re: Green Gumbo recipe needed

Below is a post I wrote in 2008. I haven't made it in about a year and I probably changed things up a few times after I posted this, but I very much liked the flavor. Also, look on Tom Fitz's site at nomenu.com under his recipes. I believe he has one, but it might be Leah Chase's recipe.

I make the Gumbo Z'Herbes for Holy Thursday, but I use some ham, andouille and sometimes tasso. I use 5-7 different greens. Darn good stuff and it freezes great. I just had some of it from last year's batch. Still tastes like I made it yesterday.

Many times, I add shrimp to what I'm about to serve to folks and sometimes oysters as well.

Here's my loosely based recipe. I tinker with it annually.

10 oz fresh or frozen turnip, mustard and collard greens and spinach
1/2 medium head cabbage, shredded
2 bay leaves, minced (I didn't mince mine)
@ 1 t each of dried basil, oregano and thyme (I use extra thyme as I like the flavor with the greens)
1/4 t allspice
1/8 t ground cloves
1/4 t grated nutmeg
4 quarts poultry stock
Seasoning mix of 1/2 t each salt, pepper, paprika, granulated onion and garlic , red and black pepper.
1 lb smoked ham, cut in bite sized pieces
1 lb lean pork, cut in bite sized pieces
2/3 c vegetable oil
2 large onions, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 T sugar
salt, pepper and cayenne to taste
@ 2 pints oysters and liquor
12 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 c minced parsley, preferably flat leaf
file powder
cooked rice

Wash fresh greens; tear into small pieces. Remove large stalks and ribs. Place cleaned or frozen greens, cabbage, bay leaves, basil, thyme, oregano, allspice, cloves and nutmeg into a large soup pot. Add stock and enough water to cover greens by 3 inches. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer while preparing remaining ingredients .

Prepare Seasoning Mix. Add pork and ham to Seasoning Mix. Shake to coat lightly. Set seasoned met aside while oil heats. Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is very hot., add seasoned meat; stir until bown on all sides. Remove browned meat with a slotted spoon; add to simmering greens. Reduce heat to medium; add onions, celery, bell pepper and garlic to skillet. Cool until vegetables are wilted, about 5 minutes. Remove vegetables with a slotted spoon; add to simmering greens. Stir in sugar; simmer, uncovered, 1 hour. Season to taste with salt , black pepper and cayenne. Cover; simmer 2 hours. Abut 10 minutes before serving, gently stir in oysters with their liquor, green onions and parsley. Cook about 10 minutes or until oysters curl.

Serve with about 1/2 cup of rice in each soup bowl. Top with file. Serves about 8-10.

My notes in no certain order.

Be prepared to use more chicken stock than called for. I didn't use any water.

I used more chopped veggies than called for, I'm sure.

I simmered the greens a good bit before adding the other ingredients. I also set the sauteed meats aside and added the sauteed chopped veggies before the meats and simmered them a good while before adding the meat, about 30 minutes before finishing. I think simmering the meats that long after having browned them could make them too dry. Next time, I will brown some of the meats and add some without browning directly to the pot. Browning them took some of the flavor from the meats. I used more meat than the recipe called for. Instead of 1 lb of pork, I used about 1.5 lbs of andouille and I could have used 2 lbs, easily, since I didn't add oysters to mine. I also used some turkey tasso, chopped, which worked well. I will do that just before serving, individually. I may also add some shrimp.

I think you could eliminate the meats and make this with oysters and/or shrimp only, if desired. You may need to adjust the seasonings some and boiling shrimp shells in a little water for about 30 minutes for a quick stock would be a nice addition for a seafood only rendition of this soup.

When using the pork products, especially the andouille, watch the salt and cayenne. Some andouille meats can be salty and highly peppered. Since I was preparing this for some pepper sensitive folks, I didn't add the cayenne. The andouille was nice and spicy. I added tabasco, individually, to my bowl.

Watch the granualted garlic and onion when browning the meats. It can burn or brown too much. It also caused the browning to take longer than it should have. I would brown the meat a bit first; then add the seasoning mix and saute a bit longer.

I didn't drain the veggies. There wasn't much oil left and I didn't want to sacrifice the brown bits in the cast iron skillet. I skimmed the gumbo before serving and there really wasn't much to skim.

Check the seasonings after skimming; then add the salt, pepper and red pepper, if necessary.