This edition of Wellness Wednesday at CHOP features this beautiful Gumbo and Cornbread. Thank you Minal and Mimi for inviting me again to make a Blue Zones dish with you and your staff. It is a highlight of my week!
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Gumbo is traditionally served with lots of sausage, meats and seafoods but this one is 100% plant based. I was happy we choose to do this recipe to delve into more African cuisine. I was unfamiliar with Gumbo but after researching I found that the name “Gumbo” comes from the word okra in a Western African dialect. Gumbo is a mix of African, French and Native American cultures in perfect harmony, and an emblematic dish of New Orleans.
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This was an introduction to me and southern cooking in general and I enjoyed it! Making it plant-based lowers the cooking time required and makes it especially nutritious. It’s served over rice or my favorite, cornbread.
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Here’s the adapted recipe from Blue Zone region, Loma Linda, California. Blue Zones Kitchen: 100 Recipes to live to 100
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Vegan Gumbo
TOTAL COOK TIME: 45 MINUTES | MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
Ingredients:
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ large sweet onions (like Vidalia), chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 bay leaves
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (add 1/4-1/2 tsp. more for more heat)
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, cored and diced
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- ⅓ cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
- 1½ cups cooked black-eyed peas (or one 15-ounce can, drained)
- 1 cup cooked brown rice
- 1 cup frozen cut okra
- 2 cups chopped spinach
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- Salt and pepper (optional. 1 tsp. salt recommended)
Directions:
Make your roux: In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add flour, whisking until smooth. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often, and then turn heat down to low and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, until roux has become a light peanut butter color. Add onion and turn heat up to medium-low for about 5 minutes or onion is just soft.
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Add garlic, bay leaves, cayenne pepper, thyme, celery, and red pepper. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat or until vegetables are tender. Then, stir in vegetable stock, turn the heat up and bring to a boil.
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Once boiling, add corn, black-eyed peas, rice, and okra; lower heat to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes.
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Add spinach and parsley and continue to simmer for another 5 minutes. Remove bay leaves and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice or side of cornbread.
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