I honestly don’t recall how or where I first heard of this 2008 release from Chronicle Books,   but as a native of New Orleans I was enormously interested in and impressed by Cooking Up A Storm:  Recipes Lost and Found from the Times Picayune in New Orleans.     The Time Picayune is a good newspaper and given what a very food-oriented town New Orleans is,  the recipe and restaurant review pages are some of the most read and highest quality in the paper.   And following Hurricane Katrina the TP’s food section became a kind of lost and found for readers who lost their irreplaceable recipes in the storm.

The recipes definitely reflect the way that Real People in south Louisiana Actually Eat.     You will find a recipe for Mock Shoe,  a fresh corn concoction that is generally made with bacon, onions and fresh tomatoes,  although the version given took a very different approach. There are of course innumerable recipes for such staples as gumbo and etouffee. And I could easily wax rhapsodic about such very, very, VERY New Orleans dishes like Mirliton Casserole With Crabmeat, Crawfish and Shrimp* or McKenzie’s Oyster Patties**.      But those who recently read my gumbo recipe post will not be surprised that what I  Really want to do today is  to revisit the question of gumbo.    Many readers were interested in my recipe for gumbo.    To be clear I am a New Orleans city and suburban boy and not a real French Acadian (Cajun) or French/African (Creole).    And the recipe I gave in that previous post, is just the way I, a New Orleans boy make it.

Today,  with the gracious permission of Chronicle Books,  I am going to share with you a real Cajun family recipe for gumbo.    It takes a completely different approach than my recipe did.   But in comparing the two you will begin to get a grasp of what a powerfully comforting and infinitely variable dish gumbo is.     If you, like me,  are a displaced New Orleanian who loves to read about things from back home or if you have any interest in how the people of New Orleans and southern Louisiana really eat,  Cooking Up A Storm is Very Highly Recommended.

Title: Cooking Up A Storm  Author: Marcelle Bienvenue and Judy Walker   Publisher: Chronicle Books, San Francisco      Format: Trade paperback   Publication Date: 2008

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The following recipe is © 2008 by Chronicle Books and is included on page 60 of Cooking Up A Storm.

Johnny Becnel’s Daddy’s Okra Gumbo

4 TBSP butter

2 medium onions,  cut into 1/2 inch pieces

3 green bell peppers, cut into 3/4 inch chunks

3/4 tsp chopped garlic  (fresh)

1 1/2 lbs Creole tomatoes (or plum or other local, fresh tomatoes), peeled

salt

cayenne pepper

4 lbs okra, chopped

tomato juice,  as needed

1 1/2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined

hot cooked rice for serving***

In a large gumbo pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat and saute the onions and bell pepper until tender.  Add the garlic, tomatoes and salt and cayenne to taste.

Simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally for 45 minutes,  then add the okra.  “You may have to add tomato juice if the mixture gets too thick,” Becnel advised.   Continue simmering, stirring occasionally, for about an hour.  “The okra should be absolutely melted, like a thick paste,” Becnel said.   Then, add the peeled shrimp and cook just until they turn pink, about 5 minutes.   Serve over steaming bowls of rice. ***

Variation:  Becnel’s family also made this with fresh corn off the cob instead of the okra.  “Then we call it corn stew,” he said.  Substitute 4 cups of corn kernels for the okra.

* In other parts of the world, mirlitons are known as “chayote squash”.    They grow abundantly in the New Orleans area and can easily be grown in a city household’s small garden.   In season they become so prevalent that even those who Don’t grow mirlitons themselves are often swimming in a bounty from neighbors or stocking up at the local market.     (Can you tell I really love mirlitons?)

** For many, many years McKenzie’s was a local chain of bakeries in New Orleans.   They were definitely kind of low–middle brow.   There were Lots of fancier and more expensive bakeries in town, but McKenzie’s delivered a good quality and since they had counter locations in most Schwegmann’s Supermarkets most Everybody bought some stuff from McKenzie’s.   My late father loved their sweet rolls,  though strangely he always scraped off the thick white icing.    Oyster patties are a creamed, cooked oyster dish that is served in individual pastry shells,  which were always available at McKenzie’s.

***to make the rice authentically,  add salt and a bay leaf as well as a bit of butter to the white rice and double the amount of water before boiling for about 15 minutes until tender and fluffy

****Sadly both McKenzie’s Bakeries and Schwegmann’s Supermarkets are no more,  both going out of business well prior to hurricane Katrina.