My cousin’s mother-in-law produced this sauce. I had it for the first time five and a half years ago and haven’t had it since.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 15 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 medium green bell pepper, finely chopped
- ½ (16 ounce) package frozen okra, thawed and sliced
- 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
- 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon file powder
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garlic, onion, and green bell pepper, and saute until tender. Stir in okra, mushrooms, diced tomatoes and their liquid, tomato paste, file powder, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 40 minutes.
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Stirring constantly, add flour, and cook 2 to 5 minutes, until a golden brown roux has formed.
- Spoon the roux into the okra mixture, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, 5 to 10 minutes, until thickened.
Reviews
I left out the file powder and added 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, it tasted amazing!
Wish I had shrimp to go in it. For those who can’t find file it is simply sassafras leaves dried and crumpled. If you know your trees sassafras is a wild native tree throughout the south and I think most of the rest of the US. It is also the original source of root beer. The root is cleaned and shaved into small pieces and boiled, to make a tea which can then be carbonated if you like.
I used fresh, instead of frozen okra, which may have altered the texture and left out the file powder. I added cayenne pepper, but it was still bland. Also, I prefer more liquid. Even after adding extra tomato juice, it was thick enough to be used as a sandwich filling. I should have skipped the roux, because it really wasn’t needed.
I googled what to substitute file powder for because I didn’t have it…. I used cornstarch instead …… I also had to add one cup of chicken broth because it was way too thick to me…… it’s okay definitely not my favorite I would try a different recipe next time …… just my own personal opinion / taste …..
Just so all you northern people know, gumbo does NOT have any tomatoes or tomato sauce in it period. It’s not authentic if it does. Cajun here, and this recipe probably makes a good stew but it’s not gumbo.
Definitely want to get a little more creative with the spices as it was a tad bland, but it’s a great recipe and I will definitely be making it again.
After reading some of the reviews, I decided to make it without mushrooms, green pepper and tomato paste. But we added two links of andouille sausage and three cups of organic chicken stock. Love it! Next time we have to double the ingredients and make more!
I liked this! Easy to make and quick. I followed what other reviewers said and omitted the tomato paste and file powder; it turned out just fine. I like tomatoey things, so I might add the piste next time, but it was fine without. I also added a jalapeño and hot sauce to give it a kick. I’ll make this again.
Gumbo is either okra gumbo or filé (sassafrass) gumbo. One or the other; they are never mixed. Keep it down home.
Very easy to prepare. I followed the recipe except the only thing I did different was to add Italian Sausage.
A very easy to follow and tasty recipe. Even the fussiest toddler was enjoying this New Orleans special!
Tasty. The recipe is flavorful and not too salty.
I am not a huge fan of okra gumbo, but I made this for my husband. It was delicious! I did about 2.5 recipes using 4 cups of fresh okra from my garden. I used 1 can of diced tomatoes and several fresh ones from my garden. I used coconut oil and white whole wheat flour. I only used about 1 Tbs tomato paste because I really didn’t think it needed much, and I needed the rest for my spaghetti sauce (ha!). I did not have mushrooms or file powder so I omitted them. It was also pretty spicy. Oh wait, that’s because my husband threw in a cayenne pepper while it was cooking. He also thought it would be good with carrots, so I threw in some shredded carrots to give it a little more nutrition. I tasted it before adding the roux, and it was plenty thick and tasted excellent. After adding the roux, it was even richer and better! I will definitely be making this every summer with our fresh okra and tomatoes.
Liked it but put ground hamburger in it and omitted the file powder.
Okay, so I understand the criticism that people don’t like it when you don’t follow a recipe exactly, and then you try to rate it… but the way I see it, making the recipe as written (especially after reading the reviews) would be a waste of a perfectly good meal. Okay, so I’m no gumbo expert by any means, I was just looking for a soup I could turn into a one pot meal, so I started with this recipe. The hubby doesn’t like mushrooms so I subbed other veggies, then added some chicken and andouille sausage for some extra flavor and protein since when I looked at the nutritional profile, this looked like a great side, but not a full meal. The recipe as written is severely lacking in liquid (Like I said, I’m not gumbo expert, but I thought gumbo was supposed to be a soup!), so I added 4 cups of vegetable broth. After reading other reviews, I was a little afraid to follow the instructions as written with the file, and perhaps this is why I found the flavors lacking. I added some creole seasoning (Sorry I can’t advise how much, I just kept adding and tasting till it had the flavor I was looking for) and only added the file to the bowl at the end. The result was delicious, but it wasn’t the recipe as written. Still, I couldn’t have made this without the recipe instructions plus reading several very helpful reviews!
We added hot sauce, water, vegetable bullion and left out the sassafras. The gumbo was wonderful.
I did not add the file powder either!
This recipe needs a lot of adjustments, but it’s an okay place to start. Agree no file; but we did add some thyme. And used celery instead of mushrooms. As well, at lest two cans of vegetarian broth or you won’t have a gumbo but a mushy stew. Added a pretty dark roux and served with short-grain brown rice and fresh chives. Next time will use more onion, pepper, celery for that large amount of okra. Oh, a little tomato paste won’t hurt, but will try double diced tomato–no paste. UPDATE: Second time no tomato paste–huge improvement. Soaked okra in milk and it made the texture perfect. Went for a slightly darker roux and that nailed it. Added shredded chicken for the meat eaters in the family.
I love all of the ingredients in this recipe! However, this combination does not make what I think of as gumbo. It was thick and pasty – I added more liquid. I did not add the File because they would just make it pastier.
This recipe was pretty good. I did make some changes based on other reviewers. First, since other people thought it tasted too much like tomato paste, I only added 3 ounces tomato paste and then 3 ounces tomato sauce. I added 1 cup of vegetable broth along with the tomatoes, and then I added a second cup of vegetable broth along with the roux. I left out the file powder completely. I also added about 1 teaspoon creole seasonings. Overall, it was a pretty good recipe and I will probably make it again.
I am not sure what this dish is, but it is not gumbo. It appears to be some kind of thick stew. I think in the future if I want to make a veggie gumbo, I will use one of the traditional recipes and just substitute vegetables for meat. Also, the only veggie used in this recipe that isn’t included in standard gumbo is mushrooms so it especially disappointed. How about adding some corn, lima beans, green beans, carrots, cauliflower, or some combo thereof? Finally, never use both file powder and okra in gumbo. That part I already knew; use one or the other.