Creole Gumbo

Leah Chase, the chef and owner of Dooky Chase in New Orleans, gave an interview to Matt Lee and Ted Lee of The Times back in 2000. It was about her gumbo, which is brackish and silky and delicious, and for which she offered a recipe. Ms. Chase told them about giving a dinner in 1942 for a group of Tuskegee Airmen who refused to eat the gumbo she and a friend had prepared for them because they thought the file powder she put in the pot was a voodoo potion intended to ensnare the men. “One of the men was telling the others, 'Don't eat the gumbo! If you eat that gumbo, you'll never leave New Orleans.' '' Perhaps! (Sam Sifton)

INGREDIENTS
1 pound medium head-on shrimp
4 hard crabs, cleaned and split in two
½ pound smoked sausage, diced
½ pound hot sausage, diced
½ pound beef brisket or lean veal stew meat
½ pound chicken gizzards
½ cup canola oil
½ cup flour
1 large onion, chopped
6 chicken wings, split
½ pound smoked ham, cubed
2 teaspoons paprika
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
24 shucked oysters with liquor
1 tablespoon file powder
½ cup chopped parsley

Peel and devein shrimp. Place heads and shells in stockpot with 12 cups water, and simmer over low heat until needed.

In a 6-quart stockpot, combine crabs, sausages, beef or stew meat and gizzards; cook, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching, over low flame for 30 minutes.

In a heavy-bottomed saute pan, whisk oil and flour together over low to moderate heat, and cook, whisking constantly until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Add onions, and cook, stirring, until soft. Pour mixture into pot with meats, and stir gently until well combined. Strain shrimp stock. Add to pot with enough water to make 14 cups liquid. Bring to a boil. Add chicken wings, smoked ham, paprika, garlic, thyme, bay leaves and salt, and simmer 30 minutes. Add peeled shrimp, and simmer 10 minutes. Add oysters, and turn off heat. Stir in file. Serve over rice, and garnish with fresh parsley.