Chicken and Sweet Corn Soup: Happy Thanksgiving!

November 27, 2008 | Filed Under Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once, Corn, Eggs, Fellow Bloggers, Green Onions, Scallions, Spring Onions, Holidays, Poultry, Soups/Chowders/Gumbos, Thanksgiving, Vegetables | 16 Comments

Yes, more soup. :-) It’s still cold here and I’m still tired and stressed. So, I decided to make more soup, using a recipe I found on Hallo’s blog.

Today, we celebrate Thanksgiving Day in the States. I never had Chicken and Sweet Corn Soup before as part of a Thanksgiving meal, but this is what I wanted to eat. It was definitely a good soup for a weary body and soul like mine. I felt much better after eating it.

What am I thankful for this holiday season? Many things. I’m especially thankful for all of you who stop by my blog with your very kind and encouraging comments. Without you, it would be no fun here.

Paz

Chicken and Sweet Corn Soup

Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once

1 litre chicken stock

4 slices ginger

6 spring onions/scallions

1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger

4 chicken thigh fillets, skinless, sliced finely

420 grams canned creamed corn

2 cups corn kernels

salt and freshly ground pepper

sesame oil

2 tablespoons corn flour mixed with a little water, optional, to thicken soup

1 egg white, lightly whisked with 1 tablespoon water

Place the chicken stock and sliced ginger into a pot and bring to a simmer so to allow the ginger to infuse into the stock.

Separate the white from the green parts of the spring onions. Slice both finely.

Heat a little neutral oil in a large pot and when it’s come to temperature, add the sliced white part of the spring onion and the ginger. Let this gently sauté for a couple of minutes before adding the chicken pieces - just add a quarter of the chicken at a time. When the chicken has changed colour, add the creamed corn and corn kernels.

Turn the heat up a little and stir this well before adding the stock (strain off the ginger slices). Add half the sliced green parts of the spring onion and let the soup simmer until the corn has cooked through.

Taste and season with salt and freshly ground pepper and a few drops of sesame oil.

If you prefer a thicker soup, then at this stage, stir in the mix of corn flour and water.

Just before serving add in the remaining sliced spring onion greens and while stirring the soup, drizzle in the lightly whisked egg white - this sets as soon as you add it to the soup so it’s important to keep stirring to break it up and get a speckled finish.

Vegetable Soup with Orzo

November 24, 2008 | Filed Under Carrots, Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once, Fellow Bloggers, Green peas, Orzo, Pasta, Soups/Chowders/Gumbos, Sweet Peas, Vegetables | 19 Comments

Oh! The past couple of days have been extremely cold. This past Saturday was the coldest day so far. Freezing.

I wanted something hot. Something to warm me up. Then I remember a simple soup recipe from Haalo (Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once). I’d saved it a long time ago. It was time to pull it out. I liked that the recipe was simple. I like simple recipes. I like no fuss recipes. This was my kind of recipe.

It called for fresh peas. I bought frozen peas, which worked fine. The recipe also called for capsicum. Capsicum? What was that? I had no idea. After looking it up, I found that that it’s a common name in Australia and Britain for pepper. In North America and Canada, it is commonly known as Bell Pepper ( In other countries it’s also known as Cayene Pepper, African Chillies, Tabsco Peppers, Pimiento and more.). Ahhh! Now I understood. One Red Bell Pepper coming up. I love to learn something new from my fellow bloggers.

I prepared my soup. It tasted delicious! I offered some to my mom. At first she was hesitant and then she said, "yes."

She finished one bowl and then asked, "Is there any more soup?"

LOL! Yup! My soup tasted Mmm, Mmm good. We were both warmed up by this simple, delicious Vegatable Soup with Orzo.

Even one of my dogs got in on the action when I left a few drops in the bowl. I turned around for just a second and she reached up on her hind legs and pulled the bowl down to the ground from the table. She quickly cleaned it out with her long tongue. Yup! I’ll say that even the dog enjoyed the soup, too.

Thanks Haalo for this recipe!

Paz

Little bit of soup left in the bowl, before the dog got to it. *sigh*

Vegetable Soup with Orzo
Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once

For two

1 large red onion, finely diced
1 large carrot, finely diced
1 small red capsicum, finely diced
1 large stalk of celery, finely diced
1 zucchini, finely diced
1 large tomato, diced finely
fresh peas
salt and freshly ground white pepper
handful of orzo, per person

I’ve made a very simple vegetable soup and the ingredients should only be used as a guide - feel free to substitute whatever you have on hand.

Place a little olive oil and butter into a saucepan over a medium heat - when butter has melted add the onion, carrot, celery and red capsicum and cook slowly until the vegetables start to soften (you may need to turn the heat down to ensure they don’t colour).

Now add the zucchini and cook until it has started to soften and then tip in the tomato. Wait until the tomato starts to break down before adding the orzo followed by enough boiling water (or stock if so desired) to cover the vegetables by about 2cm/1inch.

Turn the heat up to maintain a boiling temperature and cook for about 5 minutes. Remember to keep stirring so the pasta doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

Add the fresh peas and then taste and season with salt and freshly ground white pepper.

Turn off the heat and cover and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes - during this time the pasta will finish cooking by absorbing the cooking stock but won’t become mushy.

Before serving add a little more stock if it looks a little dry and bring it back to temperature.

Cold Bean and Tomato Soup with Parsley and Cucumber

August 11, 2008 | Filed Under Soups/Chowders/Gumbos | 28 Comments

Please help me welcome guest blogger Ilva of Lucullian Delights. Thanks, Ilva!

Paz

Paz was one of the first steady commenters on my blog, one day I started to get these nice and cheerful comments from her and since then she never fails to visit me several times a week. We have now known each other for almost three years and I hope we will remain friends for much much longer.

I think I can safely say that our secretive Paz is one of the nicest and most positive food bloggers you can find in our food blog community, not only does she leave sweet comments but now and then she even sends me emails to see how I am doing. Several times she has honoured me by posting about my recipes on her blog but this time I am posting myself here on The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz and what a treat this is! To be able to write a lot of things about her here on her own blog and knowing her, she is probably cringing like a worm on a hook in her chair right now! (Ha Paz, you should never have asked me you know!) When Paz asked me to be one of her guest bloggers, I was more than happy to yes, she is a very special person and she deserves all the help she can get when she asks for it so here I am.

I have decided on a simple recipe now when she needs to rest. Well she has to do (read: cook) something to keep going but she mustn’t overdo it, we don’t want her to slip into a non-cooking state of being again now when she has conquered her former kitchen demons so well do we? So here Paz, a simple tasty soup for you to cook that hopefully won’t tire you, I hope you’ll like it!

COLD BEAN AND TOMATO SOUP WITH PARSLEY AND CUCUMBER

Lucullian Delights

2-3 servings

250 ml/ 1 cup white beans, cooked

600 ml/ 2,5 cups tomato sauce

100 ml/ 0,43 cup water if needed, it depends on how thick the tomato sauce is

chili pepper

2-3 tblsp parsley, chopped

cucumber, finely chopped

salt

extra-virgin olive oil

- Put beans, tomato sauce, chili pepper, water (if needed) and olive oil in a pan and let it simmer for about 15 minutes.

- Add parsley and then run in a mixer until smooth. Add salt.

- Before serving, top with large tablespoon of chopped cucumber.

Sopa de Quinua con Queso (Quinoa and Cheese Soup)

July 28, 2008 | Filed Under Cheese, Guest Bloggers, Quinoa, Soups/Chowders/Gumbos, South American Cuisine | 38 Comments

Please help me welcome guest blogger, Layla of Laylita’s Recipes. Thank you, Layla, for being here!

Paz

This is my first time as a guest blogger and I’m very happy that it is for Paz, who has been one of the warmest and friendliest people I’ve met since I started my food blog. I wanted to make something that I would make for her if I lived nearby and could bring it over to help her recover, too bad Seattle is kind of far away from NY, so I made a quinoa and cheese soup that is both tasty and healthy. Soup is the answer to all problems, at least that’s the way it seemed when I was growing up in Ecuador: you’re not feeling too well? Eat your soup. You want to get bigger, taller, skinnier, smarter, etc? Eat your soup. You want dessert? Eat your soup. You want to go outside and play? Eat your soup. You would think I would have ended up hating soups, but I actually really enjoy a good bowl of soup, it’s one of those things that I crave when I’m feeling sick and wish my mom lived next door –instead of 4,500 miles away –so that she could make me some homemade soup.

The first step to making a good soup is the refrito, also known as sofrito, which is the base of the soup, it consists of heating oil or butter –or sometimes lard – and adding onions, garlic, tomatoes (peppers, celery and other vegetables can also be added depending on the soup) along with the spices and seasonings you will use for the soup, I almost always add ground cumin and achiote or annatto powder to my refrito, for this quinoa and cheese soup I also added some dry oregano and ground coriander seeds (which are seeds from the cilantro plant that have been dried). This soup has quinoa - which is healthy and all of that good stuff, but what I like about quinoa is the texture, I love the way the little seeds pop in your mouth -, as well as potatoes, cheese and cilantro, which remind a lot of another delicious soup called locro de papas. Whenever I make a soup that has potatoes in it, I like to add the potatoes to the refrito and let them cook for just a few minutes so that they get just a little bit browned and then add the water or broth. I used queso fresco, which is fresh Mexican cheese that you can find in most supermarkets, but you can also use feta cheese instead, feta is a little bit more salty so adjust the salt according to your preference; and like many other Ecuadorian soups I serve this one with some diced avocado and hot sauce on the side.

Paz, thank you for this opportunity and I wish you a speedy recovery.

Sopa de Quinua con Queso (Quinoa and Cheese Soup)

Laylita’s Recipes

Ingredients:

2 tbs olive oil

2 cups diced white onion, about 1 large onion

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped finely

½ tsp cumin

¼ tsp achiote powder

1 tsp dry oregano

¼ tsp ground coriander

5-6 potatoes, peeled and cut in small chunks

1 cup uncooked quinoa, pre-washed

8 cups water or broth

1 cup milk

2 cups grated or crumbled queso fresco, can use feta cheese

4 tbs finely chopped cilantro or parsley to garnish

Salt and pepper to taste

Sides – avocado and hot sauce

Preparation:

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan, add the onions, garlic, tomato, cumin, achiote, oregano, coriander, salt and pepper, mix well and cook until the onions are soft, about 8 minutes.

2. Add the chopped potatoes, stir them well to coat them with onions and spices and cook them for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the water or broth, bring to a boil.

4. Add the uncooked quinoa, reduce the temperature and simmer until the quinoa and potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes.

5. Add the milk and cheese, stir and cook for another 5 minutes.

6. Add the chopped cilantro or parsley, taste and add additional salt/pepper if needed.

7. Serve warm with diced or sliced avocado and hot sauce.

(Elise’s) Dad’s Fish Stew Recipe

March 31, 2008 | Filed Under Salmon, Seafood, Simply Recipes, Soups/Chowders/Gumbos | 7 Comments

I found this super easy and delicious fish stew recipe on Simply Recipes. A recipe by Elise’s dad, called out to me, "Make me! Make me!" And make it, I did.

Elise suggests different types of fish to use like halibut, cod, sole, red snapper, sea bass, and white fish like cod, tilapia or sole. However, I had a craving for salmon, so that’s what I used instead. I loved my fish stew. As Elise points out, the clam juice is the key ingredient that makes the dish extra tasty. For those allergic to shellfish, Elise suggests using white wine, fish stock or water instead of the clam juice.

I’m going to make this fish stew AGAIN and next time, I think I’ll use red snapper. I’m craving red snapper, now. ;-) Elise’s thanks for sharing your dad’s recipe and please thank him for me.

Paz

(Elise’s) Dad’s Fish Stew Recipe

Simply Recipes

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Serves 4

6 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup of chopped onions
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
2/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 cup of fresh chopped tomato (about 1 medium sized tomato)
2 tsp of tomato paste.
8 oz of clam juice (or shellfish stock)
2/3 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 lb fish fillets (use halibut, cod, sole, red snapper, sea bass), cut into 2-inch pieces
Touch of dry oregano, Tabasco, thyme, pepper
Salt

1 Heat olive oil in heavy large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion and garlic and sauté 4 minutes. Add parsley and stir 2 minutes. Add tomato, tomato paste and cook 2 minutes longer.

2 Add clam juice, dry white wine, and fish and simmer until fish is cooked through, less than 10 minutes. Add seasoning. Salt to taste. Ladle into bowls and serve.

Armenian Apricot Soup

January 22, 2008 | Filed Under Soups/Chowders/Gumbos | 9 Comments

I found this recipe on 101 Cookbooks. The ingredients enticed me. Apricots, ground cumin, red lentils? Very interesting, I thought and wanted to try it. Try it, I did. The results pleasantly surprised me. I’d never tasted a soup like this before. The apricots made it taste sweet but the rich earthy cumin taste balanced the sweetness of the soup. I love lentils and carrots, so the soup contained favorite ingredients. The soup tasted different from what I’m used but I liked it. On a very cold day, like the one we’re having in the city, the soup made a welcome choice.

Paz

Armenian Apricot Soup

The Soup Peddler’s Slow & Difficult Soups by David Ansel

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 onions, diced

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 Tablespoon ground cumin

3 Cups red lentils, rinsed

10 cups water

12 ounces dried apricots, chopped

Salt

Heat the oil in your soup pot over medium heat, then stir in the onion and arrots. Saute for about 10 minutes. Add the cumin and stir well. Decrease the heat, cover, and let the vegetables sweat for ten minutes.

Add the lentils and pour in enough of the water to cover. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the hea to medium low and cook for twenty minutes, or unil the lentils and carrots are tender. Add more of the water as needed as the lentils soften and expand.

Remove from the heat, stir in the apricots and any remaining water, and season with salt. Use an immersion blender to puree until smooth; alternatively working in batches, puree in a regular blender until smooth. Take care not to over salt this soup. The right amount will bring out the flavor of the apricots but leave the onions in the background. Serve hot.

Serves 8 to 10.

Novel Food #2: Green Pea Soup

December 19, 2007 | Filed Under Novel Food, Soups/Chowders/Gumbos | 26 Comments

Lisa of Champaign Taste and Simona of Briciole are co-hosting their second literary/culinary event — Novel Food #2. I had fun participating in the first event and couldn’t resist the opportunity to participate again.

This time, I decided to try out one of the dishes prepared in the thriller, TOTE TANZEN NICHT (The Dead Don’t Dance) written by my friend, author Olivia Kroth. The story is about a mental patient who goes in search of vengeance against people she thinks are her enemies.

One of the characters in the story is 55 year old housekeeper, Hermine. She works for wealthy family in a villa in the Taunus mountains of Germany. Hermine has had a disturbing childhood but when she grows up one of the things that makes her happy is cooking. She loves to prepare meals for the family and uses recipes from a handwritten cookbook that she inherited from her deceased mother. One of the dishes she prepares is Green Pea Soup. The story (and recipe in the book) is in German. Olivia was kind enough to translate the recipe for me. Thanks, Olivia! You can check out her blog here.

I’d never had Green Pea Soup before and looked forward to trying it. The recipe calls for fresh green peas but I could only find the frozen kind. Also it calls for bacon cubes. I couldn’t find thick bacon, so I bought the bacon slices. I should have cut them but I didn’t feel like it. I cooked the long strips as is. I didn’t have a problem with that. ;-) There’s no mention of how much water to use, so I used about 4 cups. Oh! Also the recipe calls for four carrots. I like baby carrots and used that instead. Also, I like celery. As a result, I added a bit more than the recipes asks.

As you can see, I followed the recipe but with a "Paz touch." I’m not sure what Hermine’s Green Pea soup is supposed to look like but this is what mine looked like.

I enjoyed the Green Pea soup very much. I think it’s especially perfect for a cold day and it was definitely a cold day in New York City when I prepared. It warmed my body from head to toe. I loved the taste - the bacon, vegetables, marjoram, and potatoes. So hearty and filling. I loved my soup so much that I took the leftovers to work. I’d bought a new lunch jug and my soup stayed nice and warm from the time that I’d packed it till the time that I was ready to eat it. I came home and had some more for dinner.

If you’re interested in reading more about the Novel Food event and participating, go here.

Paz

Ed. Note: Ahhh! I understand that the soup is supposed to be blended? Hehehe! I didn’t know that and as you see, all the veggies in my soup are whole. No matter — next time I prepare this, I’ll make it blended. In the meantime, I liked it the way you see it in the photos. I liked biting into all the foods. But next time, I’ll do it differently. See, this is what I mean by cooking adventure. I learn something new, each time I cook.

Another Note: You can look at the round up of recipes and books on Champaign Taste (the first half) and Briciole (the second half).

Green Pea Soup

Tote Tanzen Nicht (The Dead Do Not Dance) by Olivia Kroth

Ingredients (for 4 portions):

500 g fresh green peas
200 g potatoes
1 stem of leek
2 small onions
1 small celery
4 fresh carots
2 l consommé (bouillon)
100 g bacon cubes
1 sward (bacon crust)
1 spoonful of melted fat
salt and pepper
marjoram
1 laurel leaf

Heat the melted fat in a pot, stew the bacon cubes in it, fill up with consommé. Place the sward and green peas into it and let them boil for a few minutes. Cut the carots, leek, celery and potatoes into small pieces, put them into the pot with salt,pepper, marjoram and the laurel leaf. Let the soup simmer for about 90 minutes on low heat.

Weekend Herb Blogging #106: Very Cheap but Very Good Vegetable Soup

October 27, 2007 | Filed Under Cauliflower, Lucullian Delights, Soups/Chowders/Gumbos, Vegetables, Weekend Herb Blogging | 9 Comments

I love the name that Ilva of Lucullian Delights gives this healthy, simple and tasty soup. Love it. I made the soup for a sick family member in the hospital and myself. We loved it. Oh, yeah: And my brother had some. He liked it a lot , too. When I spilled some of the soup on the floor, one of my dogs licked it clean. It seems that she liked it as well. ;-) Thanks, Ilva!

One of the ingredients in this soup, fresh parsley, is such a popular herb. I buy it quite often and would love to be able to grow it on my kitchen window. That would be awesome! I love the fresh green earthy taste of this herb and the fact that it has a lot of health benefits — like it’s rich in vitamin C and A. I like how it can be used in a lot of dishes. Apart from being able to eat parsley, my favorite thing to do with it is to use it as a garnish. That touch of green in my plate makes a big difference to me.

I’m submitting this post for the Weekend Herb Blogging event, which Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen created. This week, Pille of Nami Nami acts as host. Check out her blog for the roundup of other Weekend Herb Blogging posts.

Paz

Very Cheap but Very Good Vegetable Soup

Lucullian Delights

The leaves and stem/trunk of 1 cauliflower
2 big tomatoes
Chopped parsley
Salt
Extra virgin olive oil

- Chop the leaves and the stem/trunk of the cauliflower and braise them for 3-4 minutes in a pot in some olive oil. Add salt.
- Chop the tomatoes, add these to the pot and sauté for another 3-4 minutes.
- Add water until the vegetables are well covered and simmer for about 15 minutes.
- Blend until it’s on the smooth side, if it’s too dense you add some more water and heat it up. Check if more salt is needed.
- Serve hot or cold.

A Day That Really Schmecks!

January 11, 2007 | Filed Under A Day that Really Schmecks, Beef, Cookbooks, Food Blogging Events, Soups/Chowders/Gumbos, Vegetables | Leave a Comment

The Best Vegetable Soup I’ve Ever Tasted (That’s the name of the soup!)

Edna Staebler’s cookbook, Food That Really Schmecks, has been republished. In honor of this occasion, food bloggers are participating in an event called A Day That Really Schmecks. The bloggers will prepare a recipe or two from the book and blog about it. Jasmine of will post a line up of the blogged about recipes on Confessions of a Cardamom Addict on January 15, 2007.

Staebler was an award winning journalist and author. She recently passed away in 2006 at the age of 100. I’m certainly glad that it’s never too late to learn about her and her work.

From the title to its content of Mennonite Country Cooking recipes, I found Food That Really Schmecks appealing. As I read the book on the subway and at work, people who spotted the title made comments. The title alone was a conversation starter. I’m not sure what “schmecks” literally means, but I get the gist that it means something along the lines of “good, great, awesome…” that sort of thing. Anyone out there, please feel free to enlighten me.

I liked how the book is filled with recipes for seemingly everything – from Grape Wine to Milk Toast, sauces for vegetables, pickled eggs, cheese bread, porridge bread, Almond Macaroons, to Angel cake, Sponge cake and more. There are even recipes for candy! I also like that a measurement conversion table is located in the back. And if that’s not enough, there’s also a section entitled ‘A Variety of Things,’ where you can find recipes for sausages, cheese, and home remedies.

Interspersed throughout the book are Staebler’s stories about cooking Mennonites and her family, which I found entertaining. The book really packs a punch and has a lot to offer.

I decided to make the recipe entitled, ‘The Best Vegetable Soup I’ve Ever Tasted’ (another title I like). The ingredients are simple and the recipe uncomplicated.

I’m wondering, though, if there’s a typo in this recipe. ½ cup raw rice is mentioned twice. In any event, I only used the ½ cup rice measurement once and it worked out fine. The soup was light, yet filling.

Best of all, I like how Staebler encourages the reader not to take the recipes seriously but instead have fun with them. “Experiment, improvise, be a little reckless,” she writes. I did have fun and added a little Cajun Spice, which my friend had sent me, to make the soup spicier. Loved it!

There are many recipes, from which to pick. The soup I prepared was a good start and I plan on trying out more of the recipes.

Look, mom! I’m making Mennonite Country food! That really schmecks!

Don’t forget to check out Confessions of a Cardamom Addic t, January 15, to see a round up of all the prepared meals that schmeck. Thanks, Jasmine for putting this together.

Paz

Ed. Note: According to Jasmine, “Schmecks” means “tasty” or “tastes very good.” Also it seems that the double posting of the rice ingredient is indeed a typo. The rice ingredient only appears once in the first cookbook printing. So that that means there should only be one listing of 1/2 cup raw rice in the new cookbook version, as well.

The Best Vegetable Soup I’ve Ever Tasted
Food That Really Schmecks – Edna Staebler

When Mother made this mild, thick soup with vegetables, rice and beef, we didn’t need or want anything else. The amounts I give are approximate.

1 large, meaty beef bone (I think it comes from a cow’s leg)
Water to cover the bone with at least 2 quarts left after the boiling

½ cup raw rice
2 medium-sized sliced raw potatoes
½ cup raw rice (Paz Note: I wonder if this is a typo, since it’s already mentioned above)
2 or 3 sliced carrots
½ cupful sliced cabbage
1 cup celery, cut up
Salt and pepper
1 small sliced onion (optional)
1 cup cut-up green beans
½ cup green peas
Lots of parsley

Boil the beef till it falls off the bone. Add the rice and boil for 15 minutes, then add the vegetables and continue boiling until they are tender but not mushy – about 20 minutes. Cut the meat into more-or-less bite-sized pieces, keeping it hot in the soup. Add the cup-up parsley and serve into large, deep soup dishes – again and again.

It’s Delurking Week!

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

November 14, 2006 | Filed Under Beef, Poultry, Soups/Chowders/Gumbos | 2 Comments

Click on photo for larger image

My first gumbo! I made my first gumbo dish! And boy, did it turn out really well! Even the pickiest eater in my family asked for seconds and thirds and ate the leftovers the next day. ;-)))))))))

Until I made my gumbo, I’d never tasted it before. The opportunity to eat it never came up. When I started cooking, for some reason, I always thought gumbo was a very complicated dish to prepare. After seeing the recipe on Melissa’s blog, The Traveler’s Lunchbox, I became inspired to make it. It didn’t seem too hard to make.

I already had most of the ingredients, except for the sausage. When I went food shopping, I couldn’t find the andouille sausage, which was the first time I’d heard of it. However, I did find Kielbasa sausage (another type of sausage new to me). Melissa’s advice about what to do if you don’t use the andouille sausage (add cayenne, garlic powder, and dried thyme) helped a lot.

Another ingredient I couldn’t find was the filé powder. My search took me to three stores with no luck. I wonder how much different my gumbo would have tasted with the filé powder. However the end product was delicious.

One of my favorite parts of making the gumbo was making the roux. I had fun mixing the flour and oil and seeing it thicken and actually turn into the color of peanut butter. Peanut butter! Yeah, I know: It takes very little to get me excited. The roux really did bring out the “nutty flavor” that Melissa describes in her blog post.

Served with rice, the Chicken and Sausage Gumbo was very reminiscent of some West African cuisine. Perhaps that’s why that picky family member gobbled it up. My favorite part of the gumbo was ~~the okra~~ everything — the okra, chicken, and sausage…

I’m sure gumbo is great to eat at anytime, but this hearty and tasty dish was especially perfect to eat on a cold rainy day, which is when we had it. I know I’ll be making more during the winter.

Melissa, thanks for the recipe!

Paz

Ed. Note: Filé powder is made from ground sassafras leaves that was used to give root beer its distinctive flavor before artificial flavorings replaced it. Southerners add filé to their gumbos to thicken and flavor them. The powder gets stringy when it’s heated, so add it only after you’ve removed the gumbo from the heat source. Filé also doesn’t reheat well, so add only to the gumbo that you are planning to serve. ~ Lowfat Lifestyle.com

Click on photo for larger image

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
In a Cajun Kitchen by Terri Pischoff Wuerthner

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (she admits that bone-in, skin-on dark meat chicken pieces, such as legs, thighs and wings are more traditional as well as flavorful in Cajun cooking, so that’s what I used - a much better idea, in my opinion)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup corn oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 quarts warm chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce, or to taste
1 pound andouille sausage, sliced 1 inch thick (or other spicy smoked sausage, such as Kielbasa, though my advice is to add the following if you don’t use andouille: another 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder, and 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
1 1/2 pounds fresh okra or 20 ounces frozen okra, defrosted, sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons filé powder (I left this out, as I couldn’t find any locally)
chopped fresh parsley, to garnish cooked rice, to serve

Season the chicken cubes (or pieces) with the salt, paprika and cayenne pepper; set aside. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the flour and cook for 25-30 minutes, stirring constantly, until the flour has turned a medium-brown, like peanut butter. Add the onions, celery, and bell pepper and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the seasoned chicken and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly (and reducing the heat, if necessary, to prevent burning).

Add the stock and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Add the hot sauce and sausage; reduce the heat to low and cover the pot. Simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add the okra and simmer for 30 more minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the filé powder just before dishing it up. Serve in soup bowls with a mound of rice in the center of each portion.

Click on photo for larger image