Frank's Place New Orleans Gumbo

This is a proper Cajun gumbo with the full Louisiana seafood lineup: three cups of shrimp, six hard-shell crabs, and two dozen shucked oysters, all swimming in a tomato-laced broth thickened with roux and a pound of sliced okra.

It starts with the holy trinity. Onion, celery, and green bell pepper sauteed in butter until soft, then the flour goes in off the heat. Stirring the flour into the hot vegetables creates a blond roux that thickens the broth without the long, dark roux process some gumbo recipes demand. It’s quicker but still gives the soup body.

The okra pulls double duty as both a vegetable and a thickener. Its natural mucilage releases as it simmers, adding that silky, slightly viscous texture that makes gumbo unmistakably gumbo. A pound is generous, and it should be.

Five bay leaves is bold. They perfume the entire pot with that herbal, almost tea-like aroma that keeps the seafood from tasting one-dimensional.

Pro Tips

• Add the flour off the heat and stir constantly. Hot fat plus flour can seize into lumps if you dump it in while the burner is on.
• The oysters only need the 30-minute simmer to cook through. Don’t add them earlier or they’ll turn rubbery and tough.
• Serve the rice in the bowl first, then ladle the gumbo over it. This keeps the rice from getting waterlogged before it reaches the table.

Variations

• Add andouille sausage sliced into coins for a more traditional meat-and-seafood gumbo.
• Substitute crawfish tails for the crab during crawfish season.
• Use file powder (ground sassafras) stirred in at the table instead of okra for a different style of thickening.