Engine 2 In NOLA: 28-day Challenge: Day 21

What a lovely Sunday! I hope everyone enjoyed the nice "fall" weather here in NOLA. And by that, I mean 70 degrees, feels like 80. Sheesh. Regardless of the temperature, I made a big ol' pot of soup today. I decided that I needed to go ahead and cook all those greens that I picked up yesterday because I'd never be able to eat them all individually before they go bad. So....what does one make in Louisiana when one has so many greens laying around? Why, gumbo z'herbes, of course! (Thanks, Jessica!)

Gumbo z'herbes is a traditional Louisiana dish that is usually served on Good Friday. That means, no meat. This may be the only traditionally vegetarian dish of the South! Ha. Even so, I still had to make a few adjustments and tailor the dish to my liking. For example, Emeril's recipe calls for a ham hock and bacon fat. No thanks! Anyway, it is also said that for the number of different types of greens you use, you will make that many new friends in the coming year. AND, you have to use an odd number of greens for good luck.

So I searched around online and decided to somewhat follow the recipe I found at FatFreeVegan for the most part, but opted to not puree the soup and I had different types of greens. I did, however, make her smoky tempeh bacon which was surprisingly bacon-y and was a delicious combination when crumbled on top of the gumbo.

So 7 types of greens and a multitude of veggies later, lo and behold here is my first and rather successful attempt at making gumbo z'herbes, veganized!

Step 1 was to brown some flour in a dry pan. Now, I've never done this before so the instructions at FatFreeVegan were super helpful. And yes, I did burn it the first time and so I made a second batch which turned out much better. See below. The first picture is the regular whole wheat flour and the second one is what it looked like when I burnt it. The third is the good one--you can see it is more like the color of light brown sugar. I did actually get out some brown sugar from my pantry to compare...ha!

Whole wheat flour

Burnt flour! Ick.

Flour browned just right.

The next million steps were to chop the veggies. Here you can see almost all my ingredients:

2 chopped onions, 1 chopped bell pepper, 4 chopped celery stalks, 4 minced garlic cloves, 2 bay leaves, 1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano, and 7 types of chopped greens--radish tops, turnip greens, green cabbage, parsley, spinach, mustard greens, and kale. I also added great northern beans, sriracha, liquid smoke, black pepper, a pinch of salt, 1 1/2 tsp cayenne, and 12 cups of veggie broth (I used low-sodium veggie bouillon, not shown).

Look at all those greens! I almost did not have enough bowls to fit everything while prepping....

Oh yeah, I included the leafy tops of the celery, too. That does not count as an 8th green though...I am sticking with 7, because I need all the good luck I can get :)

So the next step was to brown the onions in the bottom of a big pot, then add the garlic and bay leaves and saute for a few minutes. Then, it was time to add the flour and stir, stir, stir. It turns to a mush when you get the flour mixed in just right, so don't be alarmed. This is a pseudo-roux, which is essential to any well-respected gumbo.

I can't decide which picture gives you a clearer visual as to what it is supposed to look like...but you get the idea.

Once the roux is mixed together, you slowly add the veggie stock (or water), a little bit at a time. Keep stirring so the flour and veggie mixture stays consistent. Then, it is time to add in all the remaining veggies and greens. Just go for it, dump it all in there. Except the beans--hold off on those for a bit. I find if you put them in too early they just boil down to mush and that's not what we want here. Unless you are using uncooked beans that you've soaked overnight already...then by all means, get them in there now.

Here is what it looked like once assembled:

Let it come to a boil, then turn down to simmer. About 30 minutes into it, add the beans and additional seasonings (hot sauce, liquid smoke, cayenne, black pepper).

No, it's not very pretty. But it is what is inside that counts!

While the gumbo is simmering, cook some brown rice. I used the Jazzmen Brown Rice that I love so much. This is when you can prepare the tempeh bacon, too. As on FatFreeVegan, you marinate 1/4 inch strips of tempeh in a mixture of soy sauce (I used Bragg's Liquid Aminos), agave nectar, garlic, water, cider vinegar, and hot sauce (I omitted the sesame oil) for about 15-30 minutes. Then you cook them in a skillet over medium heat until nicely browned, flipping halfway through. See full recipe on FFV for all the details. (Fun fact: if you steam the tempeh for 15 minutes before marinating, it will soak up more flavor).

Let the gumbo cook for at least 1 1/2 hours, or longer. When it is ready (or you just cannot wait any longer), scoop some rice into the bottom of the bowl and ladle the gumbo over it. Serve with a side of tempeh bacon (or crumble it up into the soup).