I’ve always thought I wanted to attend Carnival or Mardi Gras at some point in my life.
However, now that I’m growing older, the desire to stand in the street for an all out bash has definitely flittered away and filtered into a simple idea of the past.
I’ll party at home this Fat Tuesday, with my homemade Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday Gumbo, and maybe I’ll even make a King Cake this afternoon.
In case you’re unfamiliar with the Mardi Gras tradition and Fat Tuesday:
“Mardi Gras (/ˈmɑːrdiɡrɑː/), also called Shrove Tuesday, or Fat Tuesday, in English, refers to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday.”
And it’s an all out party in New Orleans. PAR-TAY.
And in case you’re unfamiliar with some of the aspects of traditional Cajun cuisine:
Roux (/ˈruː/) is flour and fat cooked together and used to thicken sauces.
In Cajun cuisine, roux is made with bacon fat or oil instead of butter and medium or dark brown in color, which lends much richness of flavor, albeit less thickening power.
Filé powder, also called gumbo filé, is a spicyherb made from the dried and ground leaves of the North American sassafras tree
Filé powder is used in Louisiana Creole cuisine in the making of some types of gumbo, a thick Creole soup or stew often served over rice
See you on the couch this Fat Tuesday…or maybe someday in the Big Easy.
New Orleans Mardi Gras Gumbo
1 1/2 cup flour
1 lb butter
7 cups chicken stock
2 lb. shrimp
2 lb. chicken
1 lb. andouille smoked sausage links, chopped
2 Tbs. Creole seasoning
1 white onion, chopped
2 bell peppers (green and orange), chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 Tbs. red pepper flakes, crushed
pinch of gumbo filé
Place the chicken stock in a giant dutch oven or soup pot. Bring to a boil. Add creole seasoning and allow to boil for about 5 minutes. Add the chicken and simmer for 30 minutes, until cooked all the way through.
Remove chicken from the stock and shred with two forks.
Add the sausage, onion, peppers, celery, and red pepper flakes and simmer for another 30 minutes. Add the chicken back into the pot and simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in another heavy skillet, melt butter and add flour. Stir or whisk this roux continuously until you reach a dark red/brown color, being careful not to burn. Once the roux reaches the correct color, allow to cool for about 5 minutes. At this point, add the shrimp to the stock pot and simmer no more than 5 minutes.
Add the roux to the stock by the spoonful, stirring until each portion is dissolved.
Simmer for an additional 20-30 minutes while all ingredients and aromas amalgamate.
Serve gumbo over rice – ON Fat Tuesday – and commence with the party!
