Crawfish Gumbo
Okra Thickener:
- ¼ cup lard, ham or bacon drippings
- 1 pound tender young okra, stemmed and sliced as
- thin as possible
- One 8-ounce can tomato sauce
- 3 tablespoons lard
- 1/3 cup unsifted all-purpose flour
- 2 large yellow onions, finely chopped
- 1 large green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely chopped
- 3 large celery ribs, trimmed and finely diced
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 10 cups (2½ quarts) cold water
- 2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon ground hot red pepper (cayenne), depending on how “hot” you like things
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1½ pounds medium-size raw shrimp (or crawfish) in the shell
- 4 quarts (1 gallon) boiling water mixed with 1 tablespoon salt
- ¼ cup thinly sliced green scallion tops
- ¼ cup coarsely chopped Italian parsley
- 2½ cups converted rice, cooked by package directions
Instructions:
This gumbo is a great make-ahead and thus is ideal for a dinner party.
- For the okra thickener: Melt the lard in a large, heavy, nonreactive Dutch oven (I favor enameled cast iron) over moderately high heat. Add the okra and brown lightly for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring often and scraping any slices that stick to the spoon or the sides of the Dutch oven back into the lard. Reduce the heat to low and cook the okra uncovered, stirring often, for 30 minutes. This is hard work because okra is so sticky, but persist.
- Add the tomato sauce and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours or until the okra mixture is very dry and comes together in a ball. If it threatens to burn at any point, slide a diffuser underneath the pot. Also reduce the heat to its lowest point.
- While the okra cooks, prepare the roux: Melt the lard in a second large, heavy, nonreactive kettle over moderately high heat. Blend in the flour, reduce the heat to low, and work and stir the roux for about 30 minutes or until it is a rich rust-brown.
- For the gumbo: Mix the onions, bell pepper, celery, and garlic into the roux; turn the heat off; and as soon as the sizzling stops, cover and let stand for 15 minutes. Add 4 cups of the cold water to the roux, set over moderate heat, and stir for 3 to 5 minutes or until thickened. Add the remaining cold water, adjust the heat so the liquid bubbles gently, then simmer uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes or until reduced by about half. Mix in the okra thickener, salt, cayenne, and black pepper and simmer uncovered over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, boil the shrimp in their shells for 1 minute exactly in the boiling salted water. Drain, rinse, shell, and devein. Halve any shrimp that are large.
- When the gumbo has cooked for 1 hour, add the shrimp and cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Stir in the scallion tops and parsley. Taste for salt and adjust as needed.
- To serve, mound about a cup of the rice in the middle of six to eight heated jumbo-size soup plates and ladle the gumbo on top.