Recipe: Gumbo Ya Ya

This week on Good Food, Evan sits down with Marcelle Bienvenu, who developed the recipes for the cookbook True Blood: Eats, Drinks, and Bites from Bon Temps. The recipes cater to the vampire and werewolf palate but also feature dishes for mere mortals including this gumbo entry from Merlotte’s sassy and loveable chef, Lafayette Reynolds.

Keep reading for the full recipe…

Gumbo Ya Ya

By Lafayette Reynolds

Makes About 8 Servings

1 four to five pound whole chicken, cut into serving pieces

Salt

Cayenne pepper

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups chopped onion

1 cup chopped bell pepper

½ cup chopped celery

About 10 cups chicken broth

2 bay leaves

½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1 pound Andouille sausage, cut crosswise into ¼ inch thick slices

¼ cup chopped green onion (green part only)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Hot cooked rice for serving

Filé powder (optional)

Season the chicken generously with salt and cayenne. Set aside

In a large heavy pot or Dutch oven, combine the vegetable oil and flour over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the roux is dark brown, 25 to 50 minutes. Add the onion, bell pepper, and celery and cook, stirring, until very soft, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the broth and stir to blend well. Add the chicken, bay leaves, and thyme. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer, partially covered, until the chicken is very tender, 2 to 3 hours.

Add the andouille and cook for 30 minutes. Adjust the seasonings. Discard the bay leaves and add the green onion and parsley. Put some rice into each soup bowl, and spoon some gumbo on top to serve. Pass the file powder at the table, if you like.

Recipe courtesy of True Blood: Eats, Drinks, and Bites from Bon Temps published by Chronicle Books.