Trumpet Mushroom Gumbo
Serves 8-10
mushrooms
16 oz fresh trumpet mushrooms, cut into 1″ thick rounds
2 – 3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt + pepper, to taste
trinity
2 cups onion, diced (1 medium)
2 cups celery, diced (about 4 large stalks)
1 ½ cups green bell pepper, diced (about 1 large)
½ cup red bell pepper, diced (about 1 small)
½ cup garlic, minced
stock ingredients
8 cups water + 1 Tablespoon Better than Bouillon No Chicken base
½ cup red wine
1 (14 oz) can fire roasted tomatoes
1 cup fresh tomato, diced
2 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
1 tablespoon ume plum vinegar
1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons plus ½ cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
1 tablespoon jalapeno, serrano, or habanero pepper, minced (optional)
1 teaspoon stone-ground or Creole mustard
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 cup neutral vegetable oil, sunflower or peanut
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 ear of corn, shucked and cut into 4 pieces
½ cups green onions, chopped plus more for garnish
3 cups fresh okra, chopped
½-1 teaspoon sea salt, to taste
1 pinch cracked black pepper, more to taste
1 cup to 2 cups filtered water (optional)
4 cups cooked rice, for serving
Spice blend
Strip of included kombu
4 dried bay leaves
2 tablespoons savory blend
2 tablespoons onion garlic blend
3 teaspoons herb blend
3-4 teaspoons spice blend (depending how spicy you like)
2 teaspoons smoked salt
1 teaspoon confetti pepper blend (crush with a rolling pin or side of a large knife on a cutting board or mortar and pestle)
Directions:
1. Generously coat the bottom of a large skillet with a drizzle of oil and turn to medium high heat. Arrange sliced trumpet mushrooms in a single layer, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and brown on each side for about 5 minutes. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine the onion, celery, bell peppers and garlic. Remove 1 ½ cups of this mixture and transfer to a separate large bowl (you’ll add this to the gumbo toward the end). Set both bowls aside.
3. In a separate large bowl, mix together the water, bouillon base, wine, fire roasted tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, tamari or soy sauce, ume plum vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons of parsley, 2 tablespoons of oregano, 2 tablespoons of thyme, hot pepper (if using), corn, mustard, liquid smoke, kombu and bay leaves. Set aside.
4. In a small bowl, using your gumbo kit, mix together the spice blend.
5. In the bowl with the reserved trinity mix, add in your chopped green onions, okra, cooked trumpet mushrooms, and ½ cup additional chopped parsley. This will be added to the gumbo towards the end.
6. Now you are ready to make the roux! In the same skillet as the trumpet mushrooms, wipe down very well with a towel. Once clean, add the sunflower oil over medium-high heat. Once it’s hot, add the flour and stir constantly with a large wooden spatula, until it is well combined. Reduce the heat to medium and continue stirring until the roux is dark brown, 15 to 20 minutes. The goal here is to toast the flour and oil while preventing the mixture from burning. You do this by moving the flour and oil mixture constantly. If you stop for only a moment, the roux will burn and you will have to start over.
7. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the larger amount of the trinity mixture (not the reserved 1 ½ cups). Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the vegetables are soft, 5 to 7 minutes.
8. Add the creole spice blend to the vegetables and mix well. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently, toasting all of the spices. Now you have the base of your gumbo!
9. Transfer the base to a large stockpot. Add the stock mixture with kombu and bay leaves. Mix well, cover and bring to a boil, stirring often to prevent the bottom from burning (make sure to do this as it may stick!). Once at a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, to reduce and thicken the gumbo.
10. Add the reserved bowl of green onions, okra, the remaining ½ cup parsley, trumpet mushrooms, and the reserved 1 ½ cups trinity garlic mixture. If desired, add 1 to 2 cups water to loosen the gumbo. Simmer for another 20 minutes Give the gumbo a taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Feel free to add more of the spice blend at this point to make it spicy as well.
11. To serve, ladle gumbo into serving bowls, removing bay leaves and kombu. Add a small scoop of cooked rice on top and garnish with the chopped parsley and green onions.