Gumbo's Mushroom Mystery: A Savory Soup's Secret Ingredient?

Gumbo is a popular dish with various recipes, and while some include mushrooms, traditional Cajun gumbo does not. Gumbo typically contains meat, seafood, or vegetables, along with a roux and stock. Mushrooms are used in some recipes, including vegan gumbo, and are often paired with duck.

Gumbo with duck and wild mushrooms

Gumbo is a type of soup that can be made with a variety of ingredients. While gumbo typically contains meat, it can also be made with vegetables or seafood. Some common ingredients in gumbo include okra, tomatoes, and roux. While it is less common, gumbo can include mushrooms. One type of gumbo that includes mushrooms is duck and wild mushroom gumbo. Here is a recipe for duck and wild mushroom gumbo that serves approximately four people:

Ingredients:

• 1 duck
• 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil
• 2 legs
• 2 thighs
• 4 portions of breast meat
• Rustic Rub
• 2 cups of flour
• 2 teaspoons of oil
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• Salt
• Cayenne
• 1/2 pound of wild mushrooms
• 1 cup of long-grain white rice
• 2 green onions

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 450°F. Remove the neck and any innards from the cavity of the duck and rinse the duck well under cool running water. Pat dry.
• Cut the legs and thighs away from the duck, then cut each leg quarter in half at the joint. Cut the wings off of the duck and carefully cut the breast meat away from the bones. Cut each breast half into two pieces.
• Place the legs, thighs, and breast meat on a platter and season with the Rustic Rub. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
• Cover a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and drizzle the vegetable oil over the foil.
• Place the duck pieces, skin-side down, on the baking sheet and bake until golden brown and crispy, about 30 minutes.
• While the duck is baking, make the roux: heat the remaining cup of oil in a large, heavy Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the roux turns a dark copper penny color.
• If the roux begins to brown too quickly, reduce the heat. As soon as the roux is the correct color, add the chopped onions, bell peppers, celery, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 6 minutes.
• Slowly whisk in the stock and add the bay leaves, thyme, and season with salt and cayenne. Bring the liquid to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.
• When the duck is done, remove from the oven and add the pieces to the gumbo.
• In the same skillet used for the duck, add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Saute until the mushrooms are golden brown and fragrant.
• Add the mushrooms to the gumbo and cook until the duck is tender and falling off the bone.
• To serve, ladle the gumbo into bowls and top each portion with a piece of duck or remove the duck from the bones and stir the meat back into the gumbo. Serve over hot white rice, garnished with green onions.

Gumbo can be made with a variety of ingredients, and mushrooms can be a delicious addition to this versatile dish. Duck and wild mushroom gumbo is a rich and earthy dish perfect for a hearty meal.

Vegan gumbo with mushrooms

Gumbo is a hearty and flavourful dish that can be made vegan. There are many vegan gumbo recipes, but most include mushrooms, beans, and okra. Some recipes also include tomatoes, but this is less common.

One recipe for vegan gumbo with mushrooms includes trumpet mushrooms, onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, green onions, okra, parsley, sunflower oil, flour, stock, kombu, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. To make this recipe, start by cutting the trumpet mushrooms into 1-inch-thick rounds. Next, heat some sunflower oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the flour and stir constantly until it is well combined. Then, reduce the heat to medium and continue stirring until the flour mixture is dark brown, which should take about 15 to 20 minutes. Be careful not to let the flour burn.

Once you have a dark brown roux, add the onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic to the skillet and sauté until the vegetables are soft. Then, add the chopped green onions, okra, cooked trumpet mushrooms, and parsley to the skillet and stir to combine. Transfer this mixture to a large stockpot and add the stock, kombu, and bay leaves. Stir well and bring the mixture to a boil. Once it is boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Finally, add the remaining green onions, okra, parsley, and mushrooms to the pot and simmer for an additional 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Another recipe for vegan gumbo with mushrooms includes mixed beans or lentils (such as chickpeas, kidney beans, white beans, and brown lentils), oil, flour, onion, green pepper, celery, garlic, okra, tomato, stock, mushrooms, thyme, cayenne pepper, and bay leaves. To make this recipe, start by heating some oil in a wide saucepan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the flour and stir or whisk continuously until the flour is a dark caramel or milk chocolate colour, which should take about 15 to 20 minutes. Be careful not to let it burn.

Once you have a dark roux, add the onion to the saucepan and stir until it is soft. Then, add the green pepper, celery, garlic, and okra to the saucepan and sauté until the vegetables are soft and the okra slime has disappeared. Finally, add the tomato, stock, mushrooms, beans, thyme, cayenne pepper, and bay leaves to the saucepan and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes until it is thickened. Serve the gumbo with brown rice.

Some people also like to add tempeh or eggplant to their vegan gumbo with mushrooms for a heartier dish. Additionally, you can make a mushroom broth by steeping dried shiitake mushrooms in boiling water for about 10 minutes and adding it to the gumbo for even more mushroom flavour.

Creole vs. Cajun gumbo

Gumbo is a well-known dish from New Orleans that can be traced back to the Creoles and Cajuns. While there are both Creole and Cajun versions of the dish, the differences between the two are sometimes challenging to identify.

Creole gumbo is usually made with okra, tomatoes, and a combination of meat and seafood. It uses a lighter roux, both in color and consistency, and is made with butter and flour. Creole cooking is considered more refined and uses a broader range of ingredients, including French, Italian, African, Portuguese, German, and Spanish influences. Creole dishes also tend to be more ingredient-heavy and generous with butter and cream.

On the other hand, the Cajun version of gumbo typically contains either meat or seafood and is okra-free. It is made with a darker roux, almost resembling a stew, and is created using fat, like duck fat, combined with flour and broth. Cajun cooking is simpler, with fewer ingredients but heavy on seasoning, and is often referred to as "country food." It tends to be a rustic affair, with one-pot meals filled with boudin (a French-style white sausage) or andouille sausage, smoked meat, and crawfish.

While the use of tomatoes is a common distinction made between the two types of gumbo, with Creole dishes containing tomatoes or tomato-based sauces and Cajun dishes omitting them, some sources suggest that this is not always the case. Some Creole gumbo recipes may omit tomatoes, and Cajuns may occasionally include them.

In terms of preparation, Creole gumbo focuses on shrimp, adding them raw to the cooked gumbo and letting them cook with residual heat. Cajun gumbo, on the other hand, has a thicker base, more like a gravy, and includes green onions and flat-leaf parsley in addition to the holy trinity of vegetables.

Whether Creole or Cajun, gumbo is a flavorful dish that showcases the unique cultural influences of Louisiana.

Gumbo with or without tomatoes

Gumbo is a flavourful thick stew that can be served with rice. It is made with roux, shrimp, sausage, crabmeat, and vegetables such as celery, onion, and green bell peppers. Gumbo can also be made with or without tomatoes, depending on the cook's preference.

The decision to include tomatoes in gumbo is a highly debated topic, especially in Louisiana and among those who identify as Cajun or Creole. The use of tomatoes in gumbo typically divides along cultural lines, with Cajun gumbo excluding tomatoes and Creole gumbo including them. However, there are many variations and exceptions to these general rules, and ultimately, the inclusion of tomatoes is a matter of personal preference.

Cajun gumbo is characterised by a darker roux and typically includes chicken or sausage, while Creole gumbo uses a lighter roux and often features shellfish or seafood, which pairs well with the acidity of tomatoes. The addition of tomatoes to gumbo may also depend on the type of protein being used, as their inclusion can be controversial depending on the meat or seafood chosen.

Some recipes for gumbo with tomatoes include Creole-style gumbo with shrimp, mussels, clams, sausage, and tomatoes, as well as Cajun-style gumbo with shrimp and tomatoes. Gumbo with tomatoes is considered a common variation, and it is not uncommon to find recipes that blend or deviate from traditional Cajun and Creole styles.

On the other hand, gumbo can also be made without tomatoes, following the traditional Cajun style. A tomato-less gumbo can feature duck and wild mushrooms as its central ingredients, along with a darker roux, duck stock, and vegetables such as onions, bell peppers, celery, and garlic. This variation offers a rich and earthy flavour profile that showcases the mushrooms and duck.

Gumbo with or without okra

Gumbo is a popular dish that originated in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a type of stew or soup that combines various meats, sausages, and seafood with a thick, flavourful broth. The name "gumbo" is thought to come from the Choctaw word for filé powder, "kombo", or a West African word for okra, "ki ngombo".

Okra is a vegetable that has been commonly used in gumbo due to its mucilaginous, or "slimy", quality, which acts as a thickener for the dish. For this reason, when okra is included in the dish, it is referred to as "'okra gumbo'. However, not all gumbo recipes include okra, and there are alternative thickeners that can be used, such as filé powder, which is made from dried and ground sassafras leaves.

Some people prefer their gumbo without okra, as the vegetable's slimy texture can be unappealing to some. In fact, one source claims that in any good Cajun restaurant, you will find gumbo that does not contain okra. This source also states that their family, with four generations of Louisiana natives, never used okra in their gumbo.

On the other hand, okra is considered essential for making gumbo by some cooks, particularly those who follow traditional recipes. One source mentions that while they usually cook gumbo without okra, they used an okra gumbo recipe as a guide, indicating that okra is still a popular ingredient in gumbo-making.

Ultimately, the inclusion of okra in gumbo is a matter of personal preference and cooking style. Gumbo is a versatile dish that allows for a lot of flexibility and creativity in its preparation, and both okra and filé powder are commonly used as thickeners, either together or separately.

Frequently asked questions