Hearty Green Gumbo

Submitted by BeccaB3c

"The "green" in this Cajun-style soups comes from a mixture of spinach, watercess, and parsley. If you don't have watercress, simply increase the parsley to 2 bunches."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 35mins
• Ingredients: 17
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach
• 1 bunch watercress, chopped (2 cups)
• 1 bunch parsley, chopped (2 cups)
• 1⁄4 cup water
• 1⁄2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1⁄2 cup cooking oil
• 2 large onions, chopped (2 cups)
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped (1 cup)
• 2 stalks celery, chopped (1 cup)
• water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup chopped broccoli
• 1 cup diced parsnips or 1 cup rutabaga
• 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups hot cooked rice

directions

1. In a Dutch oven combine spinach, watercress, parsley, and 1/4 cup water.
2. Bring to a boil, breaking up spinach with a fork; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Drain, reserving liquid and pressing liquid out with a spatula- Set greens and liquid aside.
4. In the same Dutch oven stir together the flour and oil till smooth.
5. Cover over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
6. Reduced heat to medium, cook and stir about 10 minutes more or till reddish brown.
7. Add onions, green pepper, and celery- Cook and stir over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes or till very tender.
8. Add enough water to reserved liquid to make 2 1/2 cups.
9. Add liquid, cooked greens, salt, red pepper, and black pepper to onion mixture.
10. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
11. Add broccoli and parsnips or rutabaga- Cover and simmer about 10 minutes more or till tender.
12. Stir in beans; heat through.
13. To serve, place rice in individual bowls and ladle gumbo over rice.

Reviews

[Roxygirl in Colorado]

I've made this recipe twice and love it! It is so hearty and comforting, and would make a great vegetarian main dish for entertaining. I highly recommend with Tabasco on top (I like the jalapeno flavored one). I found it a lot of work to prepare the first time, though! I made a few changes in prep. technique and it really helped! I made a baked in oven roux from Alton Brown (Recipe #276871 ) and it is the WAY to go! It ended up the darkest coppery color that is aimed for, without my forearms getting burned in the pan! I cut the veg. prep down by cooking my greens (and this time sliced carrot instead of turnip) all together in the pan, with about 1 1/2 cups water. I wanted to cut down the calories in the roux, too, and only used 1/4 cup of the baked roux, and it turned out the same as I remembered! I did add more water than the recipe, too, about 4 cups total. It still ends up REALLY thick. Lastly, I added some chopped garlic and about 1/2 -1 tsp. Cajun spice to the roux. It still comes out very mild, but that's where the Tabasco sauce comes in! This is wonderful on rice or as is. It's great to have in the fridge when you're starving and need a quick snack, too! I have varied the amounts of parsley (doubling it once) and used parsley/cilantro the second time. My husband (not a huge veggie eater) even liked it with the Tabasco. I will make this often. Thanks Bec, for posting! Roxygirl