file powder

This recipe came to The Times in 1983 from Paul Prudhomme, the New Orleans chef who put Louisiana on the American culinary map. It is a hearty, rich Creole stew generously seasoned with black and white pepper, cayenne, paprika and filé powder, a spice made from the leaves of the sassafras tree. Filé powder is readily available in most grocery stores and online, and while it's not 100 percent necessary, it lends a distinctive, earthy quality to the dish. Mr. Prudhomme intended this to be made with chicken, but we've had excellent results using leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, too.

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

chicken, 3 to 4 pounds, cut into serving pieces

Salt

black pepper

white pepper

mustard

cayenne pepper

paprika

garlic

file powder, optional

flour

onion

celery

green pepper

chicken broth

sausage

bay leaf

rice

Put chicken pieces in a bowl. Blend salt, peppers, mustard, cayenne pepper, paprika, granulated garlic and file powder. Rub four teaspoons of the mixture over the chicken. Set rest of spice mixture aside.

Put the flour in a bowl and add two teaspoons of the reserved spice mixture. Blend well.

Heat a 10-inch skillet and add the oil. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour mixture to coat well, shaking off excess. Reserve the leftover flour.

When the oil is hot and almost smoking, add the chicken pieces skin side down. Cook about two minutes on one side until golden brown. Turn and cook about three minutes on the second side until nicely browned. Do this in batches so as to not crowd the pan. Drain thoroughly on paper towels.

Pour off all but one cup of fat from the skillet. Heat this oil over high heat until it is almost smoking and add the reserved seasoned flour. Stir rapidly and constantly with a wire whisk until the mixture is golden brown. Do not burn. This is a roux.

Add the chopped onion, celery and green pepper to the roux and stir to blend well. Remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, bring the broth to a boil in a large saucepan.

Add about half a cup of the roux mixture to the broth, stirring rapidly with the whisk. Continue adding the roux mixture, half a cup at a time, always stirring rapidly and constantly.

Add the smoked sausage and stir. Cook over high heat, stirring often from the bottom, about 15 minutes.

Add the chicken pieces, bay leaf and finely minced fresh garlic. Cook about 40 minutes, on medium-low, stirring occasionally.

Remove the chicken pieces. Cut the meat from the bones and discard the bones. Cut the chicken into cubes or shred it and add it back to the pot. Serve with white rice or potato salad (or both) spooned into the gumbo.

Jordan Ruiz cooks a version of the seafood gumbo his mother and grandmother made when he was growing up in New Orleans’ Gentilly neighborhood. It contains fin fish, which is rarely seen in restaurants in New Orleans, where seafood gumbos tend to contain shrimp and crab. Gumbo filé, made of dried and ground sassafras leaves, is used both as a thickening agent and for its flavor. Mr. Ruiz’s gumbo can be found at the Munch Factory, the New Orleans restaurant he owns with his wife, Alexis.

Creole Redfish Gumbo

all-purpose flour

yellow

green bell pepper

shrimp stock or seafood stock

blue crabs, crab meat

gumbo filé powder

bay leaves

salt

thyme

Worcestershire sauce

cayenne,

redfish, black drum fish

Creole seasoning (such as Tony Chachere’s)

oysters oysters

hot sauce (such as Tabasco)

white rice,

scallions,

Prepare the roux: In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high until it’s just shy of smoking. Slowly shake the flour into the oil, whisking until smooth. Reduce the heat to medium and continue whisking until the roux is a deep dark brown, 20 to 30 minutes, adjusting the heat as necessary to prevent burning.

Using a wooden spoon, stir in the onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic. Cook another 10 minutes, stirring constantly.

Stir in the stock. Bring to a boil and add the crabs (if using whole blue crabs), gumbo filé, bay leaves, salt, thyme, Worcestershire sauce and cayenne. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the flavors have melded, skimming off any foam or skin on the surface, about 1 hour.

Toss the shrimp and fish with the Creole seasoning and stir into gumbo, along with the oysters and crab meat (if using). Simmer until the shrimp and fish are cooked, about 10 minutes. Add the hot sauce. Taste and season with more salt and hot sauce if necessary. Divide among soup bowls and top with rice and scallions.

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Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

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