Vegetarian Gumbo

Ingredients

For the stew

1 pound fresh okra (reserve 4 for garnish)

1 yellow onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic

1 large bell pepper, diced

3 stalks of celery, diced

2 bay leaves

10 cremini mushrooms

½ cup of canola oil

1 tablespoon butter

¾ cup all-purpose flour

2 cans (16 oz) kidney beans

1 can (8oz) diced tomatoes

1 jar hearts of palms (optional)

4 cups veggie broth

2 scallions, for garnish

For the seasoning

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon mushroom bouillon or ground up dried shitake

1 teaspoon furikake seasoning or nori

1 tablespoon Tony Cacheres cajun seasoning or Old Bay

½ teaspoon gumbo file

2 teaspoon Louisiana hot sauce

1 teaspoons red wine vinegar

1 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Preparation

For the prep

Start by cooking rice according to serving. We use jasmine rice or any plain white rice.

Remove hearts of palms from the can or jar and rinse in a colander. Pour into a bowl and shake on as much nori or furikake to your liking. Cover and set aside.

Chop your “trinity” : onion, celery and bell pepper. Set aside.

Tear your cremini mushrooms into smaller chunks. Add 2 tsp oil to your cast iron skillet and once it begins to smoke, add a pinch of salt to the oil, then add torn cremini mushrooms to the skillet, do a quick toss, add a pinch of smoked paprika. This should take 2-3 minutes because we do not want to over cook the mushrooms. We want them to still have a bite almost like a grilled oyster or shrimp. Place in a bowl and set aside - do not cover. Wipe out the skillet.

For the roux

Place the same skillet over medium heat. Add ½ cup of canola oil, 1 tbsp butter. Once incorporated, add ¾ cup of flour. Cook for 20-30 minutes until the mixture is mahogany brown. Keep stirring to avoid burning.

Once dark brown, remove from heat and keep stirring till it cools down a bit. Place over low heat. Add your trinity by the spoonful, slowly incorporating the veggies into the roux. About 5 mins.

For the cooking

In your Dutch oven add 4 cups of homemade or store bought vegetable broth. Bring to a boil. Add a tablespoon of mushroom bouillon to 1 cup of warm water and add to broth. Pour your roux and trinity mixture into boiling broth. Add salt, pepper, cajun seasoning, bay leaves, strained kidney beans, sliced okra, diced tomatoes, red wine vinegar, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. Boil for 30 min.

Once boiled and integrated add ½ teaspoon of gumbo file. Stir. Sometimes, we scoop 1 cup of mixture (minus bay leaves) and blend it smooth in a blender then add back to the pot for added thickness.

Remove bay leaves. Shake off excess nori/fukaki and tear hearts of palms into thin strips like crabmeat. Stir hearts of palm into the gumbo. Add rice to bowl and pour gumbo mixture over rice. Optional garnish with cremini mushrooms, parsley, thinly sliced scallions and top with pan seared okra and additional hot sauce to taste.