Gumbo – The Perfect One-Pot Pizza Oven Dish for USA’s World Cup Footie Games

“Jambalaya, crawfish pie, filé gumbo”, sang The Carpenters and there’s not much more traditionally American than the southern delight that is filé gumbo. This stew-type soup, originating in Louisiana, brings together three main cuisines – European, Native American and West African, with the name gumbo actually coming from the Bantu name for okra, something which originally thickened broths in Louisiana, in the 1700s.

And that’s where filé comes in.  This is a vital part of gumbo, alongside various meats, vegetables and shellfish.  Filé is a thickening agent added towards the end of cooking and, if you want some authentic Louisiana-style gumbo during this World Cup, you should try to buy some – probably online. It is a Native American ingredient, made of ground sassafras leaves, and will not only thicken your gumbo, but give it added flavour.

Cooking your gumbo in your Valoriani wood-fired oven, supplied by Orchard Ovens, is another way to infuse this dish with a fantastic smoky flavour, adding depth and soul.  As a one-pot wonder, it is pretty easy to cook in your oven, if you get the fire well-maintained and are organised with your ingredients and timings.

Chicken and Prawn Gumbo – what do you need for ingredients? 

To serve 4 people from your Valoriani wood-fired oven, you will need:

-       a large skinless and boneless chicken breast, quartered

-       4 chicken thighs

-       2 rashers of sliced bacon, or half a gammon steak, cut into squares

-       250g of chorizo (chunked)

-       a can of black beans

-       a can of tinned tomatoes

-       tomato passata

-       two sticks of celery, cut into pieces

-       two garlic cloves cut into small pieces

-       a sliced medium-sized onion

-       sliced de-seeded green or yellow pepper

-       500ml of chicken stock

-       50g plain flour

-       50ml vegetable oil

-       a teaspoon of cayenne pepper

-       a teaspoon of Cajun spice

-       a large handful of raw prawns

-       a teaspoon of filé powder

-       white rice, as an accompaniment

-       parsley or rocket (for decoration)

Method for cooking gumbo in the wood-fired oven

Using a skillet and placing the pan towards the mouth of a warm – but not very hot - wood-fired oven, heat a small amount of the oil and cook the chicken until golden in colour. Remove from the pan. 

Add a little more oil, if necessary, and cook the bacon or gammon until changing colour.

Remove this meat and add the chorizo, cooking until it starts to ooze a little.  Then remove that and keep with the other meats.

Next, you need to make the element that is the base of any good gumbo – a roux.  Get yourself a heavy cast iron casserole dish and put it in the mouth of the oven.  Keep mixing together equal amounts of oil and flour, until you have a paste mixture the colour of milk chocolate.  Place the paste mixture just inside the oven, stirring until it turns to a dark chocolate colour.

At that point, pull the pan to the mouth of the wood-fired oven and stir in the vegetables.  Next, gradually add the stock, whilst stirring it into the mixture and keeping it smooth and free from lumps.  Add the canned tomatoes, a little passata for extra flavour and colour and the meat, beans and spices.

Cover with a lid and allow it to simmer for around an hour – or 90 minutes in a cooler wood oven. Keep checking the consistency of the dish.

Prepare your rice, working out the timings for cooking this, unless opting for microwaved rice that is ready in minutes.

Around 10 minutes before serving, add in the prawns and cook until they turn pink.

Bring the pot to the mouth of the Valoriani wood-fired oven and then add seasoning and also the filé.  If you cannot buy filé, you could use okra, but this can have quite a slimy texture.

Other types of gumbo can also be cooked in a similar way. Remember that the roux stage is quite crucial but, once you have tackled that, the rest is pretty easy to do.

Once served, sit back, tuck in and tune in to that USA game!  

And finally!

If you find your current wood-fired oven incapable of cooking a dish like this, simply call the Orchard Ovens team on 07743 847647 and find out about the wood oven – or gas-fired oven – options available to you.  Find out more at www.orchardovens.co.uk or our website for professional chefs – www.orchardovenscommercial.co.uk

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Editors notes

Orchard Ovens is the domestic and commercial pizza oven supplier in the UK of Valoriani, based in Reggello, Tuscany - the manufacturer of Italy's hugely respected Valoriani pizza ovens, known as the Maserati of pizza ovens and the kings of clay. These ovens are made from superb refractory clay - cotto clay - found in the family's quarry and unique, thanks to having just the right alumina. This allows Valoriani ovens to heat up quickly and retain heat superbly, bring huge advantages to homeowners, as well as restaurant owners, hotels, pubs, mobile caterers, pizzerias, takeaways and more.

Orchard Ovens supplies some of Britain's best-known restaurants and chefs, whilst it is also a specialist creator of outdoor kitchens and wood-fired oven builds for the rich and famous, as well as everyday homeowners wishing to add value to their home and enjoy an outdoor lifestyle to the full.