Wild Rice Soup with Sucuk

A few weeks ago, I was inspired by a fellow blogger's soup recipe, but finding some of the ingredients took awhile.

Joyce, a fantastic and  prolific cook over at October Farm, made a delicious-looking Wild Rice Soup recipe.

Of course, she used ham - an ingredient I don't have here in Istanbul. I substituted  Turkish sucuk. This garlicky, spicy cured "sausage" is an excellent substitute for ham, Andouille sausage, pepperoni and Italian sausage even though it's made from beef not pork. It's not the same, but I make it work.

Wild rice is another thing I went on a Foodie Treasure Hunt for around the city. I settled for a box of wild black rice I found at my local Macro Center. This rice is the same brand I used to make my Spicy Black Bean and Ground Beef One-Pot Soup awhile back.

Then, I waited to go to my Saturday  pazar in Beşiktaş to find istiridye mantarı (oyster mushrooms). These mushrooms are so beautiful and fresh right now! I bought 1 kilo for 10 TL (about $5.65).

These Turkish oyster mushrooms got roughed up a bit in the bag on our walk home, but still tasted  wonderful!

Unlike the U.S., I can't just drive to one giant super store and buy all my groceries at once. Sometimes, it is an inconvenience, but generally I try to treat it as a culinary adventure. At the pazar, I find the freshest produce AND at the best prices. Sometimes, I haggle to get a better price too. And the sellers can tell me where the product came from in Turkey. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Finally, I had all my ingredients, and I was ready to make my own version of Wild Rice Soup with Sucuk. The soup was hearty and satisfying, but the black rice turned the soup a very dark, ugly color.

But I'm sure you will enjoy the spicy sucuk, the earthy mushrooms, sautéed veggies and wild rice all combined in one bowl like we did.

Afiyet olsun!

My wild rice soup with sucuk

Where to shop:

·                     Macro Center: Abdi Ipekci Cad. No: 24/26, Nişantaşı, Istanbul (Look for Sezon Venere Nero Pirinc in a black box next to the other dried beans and bulgur.)

·                     Great spices and dried teas - Ucuzcular Baharat, Mısır Çarşısı, No. 51, Eminönü, Istanbul

Wild Rice Soup with Sucuk
Serves: 10

Ingredients:
1          T.                     corn or vegetable oil

2          c.                     wild rice or black rice

1          tsp.                  salt

5          c.                     water

2          T.                     corn or vegetable oil

2          T.                     butter

1          ea.                    large onion, diced small

5-6       ea.                    celery stalks, chopped small (about 2 c.) Substitute leeks if you can't find celery.

5-6       ea.                    carrots, chopped small (about 2 c.)

As needed                   salt and freshly ground black pepper

4          ea.                    bay leaves

1          tsp.                  turmeric

2          c.                     sucuk or ham, diced small (I used one 270-gram link of dana sucuk)

3          c.                     istiridye mantarı (oyster mushrooms), rinsed and roughly chopped

1/2       c.                     parsley, roughly chopped

5          T.                     flour

2          qts.                  chicken stock

1          ea.                   container Knorr tavuk suyu (condensed chicken stock) 

1          c.                     whole milk

In a medium-sized pot, heat the first amount of oil and then add the rice. Cook for about five minutes until the rice starts to emit a nutty-like aroma. Then add the water and salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut and prep all your vegetables and meat.

Then, in an 8-12 quart pot, heat the oil and butter together. Add the onion, celery and carrots. Sautée for several minutes until the vegetables soften. Add the bay leaves, turmeric salt and pepper.

Then add the sucuk. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring now and then.

Then, add the mushrooms, parsley and the flour. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes to cook out the starchy flavor.

Add the rice and any leftover water in the pot as well as the chicken stock and 1 container of Knorr condensed chicken stock. (I've never used this before, but Joyce did to add a richer flavor to her soup.)

Bring the soup to a boil and then let it simmer for about 30 minutes. The soup will slightly thicken from the roux. At the end, add the milk. Taste the soup and adjust any seasonings as needed.

Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with a mixed salad.

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Happy Fat Tuesday!

New Orleans holds a special place in my heart.

It's where Jason and I were married last year. We will celebrate our 1-year anniversary later this month on the 26th with a little trip to London.

Today, an estimated 1 million people will celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans back in the states. Although we are very far away from those celebrations, that doesn't mean I can't cook some Cajun food at home.

Over the weekend, I invited two of my American classmates from my Turkish class to our apartment for a meal of New Orleans' fixins. This delightful couple also were married in the French Quarter in New Orleans.

When I think of New Orleans' food, I generally think of three things - gumbo, jambalaya and oysters. I made gumbo awhile back so I opted to make a version of jambalaya with chicken, shrimp and sucuk. The sucuk makes an excellent substitute for Andouille sausage even though its made from beef and not pork.

I looked through one of my favorite old New Orleans' cookbooks, "Recipes and Reminiscences of New Orleans," for inspiration. I enjoy reading these homey recipes collected from dozens of southern women.

One of the appetizer recipes talked about crab-stuffed tomatoes. Well, I don't have crab here, but I decided to fill cherry tomatoes with a mixture of labne, black olives and a little bit of French truffle oil instead. They were quite delicious!

Making jambalaya is similar to making a hearty pot of stew filled with all sorts of goodies. Jambalaya is akin to the saffron-colored paella native to the Spanish culture. It usually consists of the southern "trininty" of celery, onions and bell peppers, tomatoes (if you make Creole jambalaya), various meats and rice. I had to make a few substitutions, but the resulting dish resembled many of the jambalayas we've eaten in New Orleans.

A ladle full of steaming hot jambalaya.

I even decorated our dining table with some of our Mardi Gras beads (leftover wedding favors) to make it feel festive.

And, of course, I had to make a king cake for dessert. A king cake is a Mardi Gras tradition - based on a rich brioche-like dough decorated with icing and colorful baking sprinkles. Inside, you often will find a small trinket such as a plastic baby (which is supposed to represent baby Jesus), pecan or a legume. Tradition goes that if you get the piece of cake with the trinket then you are responsible for buying the cake for next celebration.

Wherever you may be, I hope you enjoy cooking a little Cajun food at your home like we did.

Today, I'll close with "Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez!"

Chicken, Shrimp and Sucuk Jambalaya

Easily serves 8 to 10 people. (I would cut the recipe in half if you have less than 4 people.)

Ingredients:

1  lg.            yellow onion, small diced

2  c.             red and green peppers (In Turkey, approx. 3 dolma biber, 2 kirmizi biber)

1  ea.           Turkish hot pepper

4-6               garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1  #   500 g.  chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

8 oz./235 g.  package of sucuk, cut into small pieces

7 oz./200 g.  fresh karides or shrimp, cleaned

1  400 g.       can of diced tomatoes

4  T.              tomato paste

2+                 cans of water or stock (I just used the tomato can to measure this.)

1  c.              Baldo or long-grain rice

TT               fresh parsley, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper

Optional      hot sauce (can be added to the jambalaya or simply placed on the table)

1.  In a large stockpot, heat 2 T. of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add and saute' the peppers, onions and garlic. Cook this mixture for about 8 minutes or until the vegetables start to soften.

2.  Add the chicken and sucuk. Cook for about 10 minutes until the chicken is no longer pink on the outside, stirring occasionally. 

3.  Then, add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, water or stock, shrimp, rice and seasonings. Turn the heat down to low, cover the pot with a lid and cook for 20 minutes or until the rice is tender. You may need to add a little more water if your mixture appears too thick.

4.  Taste and adjust the seasonings to your liking. 

In New Orleans, you will always find at least one kind of hot sauce served on the table. (I even found Louisiana Hot Sauce here at one of my little shops.)

Labne-Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes

(Inspired by my friend, Sharon in Istanbul, whom uses pesto instead of the black olive paste)

Ingredients:
As needed cherry tomatoes
TT             labne, black olive paste, salt and peper
Optional    truffle oil
Garnish     fresh parsley

1.  Trim and carefully hollow out the center of the cherry tomatoes, using a paring knife and a small measuring spoon.
2.  In a small bowl, stir together some labne with a spoonful of the black olive paste and a drizzle of truffle oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3.  Place the mixture in a resealable plastic bag, trimming off the end. Pipe the mixture into the cherry tomatoes.
4. When finished, garnish the tomatoes with the parsley.

Here I am with my new American friends, Spencer and Stephanie, who are studying Turkish.

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Day 1: Exploring Cappadocia, Turkey

(Well, this past week was busy for us. We hosted our first American guests in Istanbul. We explored some of the sites, walked around the city and enjoyed eating at several restaurants. Then, on Friday, Oct. 29, my husband and I left for a 3-day hiking tour in the Cappadocia region of Turkey. I have lots of stories and 350 photos to share with everyone over the upcoming days.)

An amazing adventure is the best way to describe our weekend trek to Cappadocia in the middle of Turkey. 

This region was formed approximately three million years ago when two (now dormant) volcanoes erupted and produced the tuff, hard volcanic rock composed of compacted volcanic ash, and basalt lava.

According to “A Complete Guide to Cappadocia” published by the Cappadocia Tourism Promotion Foundation in Nevşehir, Turkey:

“The basalt ultimately cracked and split under attack from the weather and rainwater seeped down through the cracks and split to slowly erode the tuff itself. The natural effects of alternating very hot and very cold weather and the rain and the wind breaking down the rock's resistance caused (and continues to cause) the emergence of the tall cones of tuff capped by hard basalt which the Turks call “Fairy Chimneys.”

Jason, my husband, stands in front of some of the Fairy Chimneys.

The area definitely is a natural wonder. While we were hiking, there were several moments when I just stopped and gazed out in wonder at the unique rock formations. In my mind, the landscape of the Grand Canyon in the U.S. could be relatively compared to Cappadocia. Take a look at the rock formations for yourself.

The beautiful landscape outside of Göreme, Turkey.   

On Friday, we took an early flight from Istanbul to the Kayseri airport. We rented a car so we could explore more of the area by ourselves instead of in a mass tour group. My husband drove about an hour west to the town of Avanos where we stopped for snacks. Outside of the market, we saw this shopping cart filled with frozen sucuk that was apparently defrosting.

Then, we continued on to the village of Göreme where we had reserved a room at the Kelebek Cave Hotel. The hotel had many good reviews online and our friends had recently stayed there as well. It was perfect! Imagine a hotel built into some of the ancient caves, but with modern conveniences and newer construction.

Kelebek Cave Hotel

After we were settled and had some directions, we decided to explore Göreme and take in some afternoon hiking. First, we headed to the Göreme Open Air Museum, about a 20-minute walk from our hotel. The museum, one of Turkey’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites, is home to incredible rock formations, several former monasteries and churches carved into the rock.

Within the museum, there are 11 refectories with rock-cut churches, tables and benches. Each is associated with a church. Most of the churches in the Göreme Open Air Museum belong to the 10th, 11th and 12th centuries. Many of the buildings were once connected by tunnels and heavy, round “millstone doors,” which were used to close off these tunnels in times of danger. 

It’s difficult to even describe this area, so I hope the photos speak for themselves.

Red motifs painted directly onto the rock in one of the churches.

One of the museum’s top highlights is the Karanlık Kilise or the Dark Church. Because you must pay an extra admission fee (8 TL per person), it’s less crowded than some of the other churches and surely worth it.

The domed church, a monastic compound built in the 11th century, has one main apse, two small apses and four columns. The walls are decorated with beautiful scenes from the New Testament: Annunciation, Journey to Bethlehem, the Nativity, Baptism, Raising of Lazarus, Transfiguration, Entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, Betrayal of Judas, the Crucifixion and the Anastasis.  These restored frescoes are supposed to be the best preserved in all of Cappadocia and a good example of 11th-century Byzantine art.

According to the museum’s literature, the church’s name possibly comes from a small oculus looking out of the narthex which only lets in a very small amount of light. This feature is what has preserved the richness of the frescoes. We were able to capture several photos of the frescoes, without using a flash which could damage them. 

Unfortunately, the museum was horribly mobbed by large tourist groups. It was difficult to gain entrance into some of the other churches. We later learned the afternoon is one of the worst times to go. Lesson learned.

After leaving the museum, we walked down the road a bit and saw three camels off to the side. My husband saw “tourist trap” written all over it. He was right, of course, but I really wanted to take a photo with the camels. I told the Turkish man I just wanted the photo for 5 TL, not a ride which cost 20 TL. Well, once I hoisted myself up onto the camel, the man led the animal around the area for 10 minutes. Our final cost was 15 TL, but we got 10 photos from the incident.

After the camel incident, we proceeded to the nearby Love Valley hiking trail. It was supposed to be an easy hike in this picturesque valley filled with some of the tall fairy-chimneys. However, recent rains made the trails and rocks slippery to climb. Then, the afternoon sky filled with more dark clouds. Soon, it went from drizzling rain to downright pouring rain.

Jason on top of one of the rocks in Love Valley.

We ran from the trail, about half a mile, to a local café in Göreme to grab a light meal and dry off a bit. We ordered two Efes beers, water and a minced meat pide to tide us over until dinner.

After an hour, the rain subsided enough for us to return to our hotel. We relaxed for a bit and enjoyed a few cocktails in our room.

Our hotel manager, Hanife, recommended the nearby restaurant, Seten Anatolian Cuisine, which also is related to the Kelebek Hotel. The rain started pouring again so we ran from the hotel to the restaurant.

This white-tablecloth restaurant was cozy, but the lighting was a little harsh and the service could have been speedier. However, our meal was delicious. The food was served on modern china and presented more elegantly than I have seen at other restaurants so far in Turkey.

The menu was filled with seasonal and traditional Anatolian dishes, which I was more than happy to savor. We selected two appetizers - stuffed eggplant patlican dolmasi filled with onions, rice, tomatoes and spices; and stuffed artichoke enginar dolmasi filled with potatoes, carrots, onion and dill. We also were served a basket full of puffy pide bread.

For entrees, I ordered the seasonal delicacy of stuffed squash blossoms which were filled with a spicy rice mixture and served with a yogurt dipping sauce. Jason ordered the mini kofte meatballs served in a bowl filled with a tomato-based broth. This isn't what he was expecting because kofte is usually served with rice and grilled vegetables, but the dish was tasty.

For dessert, we enjoyed the traditional Turkish kabak tatlısı – local pumpkin cooked in a sugar syrup. This version was different because it was spiced with cinnamon and cloves more than others we have tried and cooked in thinner syrup. The Cappadocia region is known for their pumpkins, and they can be seen out in the surrounding fields everywhere.

At this point, I was full, feeling happy from the wine and ready to sleep. We needed to get an early start again on Saturday for our second day of hiking in Cappadocia.

We enjoyed a lovely bottle of Cappadocian red wine with our dinner.

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Making My First Turkish Güveç

One phrase I’ve heard recently here in Turkey is: “Go for the history, but stay for the food.”

This statement couldn’t be more accurate.

I’ve had a blast exploring the lively streets of Istanbul searching for new food to try. Yesterday, for a mid-afternoon snack I tried a different type of borek. This one was more like a flaky flatbread pastry filled with the typical Turkish feta-like cheese.

Warm bread filled with cheese – what’s not to enjoy?

As I’ve told some close friends back home, I want to eat my way across Turkey. I also want to learn how to cook traditional foods.

I recently found some Turkish recipes for güveç which is a casserole cooked in an earthenware dish. My recipe searches yielded several results for ones made with chicken, beef, lamb, seafood and/or vegetables.

A little history excerpted from “The Oxford Companion to Food” by Alan Davidson:

“Gyuvech is the Bulgarian name for a kind of earthenware casserole or the dish cooked in it. The name comes from the Turkish word güveç, which has the same meaning. The casserole is fairly shallow with a large surface area allowing for maximum evaporation. It comes round or oval and lidless…These vessels are found all over the Balkans are used for cooking almost anything of a savoury nature, including fish as well as meat, poultry, and game dishes.”

I have seen small, round clay güveç dishes sold in some shops, but I haven’t actually seen this dish on any restaurant menus yet. I decided to use my large Le Creuset pot we received as a wedding gift to make my own version of a güveç made with chicken and sucuk.

I’d compare the güveç to the American crock pot dish. It’s an opportunity to throw together some vegetables, meat, spices and perhaps a starch like potatoes or rice. Let the pot slowly simmer to allow the meat to get tender and the juices to mingle. A little while later you have a pot of aromatic goodness!

My first-time güveç tasted full of spices and spiciness from the sucuk. Leftovers had even more of a kick. The bulgur (which could be substituted with long-grain rice) soaked up the meat juices. The dates added a hint of sweetness. 

All in all – it was a good combination.

Making a güveç is a great way to use up some of this season’s hearty vegetables. Try experimenting with different combinations and let me know how it turns out.

Afiyet Olsun!

Chicken Güveç with Dates and Sucuk

(Adapted from “Turquoise: A chef’s travels in Turkey” by Greg and Lucy Malouf)

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

2          oz.       unsalted butter

1          T.         olive oil

2          ea.        red onions, cut into thick slices

4          ea.        garlic cloves, sliced

4          ea.        long, green chilies, seeded and diced

1          tsp.      ground cumin

1          tsp.      ground cinnamon

2          ea.        tomatoes, seeded and diced

2          ea.        carrots, peeled and sliced

2          oz.       coarse bulgur, washed

12-16   oz.       chicken stock

1          ea.        cinnamon stick

3          ea.        star anise

Several sprigs  fresh thyme

TT                    salt and black pepper

1          T.         olive oil

2.5       lbs.       chicken legs and thighs, with bones and skin

2          oz.       sucuk, sliced (could try substituting Spanish chorizo)

6          ea.        dates, seeded and cut into quarters

1.         Preheat the oven to 400 F/205 C.

2.         In a large, heavy casserole dish, heat the butter and oil. Add the onions, garlic, chilies, cumin and cinnamon. Sweat the vegetables until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes.

3.         Next, add the tomatoes, carrots, bulgur, chicken stock (adding more later if needed), cinnamon stick, star anise and thyme. Bring to a boil. Then, lower the heat, cover, and gently simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat for a few minutes.

4.         Meanwhile, pat the chicken dry and season lightly with salt and pepper.

5.         In a second pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and brown the chicken lightly on all sides. Add the sucuk and fry until golden brown. Remove the meat from the pan. Discard the oil.

6.         Transfer the chicken and sucuk to the casserole dish and tuck in the dates. Cover the dish with a lid or aluminum foil and cook for about 20 minutes.

7.         Remove the dish from the oven. Taste the bulgur and stock and adjust seasonings as needed.

8.         Portion the güveç into individual bowls and serve immediately.

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Gumbo Made With Turkish Flair

When I unpacked my kitchen this week, I was happy to rediscover my Cajun spices bought in New Orleans during past trips.  All I could think of was the city’s seductive, distinctive cuisine, especially the gumbo.

To me, gumbo defines the city. The variations are infinite, just like the southern accents you hear on the streets. We’ve eaten gumbo with alligator, duck, shrimp, oysters, chicken, crawfish, andouille sausage and Tasso. Some are as thick as swamp water; while others have a thin, but smooth finish.

The New Orleans trio of red beans and rice, jambalaya and gumbo at the Chartres House in NOLA.

We have visited New Orleans three times – one for our wedding in March. So this southern city holds a special place in my heart.  Now, I live 6,200 miles away, and I am craving a big bowl of gumbo.

During the past few days, the weather suddenly turned damp and a bit chilly. I thought ‘perfect weather to make gumbo!’

I’ve made gumbo a couple times with chicken, shrimp and/or andouille sausage.  But how does one make gumbo in Turkey without andouille sausage? I decided to find out.

When you don’t have certain ingredients, you must be creative and improvise. I don’t exactly follow savory recipes anyway. I follow my own intuition and adjust ingredients here and there to my liking.

Gumbo requires a few key ingredients: a dark roux made from flour and fat, the “holy trinity” of green bell pepper, celery and onion and of course, patience. For the meat, I decided to use chicken and “sucuk”  – a spicy sausage similar to chorizo.  To replace the smokiness from the andouille sausage, I found a package of sliced “fume et 100% dana” – meaning smoked meat 100% veal.

When cooking the sucuk, a local friend suggested turning on my oven’s hood and opening as many windows as possible. It is very garlicky and heavily seasoned with allspice, cumin, red and black pepper and salt. The different smells permeate the air.  In the states, I normally would add a few chopped cloves of garlic when sautéing the onions, but my Turkish gumbo did not need it. In fact, I added very little salt and pepper while the gumbo was cooking because both meats seemed a little salty.

Local bamya

I also wanted to use okra, or “bamya,” in my gumbo.  The okra is beautiful here, with most being about the size of my pinky or smaller.  I’ve only used okra when making gumbo, but the “slimy” pods are used in various Turkish stews. If you can’t find fresh okra, I have used frozen during the winter months back in the states.

At the grocery store, I found imported red and green bell peppers from California for about 3 times the price as local peppers. Instead, I chose a local, pale green pepper called “biber dolma.” The labels next to most of the local produce said they were grown in Antalya, a region of southwestern Turkey bordering the Mediterranean Sea.

Finally, I had my ingredients. I went home and started the time consuming task of making my gumbo. By the time my husband came home from work, the gumbo was simmering gently on the stove. He said he immediately could smell the fragrance of gumbo wafting from the kitchen. That was certainly a good sign.

The end result was a tasty, slightly smoky gumbo bejeweled with chunks of okra, chicken, sucuk and veal. A little taste of New Orleans made with my own style.

We garnished our brown, velveteen gumbo with a dusting of ground file’ powder and a few drops of Tabasco on top.

Afiyet Olsun!

Total cooking and prep time: about 2 ½  hours

Serves about 8

(In the states, I’d recommend using a total weight of 1 ½ pounds of chicken and andouille sausage for the meats below.)

Ingredients:

½             c.             All-purpose flour

½             c.             fat (I used 2 oz. butter and 2 oz. canola oil)

2              qts.        water or chicken stock

9              oz.          sucuk, chopped small

4              oz.          fume et, chopped small

12           oz.          chicken, chopped small

5              oz.          onion, diced small (approx. 2/3 cup)

5              oz.          green bell pepper, diced small (approx. 2/3 cup)

5              oz.          celery, diced small (approx.  2/3 cup)

6              oz.          okra, sliced ¼-inch thick

2              tsp.        Cajun spice such as “Slap Ya Mama”

1              T.            Worcestershire sauce

¼             c.             parsley, chopped finely

To taste                salt and black pepper

Optional: ¼         tsp.        ground file’ powder (Sprinkle this spice on top at the very end after removing the pot from the burner. File’ is made from ground, dried leaves of the sassafras tree and is used as a thickener.)

1.  Start with the roux, which is a mixture of flour and fat that, after slowly cooked is used to thicken sauces and soups such as this gumbo. Plan on at least 1 hour for this. Do not walk too far away from the stove. (I was nervous about burning the roux so I did it slow and steady. I chopped all my other ingredients during this time. However, if you use a heavy, cast iron skillet or Dutch oven and stir constantly over medium high heat, the roux may take you only 20 minutes to make, according to other recipes I researched.)

2. Melt the fat over low heat. When warm and fluid, sprinkle the flour in a little at a time, stirring often with a wooden spoon.  The roux will change colors - from a blond to a peanut butter colored roux - as it cooks. About halfway through, I turned up the burner’s heat to medium high. I kept stirring mine until I developed a dark brown roux that had a nutty aroma.

3. Immediately, pour the roux into a shallow bowl and let cool to room temperature.

4. Next, sauté the sucuk about 12 minutes. Remove from heat and blot off extra grease with paper towels.

Here is the sucuk cooking.

5. Then, sauté the chicken and fume et together about 10 minutes, just to cook the chicken a bit. Then set aside for later.

6. Meanwhile, heat the chicken stock or water until hot. Slowly, whisk in the roux you made earlier. Leave this pot on low heat until you are ready for it in a few steps.

7. Sauté the okra for 3 to 5 minutes. (This is supposed to help reduce some of the Nickelodeon sliminess that okra exudes.) Set aside in a bowl.

Here is the "holy trinity."

8. Heat about 1 tablespoon of canola oil in an 8-quart stock pot. Add the celery, green pepper and onions together. Season lightly with salt and pepper.  Sweat the vegetables just to soften them. Do not brown. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula. Reserve for later.

9. To the stock pot, add the meats, okra, Worcestershire sauce, Cajun spices, parsley and cover with the reserved stock or water. Place a lid on the pot and bring it to a boil. Then, turn down the heat and let the gumbo simmer for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.

10. Serve the gumbo over cooked white rice and with crusty bread, which you can use to soak up the juices.  Tableside, season with your favorite hot sauce and sprinkle with ground file if you so desire.

Gumbo even tastes better the next day.

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