Yummo Gumbo
This is a vegetarian take on Gumbo, the flavour is packed in by the spices and the mixture of tasty vegetables.
Serves: 6 / Ready in: 1 hour / Difficulty: 2/5 / Storing: Can be stored in sealed contain in the fridge (up to 3 days) or freezer (up to 1 month).
Ingredients
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
3 sticks of celery
3 mixed colour peppers
avocado oil or olive oil
3 heaped tbsp plain flour (optional gluten free)
3 fresh bay leaves
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ginger powder
100ml red wine
1 x 800g canned plum tomatoes
1x 400g canned chickpeas
3x fresh red chillis (or 2x jalapeños)
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
200g okra (smaller ones if possible/ alternative Mangetout)
Method
First up let’s make the chilli pickle. Finely slice the chillis and add to the red wine vinegar, along with a tsp of salt. Stir and set to the side. This is a key component of flavour and really brings the dish together, trust me!
Now let’s get your veg prepared, peel and chop the onion into small chunks, garlic either crushed or finely sliced. Peppers, deseed and chop into small squares. Celery thinly sliced.
Put a large pan on a medium, low heat. Add a good glug of oil, let it warm and then add the flour. You want the flour and oil to create a smooth paste, keep adding oil until you reach a paste like consistency (loose roux), then allow it to cook until dark brown in colour. Keep stirring to prevent the paste from burning.
Once the roux is browned, add the chopped veggies to the paste, stir together and allow to cook for a few minutes, then add the bay leaves. You can increase the heat at this point, just a little. Give it around 15 mins to cook, or until the veg has softened, keep stirring regularly.
Now we add the spices (cayenne pepper, smoked paprika and ginger), stir them through and let the spices cook for a minute or so, then pour the wine in. Let the alcohol cook out, (tip, if you sniff the wine as soon as it goes into the pan it will kick your nostrils, like sniffing vinegar, that’s the alcohol, let the wine reduce by half and sniff it again, it won’t kick so much and it smells sweeter, now it’s ready). Add the canned tomatoes, popping the plum tomatoes with your spatula. Stir together and leave it to bubble for another 5 or so minutes.
You’ll see it’s getting thicker, add the chickpeas along with the juices and stir together again. If it’s getting too thick, add some water here and reduce the heat down. Let it cook for around 15 minutes.
Now dry fry the Okra, for the last 15 minutes. Slice the Okra in half, put into a hot pan and allow to char, you’ll know they are ready when they go limp.
To serve you can accompany this dish with rice, roti, boiled potatoes or have it alone for a lighter serving. Place the cooked Okra on top of the Gumbo and don’t forget the chilli pickle! Drizzle it over the dish and keep adding as you enjoy this heart warming dish.
Enjoy!
Nutritional information, per serving
kcal: 161
Fat: 3.2g
Saturates: 0.4g
Carbs: 24.3g
Sugars: 7.7g
Fibre: 3.6g
Protein: 5.1g