Vegetarian gumbo: Keeping the spirit, not the meat
“I have to admit that creating this recipe felt sinful, maybe even blasphemous,” says chef Omar Tate in Bryant Terry’s Black Food (Ten Speed Press). Gumbo is sacred. Attempting to develop a vegetarian version, I had to find ways to maintain both the body and soul of the original. “How do I keep the bones? What of its heart? How does it smile?”
My solution starts with a “subtly rich” mushroom stock. It also contains tofu. (“This is the ingredient that really brought me to my knees for forgiveness.”) For flavoring, you’ll need a Creole seasoning mix and filé powder. For body, serve with rice.
Recipe of the week
Vegetarian gumbo
For the mushroom stock:
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 lb cremini mushrooms
4 garlic cloves
1 small onion, cut in half
1 leek, light green and white part only, trimmed bunch celery, trimmed
For the gumbo:
2 cups baby lima beans 2 cups black-eyed peas 1½ cups palm oil 1 cup all-purpose flour
3 stalks celery, finely diced
2 medium onions, finely diced
1½ green bell peppers, diced
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 Scotch bonnet chile
3 garlic cloves
1 (14-oz) package extra-firm tofu, drained and cubed
4 cups okra, stems trimmed just above base 1 tbsp filé powder
Wanda’s Creole Season All
Vinegar or hot sauce
To make stock: Place thyme, parsley, mushrooms, and garlic in a large stockpot.
Char onion, leek, and celery over a stove’s flame (or on a dry, hot cast-iron pan), cut side down, until blackened and slightly cooked. Add to pot with 4 qts water, adding more as needed to cover. Bring stock slowly to a simmer; continue simmering for 1 hour. Strain stock and reserve 8 cups for gumbo.
To make gumbo: Soak legumes separately overnight. When ready to cook, add oil to a large stockpot and warm it on low until hot. Add flour and stir to incorporate. Continue stirring until flour is toasted and caramelized, about 15 minutes. Once roux forms, add celery, onion, and bell peppers and stir until vegetables are soft and saturated with the fat, about 12 minutes.
Stir in tomato paste, chile, and garlic. Drain limas and black-eyed peas, then stir into pot. Pour in 4 cups of mushroom stock, stir, then add remaining 4 cups stock while continuing to stir. Increase heat to medium to bring gumbo to a boil, then reduce and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes
At the 20- or 25-minute mark, add tofu and okra together and continue to simmer gumbo until beans and peas are tender, about 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, filé, Wanda’s seasoning, and vinegar or hot sauce. Serves 6 to 8.