for something that has nothing to do with all that and make this Creole stew. It’s also a nice thing to have on the stove when people are dropping in or staying after a party.

Ingredients

3 lbs. fresh cod fillet, cut in 1½-inch chunks (or thick fillets of haddock, striped bass, or sea bass)
2 cloves garlic, minced

Method

Wash and dry the fish and cut it in chunks; rub the garlic and turmeric/ cumin into them and refrigerate about 2 hours.

Heat olive oil in a large heavy casserole and sauté the onions. Add fish stock, wine, thyme, bay leaf, and red pepper, and simmer half an hour. Add tomatoes and bourbon, salt to taste, and simmer another 30 minutes. Add okra and fish chunks and simmer 10 minutes longer