boudreaux gumbo
mardi gras in your mouth
Happy Mardi Gras season to all who celebrate!
My cousin Lexie married a Cajun guy named Aaron Boudreaux and he has brought a lot of love and laughter to our family. Perhaps of equal importance, he also brought us this gumbo recipe, which has become a Mardi Gras tradition in my house in California. With Fat Tuesday just three days away, I thought it would be fun for us all to celebrate by cooking a big pot of Boudreaux gumbo!
Gumbo (the official state cuisine of Louisiana) is a flavorful stew that’s long been a staple of both Creole and Cajun cooking1. It’s iconic because it’s delicious — also because it’s a symbol of the melding of cultures that shaped the region.
Gumbo includes a roux — a flour and butter (or oil) mixture that’s browned slowly and lends richness, thickness, and flavor to the stew — as well as the “holy trinity” of vegetables: onion, bell pepper, and celery. From there, recipes vary. Cajun gumbo typically includes chicken and sausage and is more of a stew, while Creole gumbo stars shellfish like shrimp and is often brothier. Depending on the recipe, gumbo may or may not include tomatoes, okra, filé powder (aka ground sassafras), and/or other spices.
Like many families in New Orleans — and throughout Louisiana and across the Gulf Coast — Aaron and Lexie have experimented with gumbo ingredients and proportions over the years.
After lots of trial and error, they landed on a gumbo recipe (which I’ve titled Boudreaux Gumbo!) that’s now a staple in my own house. It’s a delicious, thick stew that includes chicken and andouille sausage, tomato (I love the acidity it adds!), the holy trinity of veggies, and lots of okra. It has a slight kick thanks to Cajun seasoning and andouille sausage, plus a hint of smokiness from smoked paprika. It is DELICIOUS.
Lexie and Aaron buy a rotisserie chicken, shred it, and stir in the shredded meat for the final 5 minutes of cooking, but I honestly think it’s easier to cook the chicken ourselves, right in the gumbo. It adds more flavor too. They are not shrimp-in-gumbo people, and neither am I, but if you’re into it, you can stir in 1 pound of peeled and deveined U-30 shrimp for the final 4 minutes of cook time, either in addition to the chicken and sausage, or as a sub for one (or both — use 2 pounds of shrimp instead if that’s the case).
For the record, Lexie says you have to sauté the shrimp in a separate pan first then throw them in or else they’ll be mushy. This makes zero sense to me, but she’s made a whole lot more gumbo than I have, so in Lexie I trust.
This text from Lexie really threw me for a loop:
I’d never heard of this before, but apparently some people put potato salad in — or on the side of — their gumbo!? I’ve always served mine with a big scoop of buttery white rice and literally would have never considered bringing potato salad into this mix. If you’re a potato salad/gumbo lover, I’ve GOT to know more. And if you want to try it, Lexie says, “store bought is fine.”
Now that you have Cajun seasoning in your spice cabinet, you can make one-pot cheesy cajun chicken and rice and shrimp and fresh corn grits! Or if you’re in the mood for another hearty stew, I highly recommend one-pot chicken tikka masala stew.
Serves 6 to 8
Cook time: 1 hour
