Global Holiday Recipe: Seafood Gumbo

Holiday Feature

Seafood Gumbo

Serves 8 to 10
Cooking time: 25 minutes

I learned to love okra by eating it in my mother's gumbos. Gumbo comes from the Bantu name for okra—guingombo, tchingombo, or kingombo. My friends who live in Louisiana and around the Gulf add shrimp, oysters, and crabmeat which were plentiful in their areas. The secret to good gumbo is to prepare it in advance and let all the seasonings soak overnight.

1/2 pound kielbasa or Cajun sausage, cut into 1-inch rounds
1/2 cup of olive oil
2 cups diced onions
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup grated celery
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups drained whole tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
1-1/2 pounds large shrimp, cleaned and deveined
1 pound sea scallops
1 pound cooked lobster meat
1/2 pound crabmeat
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
5 cups chicken broth
1 pound okra, cut into rounds
Cooked rice for eight people

1. Combine all the ingredients except the okra in a large heavy cooking pot and bring to a boil.

2. Lower the heat, add the okra, and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Remove from the heat and cool.

4. Refrigerate the gumbo overnight.

5. The next day reheat, but don't boil, the mixture.

6. Remove the bay leaves and serve over rice.

The Complete Kwanzaa:
Celebrating Our Cultural Harvest
by Dorothy Winbush Riley
Designed by Gloria Adelson/Lulu Graphics
$23.00 (hardback)
HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 0-06-01725-0
Recipe reprinted by permission.