Vegan Gumbo
Don’t want to read? I get it! Here’s a link to the recipe!
Have you ever made gumbo before?
I actually hadn’t up until just recently. As a creole, gumbo has been something my family has cooked on many occasions but when I was younger I wasn’t truly very fond of gumbo. Maybe it was the sight of dismembered crabs in the pot that didn’t quite evoke my appetite for it but I remember I always loved the taste of the roux over rice.
Where did Gumbo originate from?
After some research about why creole families like mine cook gumbo I was delighted to learn that some of the very first accounts of gumbo in Louisiana were actually made using plants! In fact, the very word gumbo is derived from the West African word for okra. I’m always pleasantly surprised to learn that so many of the dishes that are so traditionally meat-centric today are typically created from plant-based dishes. Gumbo is no exception!
The state that we now know as Louisiana was actually first colonized by the French and Spanish and each culture that inhabited this land has added to the delicious gumbo we know and love today. From the French, you have the roux, although creole gumbo is much darker than the French roux it originated from. From the Spanish you have onion, garlic, tomatoes, and peppers. There are also Native American influences that can be found in the dish as well with the ingredient of file’, or ground and dried sassafras leaves. The gumbo we have today thanks to the creole and cajun families typically contains vegetables like celery, bell peppers, and onions, which I use in this particular recipe along with some other yummy vegetables.
What are the key ingredients for a good gumbo:
In my family, the key ingredients for a good gumbo are a dark roux, which I’ll talk about in the recipe below, and file’ powder. For this particular recipe, I also highly recommend using Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base.
Although this recipe is simple, it does require a bit of chopping vegetables and patience. Gumbo is something that you want to let sit and marinate for as long as possible. You can make it in an hour and a half but in my opinion, gumbo is always best if made the night before so you can really get the optimal flavor.
Around the holidays each year my family has always made a large pot of gumbo for family gatherings and as a vegan I too wanted to show how good gumbo could be without using any animal meat or seafood. I hope you too enjoy this dish and share it with your family and friends because that is the true allure of gumbo. No matter how much money you do or don’t have, the ingredients of Gumbo, depending on how you make it, can be accessible to everyone. Because you can only make a big pot of it, why not use it as an excuse to feed your family and friends and spend time with them!