Author Notes
Gumbo Z’herbes, or green gumbo, was traditionally served during Lent as it could be made without meat. According to Emeril Lagasse in his 1996 cookbook, “Louisiana, Real and Rustic,” there was a legend that for every green that was put into the gumbo, a new friend would be made during the year. A few months ago, I made a lemony, celery-heavy gumbo z'herbes and submitted it to the celery contest. We really liked it--it was a great way to eat a lot of greens, and it was lemony and springy at the same time. Recently I found one link of andouille in the freezer, so I decided to adapt the recipe to the flavors of the sausage. We frequently use meat as a flavoring in vegetable-heavy dishes, and this soup/stew was really satisfying. If you can't find andouille, you can use another smoked sausage. (Please don't tell my husband that he was eating kale.....) —drbabs
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Ingredients
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1
link andouille sausage, cut into approximately 1/2 inch dice
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2 tablespoons
grapeseed or other vegetable oil
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1/2 teaspoon
kosher salt
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1 cup
chopped onions
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1/2 cup
chopped celery
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1/2 cup
chopped bell or red pepper
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2
cloves garlic, minced
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4 cups
chicken stock
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2 pounds assorted greens: collards, turnip, beet, mustard, chard, kale, spinach, celery leaves, coarsely chopped
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1 tablespoon
fresh thyme leaves
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1 teaspoon
onion powder
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1 teaspoon
garlic powder
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1 teaspoon
smoked paprika
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1 teaspoon
dried oregano (use dried instead of fresh; it's a classic ingredient in Cajun spice blends.)
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Optional 1 cup of lentils
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salt, black pepper and cayenne to taste
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1 tablespoon
Worcestershire sauce (or to taste)
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a little Tabasco or Louisiana hot sauce if you like
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2 cups
Cooked white or brown rice for serving
Directions
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Cook the sausage in a large Dutch oven over medium heat, turning once or twice until nicely browned. Scoop it onto a plate and set aside.
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Heat grapeseed (vegetable) oil over medium heat till shimmering. Add onions, celery, bell pepper and salt, and sauté, stirring occasionally till softened but not browned. Stir in garlic and let it sweat with the other vegetables for a minute or two. Add stock to the Dutch oven. Raise heat till it comes to just below boiling. Add greens a little at a time until they are all wilted into the soup. Add thyme, onion and garlic powders, smoked paprika, oregano and andouille into soup. Stir in 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce. Reduce heat to low, and simmer soup, uncovered, for at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours. (Throw the lentils in here if you're using them.) The vegetables will become mushy and the soup will be very green. This is what you’re going for. Taste and add salt, fresh ground black pepper, cayenne, and more Worcestershire sauce to your taste. (I like a little Tabasco or other Louisiana hot sauce, too.)
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To serve, place a scoop of rice into a bowl and pour soup over the rice.
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