The Best Soup is Gumbo
How Yumbo is this Gumbo?
Ask yourself: “What is the best soup in the world?” If you answered anything other than Chicken Gumbo, you clearly have never experienced the warm comfort a bowl of this Godly southern cuisine can bring you. When you eat it, you can almost feel as if you’re connected to not only anyone around you, but all those that have tasted the recipe in front of you in the past. It’s like being hugged by a kindly old nana, except the hug is a spoon and the nana is delicious soup. It’s warm, and has this distinctly down to earth flavour that can bring a sense of inner peace and fulfillment.
What's in Chicken Gumbo?
The most important part of any Gumbo is the roux. This acts as our base where all the flavour will develop from. Now, some more traditional recipes use either file or okra as the thickener instead of this, but my family has always found better flavour to be found in a good old Acadian brown roux made with flour browned in chicken fat. Next up comes the veggies; and if you know anything about Cajun food, then you know what's coming next. That's right! It's the Holy Trinity of southern cooking, onion, celery, and green bell peppers. Of course this wouldn't be chicken gumbo without chicken, but we're also going to add in some fine creole chicken sausage in addition to our shredded bird. Finish it off with some leftover jambalaya rice and a generous amount of hot sauce, and you are looking at a mighty fine dinner for a cool summer evening!
Where does it come from?
Gumbo is often referred to as a metaphor for the cultural mixing pot of Louisiana, the State that this delicious dish originated from. This is because many of its components came from the different cultures that influenced the region. French, Native American, German, Spanish, and African cuisine are all represented to some extent in this one singular bowl of soup. While there is no concrete origin we can pinpoint, there is some general knowledge about it that has lent itself to several potential origins. Among these it is commonly accepted that it was created in the 1700s and that a basic version of it was made by African slaves.
How should you eat Gumbo?
Since Gumbo of all types (and especially chicken) is typically a communal soup, it’s best enjoyed as part of a large gathering. Large family gatherings such as weddings, holidays, graduations, or reunions are all perfect places to give everyone this warm bowl of homemade southern comfort. Make sure to keep plenty of hot sauce on hand for those that like a little extra kick in their dish, some favourites are Chalula, Tabasco, and Tiger; and no Cajun meal would be complete without a nice, big slice of cornbread to dunk in your bowl! (Or eat it by itself smothered in honey!)
