Name: Chicken Gumbo
Yield: Makes 8 First-Course Servings or 4 Main-Course Servings
Cuisine: United States
Ingredients: 1 cup rice, cooked; 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried; ¼ pound tasso or other smoked ham, thinly sliced and cut into 1-by ⅛-inch strips; 1 celery rib, cut into l/4-inch cubes; 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped; Tabasco sauce; 6 medium-size tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped, or 3 cups canned, seeded and drained, chopped; 1 pound andouille sausage, 2 links, or smoked kielbasa, cut into ½-inch slices; salt and pepper; 6 tablespoons melted bacon fat or vegetable oil; 1-½ pounds fresh okra or 2 10-ounce packages frozen, cut into ¼-inch slices; 1 3-pound chicken, quartered; 1 red or green bell pepper, seeded and cut into ¼-inch cubes; 2 medium-size onions, finely chopped; 3 cups chicken broth

Preparation info

Makes
8
First-Course Servings

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Splendid Soups

By James Peterson

Published 2000

About

This version is lighter than a traditional Louisiana gumbo, but it still captures the spicy, smoky flavors of the original. Older recipes usually recommend browning the chicken in bacon fat, which is an excellent way of giving a subtle smokiness to the broth. Although very little bacon fat will find its way into the finished soup, you can substitute vegetable oil if the idea bothers you.

Gumbo can be thickened in three ways: with roux, okra, or file powder. This version uses okra be