HERO CHEFS
These are chefs that have left their mark on the world of food and THEY ARE IMPORTANT.
First up is Chef Paul Prudhomme
this man is a giant in preserving the ways of back-water louisiana... when I say giant... I mean look at this guy!
yes... that IS a belt made of giant sausages... gorgeous!
He was a master at convincing rich people to fork over 30 bucks for a dish that costs $3.50 to make at home.
If you like cajun or creole food, I suggest you grab that book wherever you can. I read the whole thing and its amazing.
Today we will be making his recipe for Shrimp, Okra, and Andouille Gumbo!
But before we get started I just want to address the lack of updates recently:
I work for Haliburton. Yea, the ultimate: "banging your wife, shaving your dog, fucking up your couch and sending you the bill" company.
you love it.
We have got our hands into pretty much EVERYTHING from rubber nipples to laser guided missles.
We may have made all of the equipment that is now epically failing in the Gulf of Mexico.
We know its wrong but we just can't stop penetrating the Gulf of Mexico like the social chair penetrated your sister during spring formal 2003.
Anyway, I work in the PR department and have been deflecting all of this oil spill mumbo jumbo onto BP...
It seems that my efforts have been working because my boss just gave me his Masserati for the weekend.
worth it.
So... to honor the Gulf Oil Spill... I feel it wholly appropriate to make up some delicious Gumbo.
Here is your ingredient list with a picture to help:
1/3 cup of lard or shortening
1 stick of butter
2.5 pounds of okra
1 pound of smoked andouille sausage (you could use any smoked pork sausage... like polish or kielbasa) Chopped
1 pound of medium shrimp
1.5 teaspoons of white pepper
1.5 teaspoons of ground red pepper
1 teaspoons of black pepper
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
3/4 teaspoon of onion powder
1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme leaves
2 cups of finely chopped onions
2 cups of chopped tomatoes
1 cup of chopped green onions
10 cups of seafood stock
1/4 cup of cooked rice for each plate
Dont forget about these delicious little bastards
There is a lot of ingredients to this dish but its pretty straight forward... however due to the prep work I will say that this recipe is a more advanced recipe that most we have tackled so far... so I will rate this dish a 3/5 Natty Lights for difficulty.
Also, just to let you know, I will not have step by step photos for this one... its pretty easy to figure out and also the mixture starts to kind of look like barf after the tomatoes go in but trust me... the taste is dynamite.
Alright dude... here we go.
1. In a large pot, melt the lard over medium heat. Once it melts, put in 6 cups of the okra (about 3/4 of the okra). Stir the okra every few minutes (about 3-4)... scrape the bottom of the pan when stirring
2. after about 3-4 minutes you should add 3/4 of the black, white and red pepper. Continue stirring the okra until it develops a nice brownness and the sticky parts start to show up
3. Once a nice brownness develops: throw in your onions and continue stirring occasionally for 5 minutes until the onions develop a nice brownness
4. Once that nice brownness develops: throw in your tomatoes and continue stirring and scraping more frequently than before for 8 minutes until the tomatoes start to break down
5. Once the tomatoes begin to break down: add in 2 cups of the seafood stock, the remaining spices (garlic, salt, peppers, thyme, onion powder) and the stick of butter... stirring in to scrape the bottom of the pan
6. Once the butter has melted.... add the remaining 7 cups of seafood stock stirring well... bring that mixture to a boil.... then add in the andouille, stirring it to make sure everything has incorporated evenly
7. Reduce the heat and let the mixture simmer for 45 minutes, stirring it occasionally.
8. Once the time has elapsed... add in the remaining okra.... simmer for another 10 minutes
9. Once the time has elapsed.... add in the shrimp and green onions... return to a boil... once you reach the boil... cut off the heat and remove the pan from the hot burner.
good job.. Your done... it should look something like this
10. Serve over a 1/4 cup of rice and top with chopped green onions
1.5 teaspoons of ground red pepper is WAY too much. I had to throw this out.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's a lot for even me. I but in a lot of peppers from my garden, but 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne is plenty. I use 3 or 4 Tabasco peppers from the garden and you don't need any hot sauce then.
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