Ingredients
2 tbsp vegetable shortening
2 tbsp flour,all-purpose
2 onions,finely chopped
1 green bell pepper,fine chop
5 cup warm chicken broth
8 tomatoes,peeled/chopped
1/2 lb okra,cut into 1/4 pieces
1/2 cup uncooked rice
2 ribs celery,chopped
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
1 broiler-fryer chicken,cooked
Directions
1. In large Dutch oven, melt shortening over low heat; add flour and
cook, stirring, until brown, about 10 minutes (do not hurry; if flour
burns, roux is ruined).
2. Add onions and bell pepper; cook until onion is translucent, about
5 minutes.
3. Slowly add warm broth; stir until broth reaches a boil.
4. Add tomatoes, okra, rice, celery, salt, pepper, thyme and bay leaf;
bring to a boil.
5. Add chicken; when mixture boils again, reduce heat to low, cover
and cook about 20 minutes.
6. Stir and cook, covered, 20 minutes longer. From: Michael
Orchekowski (Home_Cooking)
Servings: 6 servings
Classic Chicken Gumbo Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Chicken; Dutch Oven; Gumbo; Poultry; Soup
The History of Recipes
Written cooking instructions as an idea can be found back into ancient history, in truth as far into history as the Egypt of the Pharoahs, and maybe even further. Interesting though that is, in the main part, these early cook books were just basic hieroglyphic or cunieform recipes for food preparation.
In an interesting twist, the most ancient recipe discovered so far, according to experts in ancient history are a few clay tablets in Sumerian which show the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made anyone who drank it feel blissful. As we move into The time of the roman empire around 25BC a man called Apicius created some documents which described recipes cooked by wealthy Romans. In his scrolls, he recounts how the meals were divided into starters, main meal and afters, something that is very familiar to us today. This early Roman chef informs us how the ancient chefs used a wide range of herbs, including some familiar names for example thyme, rue and parsley. Moving our culinary historical trip onwards, we have two interesting recipe books published in the 1300s - a book published under the title `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary named `Curye on Inglish`. The titles are somewhat misleading tho`, they have no connection with the spicy food that appears on menues today, but instead recipes for the types of food enjoyed by the upper classes. In the 15th century, knights returning from the crusades brought back many new foods and spices from Arab cuisine, including spices such as coriander, parsley, and basil. These new foods and tastes was responsible for an explosion in manuscripts on cookery, some of which are now in private collections. Over the next few hundred years, the rich families of the West tried to serve up the most extravagent banquests, and because of this chefs and their recipes increased in prestige. However, it was during the 19th century that cooking and recipe publications became popular. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Merritt Farmer in the USA, devoted their lives to assembling, verifying, and writing down recipes common in their social group. When we get to the 1900s, cooking publications were starting to become popular as a result of higher levels of literacy, leisure time and a general increase in wealth. The arrival of TV brings us celebrity TV chefs and the demand for the spin-off recipe books. Which brings us neatly up to date and the invention of the internet, permitting us all to access thousands of recipes just like those on this web site. |
We hope you enjoy this Classic Chicken Gumbo recipe.
