File Chicken Gumbo

Photo: flickr user foéÖþoooey

Ingredients

1 chicken - (3 1/2 lbs) cut into 8 pieces

2 celery ribs roughly chopped

3 carrots roughly chopped

2 onions roughly chopped

2 bay leaves

Bouquet garni

5 quarts water

1/4 cup vegetable oil

4 garlic cloves minced

2 onions chopped finely

2 green peppers chopped finely

3 celery ribs chopped finely

1 pound andouille sausage thinly sliced

(or other spicy pork sausage)

2 cups peeled chopped tomatoes

1 tablespoon double concentrate tomato paste

2 1/2 quarts chicken stock

1 pound fresh or 20 ounces frozen okra chopped ½" pieces

Hot pepper sauce to taste

Cayenne pepper to taste

Salt to taste

Freshly-ground black pepper to taste

1 tablespoon gumbo file powder

Chopped parsley

3 piece scallion julienned 2" pieces

Preparation

To make chicken stock, place all ingredients into 8-quart stockpot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, skimming impurities off the top. Remove chicken pieces. Allow chicken to cool, remove meat from bones, and then return bones to stock. Reserve chicken meat for the gumbo. Continue to simmer stock for additional 2 1/2 hours.

To make gumbo, begin by heating oil in a large pot (preferably an enameled cast-iron or other heavy-bottomed pot) and cooking garlic, onions, peppers, and celery until soft and translucent. Add sausage, tomatoes, tomato paste, and stock. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer and add okra and reserved cooked chicken meat. Season with hot pepper sauce, cayenne, salt, pepper, and file. Simmer for 1 hour until flavors meld together. Stir in chopped parsley. Serve over hot rice and garnish with julienned scallions.

This recipe yields 6 to 8 servings.