I was shocked — simply shocked! — to read the gumbo recipe Nancy Leson posted recently in the Seattle Times. It's her husband Mac's traditional Christmas day gumbo. What alarmed me was not what Mac put in; it was what he left out.
Here, take a look.
Notice anything missing? Like OKRA?!? I couldn't believe it. Gumbo without okra. Tut-tut.
The very word "gumbo" comes from the Bantu word for okra. Or maybe from the Choctaw for file, the dried and powdered sassafras leaves equally necessary for real-deal gumbo.
Well, full disclosure. In looking up various gumbo recipes I see all kinds of variations. Plus some that say seafood or meat but never both. File or okra but never both. I don't care. I use everything and you should do the same. If Mac wants to leave out the okra, that's his business — misguided, but his.
Calling All Cajun
And anyone else who cares to weigh in, do. Gumbo without okra: Acceptable variation or the harbinger of the Gumbocalypse?
"Okra is the closest thing to nylon I've ever eaten."
-- Robin Williams
