I grumble about pumpkin spice and apple cinnamon everything, but I don’t hate everything about fall. I like football. I like Halloween. I like baking now that the house isn’t 79 degrees even with the AC on full blast. And while I don’t like actual cold weather, there is something uniquely delightful about the first few days of crisp weather.
Those happened to land over this past weekend, and as we all know, as soon as the temperature outside gets in the mid-70s, it means one thing for certain and two things for sure: gumbo, gumbo, and more gumbo.
I made gumbo at the start of fall even when I lived in Missouri, although my options were a bit curtailed there – I had to make do with Hillshire Farm smoked sausage instead of andouille, and seafood was pretty much out of the question, but I like a chicken-and-sausage gumbo better anyway.
But now I am about to state possibly the most controversial thing I’ve ever written here, and that includes blogs about reproductive rights, same sex marriage, gun control, the 2016 election, and the #MeToo movement. What I’m about to say is an unpopular stance and one that I am well-aware will come with some backlash, but hey, I have to live my truth, so …
Here we go …
… I put tomatoes in my gumbo. And I am not sorry about it, and I do not plan to stop. I like it that way. It’s delicious. And no one I’ve ever fed gumbo to has spat it out in horror. In fact, people love my gumbo and ask me for the recipe every time I make it.
The secret, I tell them, is twofold. One: Use bacon fat for your roux. And two: Use just a touch of tomato.
To be clear: I don’t think this is some sort of abomination, like the gumbos that get skewered on social media with quinoa or butternut squash or kale or mixed veggies (all of which I like, none of which belong in gumbo). I make a dark roux. I throw in the trinity and okra and brown off my sausage first. I serve over rice but also love it when my husband makes potato salad to accompany it. And they’re not visible tomatoes. Not diced tomatoes or stewed tomatoes or anything crazy. But just a little bit of tomato puree, which is absolutely packed with umami.
I have enjoyed multiple gumbos without tomatoes, and I’m not upset about that. I don’t think my way is the only way. But I grew up eating it this way, and I’m going to continue to make it this way.
You’re welcome to have a bowl if you swing by my house when the weather is chilly. Or don’t if you’re that offended by the tomatoes. Either way, I’m SorryNotSorry about it. As far as I’m concerned, more for me!
Happy gumbo season, everyone, with or without the controversial tomatoes!
