Seafood Gumbo

By Jacques Pepin

Seafood Gumbo
Craig Lee for The New York Times
Total Time
1 hour
Rating
4(619)
Comments
Read comments

Here is a real heartwarmer for sweater season. It calls for a lot of ingredients, but don’t be dismayed. You can easily eliminate some or make substitutions. Don’t like shrimp? Go with 100 percent fish. Or vice versa. You can also add ham or sausage (like tasso ham or andouille sausage) for a bit more heartiness. Historically, the word gumbo denotes the presence of okra (also called gumbo), and it’s used here. Another conventional gumbo component and important ingredient in African-based Creole cooking is filé powder, the crushed leaves of the sassafras tree. Then, there is usually a dark roux made of vegetable oil and flour in authentic New Orleans gumbo. All three of these ingredients – okra, filé powder and the dark oil-and-flour roux – are the thickening agents for this fairly spicy dish.

Featured in: THE PURPOSEFUL COOK; For a Robust Seafood Gumbo, Mix and Match Ingredients

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
    Subscribe

  • Print Options

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:6 servings
  • 2quarts water
  • ¾pound fish fillets (cod, pollock or another variety of fresh white fish), cut into 1-inch pieces
  • ½pound (about 26) small peeled fresh or frozen shrimp
  • ¼cup canola oil
  • ⅓cup flour
  • 2onions, peeled and sliced (about 2½ cups)
  • ½cup long-grain rice
  • About 7 scallions, damaged leaves removed and discarded; cut into ½-inch pieces (about 1½ cups), both white and green parts
  • 5cloves garlic, peeled, crushed and chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
  • 2tomatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1cup sliced celery
  • 1green pepper, seeded and cut into ½-inch pieces (about 1½ cups)
  • ½pound okra, ends trimmed, cut into 1½-inch-long rounds
  • 2teaspoons salt
  • 1teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped fine (about 1 tablespoon)
  • ¼teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1tablespoon filé powder
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

312 calories; 11 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 32 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 23 grams protein; 889 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by
Cooking Newsletter illustration

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a large saucepan or stockpot, bring the water to a boil. Add the fish and shrimp, stir, and cook over high heat for about 4 minutes. (The water will not have returned to a boil.) With a slotted spoon remove the seafood; place in a bowl, cover, and set aside. Reserve the poaching liquid.

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, in a small skillet mix the oil and flour together, and cook over high heat for about 1 minute, until it sizzles. Reduce the heat to low, and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring every minute or so, until the roux is a deep mahogany color. Add the sliced onions to the mixture, stir, and then add the roux and onions to the reserved poaching liquid, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil, still stirring, and add the rice, stirring well to incorporate it.

  3. Step 3

    Add the remaining ingredients except for the reserved fish and shrimp and the filé powder. Stir, bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover, and boil gently for 20 minutes. Stirring, sprinkle the filé powder on top, mix and cook for another 5 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    If serving immediately, add the cooked fish and shrimp, return to a boil, and serve. If serving later, reheat at serving time, adding the cooked fish and shrimp at the last minute to warm them through.

Ratings

4 out of 5
619 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Comments

Margaret

I'm from New Orleans but have been living away for many years. Good fresh okra is almost impossible to find in markets even in the height of summer. Tends to be tough and woody. Why gamble? Good frozen okra is a sure bet and you can find it year round.
If you object to the sliminess of okra, pan roast it for a few minutes to kill the mucus-y stuff before adding to the gumbo. Easy to do and you might even find that okra is a pretty tasty vegetable on its own.

Jodyrah

I'm from New Orleans and never heard of cooking rice in the gumbo. It is cooked separately. A scoop is placed into the serving bowl and the gumbo ladled overtop.

Jodyrah

Traditionally roux is equal parts fat and flour. For 2 qts. of liquid one would normally use 2/3 c of each plus 1-3T. file powder depending upon how thick you want the gumbo. Extra fat should be skimmed before adding file. Usually either file or okra is used to thicken, not both. Vegetables are finely chopped. Celery is not used but bay leaves are a must. This recipe may be a very good soup, but is not even close to gumbo we make here in New Orleans.

Rik

Cooked the rice separately, omitted the tomato and added a splash of Marsala wine. Also used scallops, lobster meat, and salmon. Scallops were the last addition because they get chewy even faster than shrimp. Like others have suggested, I pan roasted the okra and omitted the file powder.

kz

I just made a “lighter” version of this w/o fish and rice (just water… gasp!), and it’s really good! Love how versatile this is, and will definitely make the fully loaded recipe for filled with PNW goodies.

Josh Wilson

This is just like what I've always made, except that file seasoning is hard to come by in my neck of the world, so I substitute for that and thyme with Bell's Seasoning and dried Kaffir lime leaves. I use a package of mixed frozen seafood (clams, squid, etc.) and a package of large shrimp (no fish as it falls apart the next day). Also four good-sized sausages, and the for the roux, butter, always butter. And definitely yellow bell peppers for the color and homemade chicken soup for the stock.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

Advertisement

or to save this recipe.