Gumbo Ya Ya

I hate to be all gushy and mushy but every time I open a new container from the soup swap I am filled with pride and appreciation that everyone did such a great job.  I need one of those “proud parent” bumper stickers: “My soup swap is an honor swap in Seattle!” And I am benefitting from the results – big time. I had originally planned to defrost a soup every couple of weeks but I’ve been enjoying each of them so much that when I finish one I can hardly wait to open the next.  And with the colder-than-normal, extra-stormy winter we’ve had the soups have been the perfect antidote

Over the weekend I decided to dig into the Gumbo Ya Ya.  How could something with that name be anything but good?  And it is. Or was.  Full of andouille sausage and chicken, flavored with the essence of New Orleans this soup is more of a stew – and that’s not a complaint.  Gumbo is meant to be served over rice so once I’d cooked up a pot I had the makings for several meals.  One of the things I appreciate about this recipe is that hot sauce is added to the individual servings so each person can make it as spicy as they like. 

For my first meal or two a little fresh parsley garnish sprinkled over the gumbo brightened it up. (Do you know that trick? If you’ve used a herb in the recipe, add a little bit of the fresh herb at the very end for an additional layer of flavor.) A couple of times I topped my bowl of gumbo with cubed avocado.  The creamy, coolness of the avocado is a great counterpoint to the spicy, hot gumbo. 

I love this recipe and so without further ado, here it is:

Gumbo Ya Ya

• 1 ½ lb. andouille sausage
• 4 lb. boneless chicken breast
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large onions, minced
• 1 large green bell pepper, minced
• 1 cup celery, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 qt chicken stock
• 2 tsp Creole seasoning
• 1/8 tsp hot sauce
• ½ cup green onions, chopped
• ¼ cup minced parsley

Cut sausage lengthwise into 4 pieces.  Cut each piece into 1/2” slices. Brown sausage in large Dutch oven and remove from pan, leaving drippings in pan. Lightly brown chicken in drippings and remove from pan, leaving drippings in pan.

Combine oil and flour with drippings in Dutch oven.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until roux is the color of chocolate (about 30 minutes). Add minced onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic.  Cook until vegetables are tender. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes.

Add chicken, Creole seasoning and hot sauce. Cook uncovered for 1 hour.

Remove chicken and let cool. Coarsely chop chicken. Add green onions, parsley, chicken and andouille to pot and heat thoroughly.

Serve over rice with hot sauce on the side.

Yield: around 3 quarts