Smoked Sausage Gumbo

The James Beard ceremony is next month. In Chicago. I am going. Derek is going. Curtis is NOT going (the travel is too much; the wheelchair, the logistics, the Curtis-ness of refusing to leave Georgia). Vanessa is going (she appointed herself my "plus two" and I did not argue). Marcus called from Morehouse and said, "If you win, I'm framing the certificate." I said, "If I win." He said, "WHEN you win." The confidence of my son. The same confidence that won debate tournaments. Applied to his mother's cookbook. The boy believes in me the way I believe in Mama's chicken: absolutely, without qualification.

I am not going to win. The other nominees are established food writers — people with television shows and magazine columns and names that everyone knows. I am Tamika Washington from Cascade Heights. My qualifications are: a Folgers can, a dead mother, and the stubborn refusal to stop cooking. These are not traditional culinary credentials. But the book was nominated. The book is in the conversation. Mama is in the conversation. That is enough. That has always been enough.

Made a practice dinner for the ceremony outfit try-on: the green blouse, black pants, Mama's pearl studs. Derek looked at me and said, "You look like a woman who wrote a cookbook." I said, "I look like a woman who cooks." He said, "Same thing." (SAME THING. He says it too. The virus has spread. Everyone in this family says same thing.) The outfit is right. The pearls are right. The woman is right. Whether the award follows is not up to me. It's up to James Beard. And James Beard has never tasted Mama's fried chicken. His loss.

When I put on the green blouse and the pearl studs and Derek looked at me the way he looked at me, I needed the dinner to match the moment — something slow-built and Southern and certain of itself, the way Mama’s cooking always was. Gumbo was the answer. If I was going to practice being the woman who wrote a cookbook, I was going to eat like her too.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr 5 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 lb smoked sausage, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups frozen sliced okra
1 1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
2 bay leaves
Cooked white rice, for serving
2 green onions, thinly sliced, for garnish

Instructions

Build the roux. In a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or whisk, for 15—20 minutes until the roux deepens to a rich chocolate-brown color. Do not walk away — it will burn if left unattended.
Soften the vegetables. Add the onion, bell pepper, and celery to the roux. Stir well to coat and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more, stirring constantly.
Brown the sausage. Add the sliced smoked sausage and stir to combine. Cook for 3—4 minutes until the sausage begins to lightly brown and releases its fat into the pot.
Add the liquids and seasoning. Pour in the chicken broth and diced tomatoes. Add the okra, Cajun seasoning, thyme, black pepper, salt, and bay leaves. Stir everything together and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Simmer low and slow. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 25—30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the gumbo thickens and the flavors come together. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Serve. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Ladle the gumbo over bowls of hot cooked white rice and scatter sliced green onions over the top.

Nutrition (per serving)

Smoked Sausage Gumbo — The Practice Dinner That Said, “The Woman Is Right”