Cajun French: le jambon (lu jon-bon) – ham (smoked)
In south Louisiana, as well as all over the south, New Year’s day has food traditions. In south Louisiana, we eat cabbage and black eyed peas. Black eyed peas are eaten for luck and cabbage is eaten for money. In our Cajun tradition, we brought these two ingredients together into a gumbo. Also in the gumbo is smoked sausage, andouille and ham.
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!!
Ingredients:
Oil – we use olive oil
All purpose flour
16 oz Cajun smoked sausage
5 oz ham
3 oz andouille
1 cup bell pepper
¾ cup celery, chopped (about two ribs)
1 ½ cup onions, chopped
1 ½ Tbl chopped garlic (about 5 lg cloves)
Cajunville seasoning
½ lb dried black eyed peas
9 cups black eyed pea stock (from cooking the black eyed peas)
Cabbage – 2 cups, chopped
Rice
Stock or water for cooking rice
Equipment:
Cutting board
Measuring cups and spoons
Mise en Place bowls
Knife for cutting ingredients
Pot for cooking rice
12 cup pot for gumbo (we use a cast iron dutch oven)
Cooking spoon for making roux and gumbo
Tasting spoon
Whisk
Serving spoon for rice
Ladle for serving gumbo
Bowl for gumbo with utensils
Mise en Place:
Black Eyed Peas:
Rinse ½# dry black eyed peas
Cover peas with water and let sit 2 hours to overnight
In a large stock pot add peas and water
Heat to boiling
Add 9 cups stock or water
Bring back to a boil, then lower to hard simmer
Cook until peas are just tender – you still want tooth to them (not mushy or creamy)
The peas can also be cooked in a slow cooker
If your pot is not large enough for 9 cups of stock/water, use as much as you can. The liquid needs to cover the peas, at least 6 cups. You can add additional when you cook the gumbo.
Also, the entire pound of peas can be cooked. They freeze well.
Note: If you add salt, do so sparingly. The other ingredients of the gumbo have seasoning. Over salting the peas will make the gumbo salty.
Once peas are cooked, strain and keep stock and peas separate.
The peas can be cooked the day before and refrigerated.
Rice:
Cook the amount of rice for you.
We cook:
1 cup parboiled rice
2 cups broth or water
Bring water to a boil
Add rice, bring back to a boil
Turn to low, cook 15 minutes
Turn heat off, crack lid and steam 10 minutes
Season rice as you normally would. We do not add salt to our rice.
Cook your rice in whatever way you like.
Gumbo:
¾ cup oil
¾ cup flour
16 oz smoked sausage, chopped bite size
5 oz ham, chopped bite size
3 oz andouille, chopped bite size
1 cup bell pepper, chopped
¾ cup celery, chopped (about two ribs)
1 ½ cup onions, chopped
1 ½ Tbl chopped garlic (about 5 lg cloves)
Cajunville seasoning
3 cups cooked black eyed peas
9 cups black eyed pea stock
2 cups Cabbage, cut into small squares, same size as meat
Directions:
In a large cast iron pot (12 cup), heat the oil over medium-high heat.
Slowly whisk in the flour and continue whisking or stirring with a spoon until the roux turns dark brown, 20 – 30 minutes.
Add the onion, bell pepper and celery to the roux and cook, stirring, until vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes.
Add garlic after 5 minutes.
Add ¼-½ tsp Cajunville seasoning to vegetables, stir.
Add the smoked sausage, ham, andouille and stir. Cook for 10 minutes.
Slowly add the stock, stirring and bring to a simmer.
Simmer over medium-low heat, skimming occasionally, until flavors meld, at least 45 minutes.
Add cabbage after 15 minutes.
Stir the black-eyed peas into the gumbo.
Return to a simmer, then season with Cajunville seasoning and salt, pepper and hot sauce as needed.
Serve with rice.
