ROUSES_Fall2022_Magazine-low-res

WWW. ROUSES . COM

17

HOW TO PREP: Combine all ingredients and store in an airtight container.

by Lucy But then I had to call her on it. I said, “You know, Mom, when you put up okra during the summer? You cook it with tomatoes. She said, ‘That doesn’t count.’” And so I really started looking at the gumbos in New Orleans at the time. It was kinda the time Paul Prudhomme came on the scene with seafood okra gumbo. And they did have a little bit of tomato in the product. Not a lot; it certainly wasn’t red. It was brownish-red or sienna colored, and it didn’t have a pronounced flavor of tomato. I personally have gotten to like it with a little dash in there, because I think it adds a lot of flavor and color. – Marcelle Bienvenu, Louisiana’s Culinary Heritages Round Table, a conversation held at The Historic New Orleans Collection, November 3, 2018. Buffett) As to tomatoes in gumbo, in the part of South Louisiana where I am from, we never did have any. I came to work at Commander’s Palace in the early ’70s, and the first thing I ate was a seafood okra gumbo, and it had tomatoes in it. I called my mother up, and I said, “Mom, they have tomatoes in there, and she said, ‘Don’t eat it.’”

2 teaspoons white pepper ½ teaspoon dried thyme ½ teaspoon dried oregano

WHAT YOU WILL NEED: 1 tablespoon sea salt 2 tablespoons granulated garlic or garlic powder 4 teaspoons granulated onion or onion powder ¼ cup paprika 1½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

And

LULU’S CRAZY CREOLA SEASONING Makes ½ cup (From Gumbo Love: Recipes for Gulf Coast Cooking, Entertaining, and Savoring the Good Life

the heat to maintain a slow simmer. Add the crab bodies (if using) and simmer, uncovered, for about 1 hour. Add the okra and bring the gumbo to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to main tain a slow simmer and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes, or until the okra has lost its bright green color and cooked down like the other vegetables. If the gumbo gets too thick, add a little water. If it is too thin, continue to sim mer it, uncovered. Add the green onions, parsley and lemon juice. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Add the shrimp and crabmeat to the pot and mix well; cook for 2 minutes more. Cover and turn off the heat. Let it sit for at least 15 minutes more to continue cooking the seafood. The gumbo will stay hot for a long time. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Taste and adjust the seasonings; serve over cooked white rice with French bread and butter.

TEAM TOMATO