My Favorite Meal: Vegetarian Seafood Gumbo

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Vegetarian Cajun Seafood Gumbo

When I decided to go vegetarian 15 years ago there was only one dish that gave me pause. One dish so intensely flavorful, so intoxicatingly complex and rich, so incomparable to any other meal that it could ignite a moral dilemma in the most devout herbivore. Ask any Louisianan and they'll probably agree, that dish is seafood gumbo.

Before I learned how to vegetarianize meat recipes, I never dared attempt the gumbo recipe that was my family's holiday tradition. In the late '80s my dad, having grown weary of the obligatory dry-as-an-old-boot holiday turkeys, embarked on a brave culinary expedition. It was going to be spicy. It was going to require special ordered ingredients. It was going to be... expensive!

In fact, it ended up being so expensive we only made it once or twice a year. And it was so spicy most of our extended family couldn't handle a single spoonful. (Bonus! More for us!) Every Thanksgiving and/or Christmas we'd gather around the kitchen, walls sweating with humidity from the simmering shellfish stock, and watch dad vigorously sauteing the Holy Trinity of vegetables and scraping the green file' powder enriched spice blend from the bottom of the pot. It was past dark before we finally sat down to eat. Laughing through our tears at each other's runny noses, gluttonously ladling seconds and thirds into our bowls, drunk on its preposterous concentration of flavor.

When we kids moved away and our parents divorced, our seafood gumbo holidays became relegated to memory. But through much experimentation—and miracles of food science—it's back on the menu. And because this Thanksgiving's gumbo feast brought vegetarians and omnivores together at our table, I'll be sharing recipes for both versions. Less spicy than the original and, in the case of the veggie version, significantly less expensive.

Much credit for the original recipe goes to the classic, Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen cookbook. The flavor profile is basically derived from his original recipe, with proportions slightly altered, and then tweaked to be vegetarian by using dried kombu to make a vegetarian "seafood" broth. His original recipe uses file' powder as a thickener rather than a flour roux traditional to most gumbo recipes. I also measure out individual herbs and spices rather than use the recent iterations of his recipe that call for Prudhomme's Seafood Magic powder. The spices can and should be adapted to your heat preference, with my version coming in at about 5 out of 10 on a spiciness scale. For the best possible flavor, invest in freshly purchased herbs and spices- it makes a huge difference in flavor intensity. Keep in mind, the fresher the pepper the spicier the gumbo.

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Step 1:

Homemade stock is the foundation for this dish and there isn't a shortcut or substitute in my opinion. Stock doesn't have any added salt or flavorings and if you taste it you'll probably be surprised at how mild it is. But once it's paired with the rest of the gumbo ingredients, it's pure alchemy. Plus, there's just something so cozy about a pot of stock simmering on a cool holiday morning.

Notice the recipe below calls for onion skins to be included in the stock. Boiled onion skins, while optional, give the stock its dark color.

If you're using seafood, include ALL of the shells and brains and eyeballs and slimy stuff.

The vegetarian kombu stock imparts a seafood flavor without any animal products.

This Thanksgiving we made a kombu stock for me and a seafood stock for AK and our guests. The seafood version contained oyster liquor, shrimp heads & shells, and lobster tail shells,

Vegetable Stock

2 medium yellow onions, quartered, with skins

4 cloves garlic, halved

4-6 dried whole shitake mushrooms, rinsed

1 large carrot, peeled and cut into several chunks

6 stalks celery w/ leaves, cut into chunks

6 strips dried kombu sea vegetable, rinsed (approx. 4" x 2" strips)

1 bunch fresh whole parsley

2 bay leaves

4 quarts water

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In a large stock pot, boil vegetables for minimum of 1.5 hrs. for a final product of approximately 5-6 cups of condensed stock. Strain and discard spent vegetables, reserving stock.

Vegetable bouillon or broth are not substitutes for stock. Stock does not have added salt.

Seafood Stock

Seafood discards to include shells, innards, and liquids from 2-3 lbs of seafood (e.g. shrimp, crab, and lobster heads and shells, oyster liquor)

2 medium yellow onions, quartered, with skins

4 cloves garlic, halved

6 stalks celery w/ leaves, cut into chunks

1 large carrot, peeled and cut into several chunks

2 bay leaves

4-6 quarts water

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Add all ingredients to a large stock pot and add enough water to cover all ingredients. Boil 2 to 3 hrs. minimum, adding water as necessary to prevent shells from drying out. Strain and discard spent ingredients, reserving 5-6 cups of the condensed stock. Leftover stock may be frozen.

A pressure cooker works well to extract flavor in a much shorter amount of time.

Bouillon, broth, and store bought seafood stock are not substitutes for this recipe. Bouillon and broth contain too much salt, whereas seafood stock may impart a rancid odor/flavor.

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Step 2:

All ingredients should be prepped and measured in advance of cooking the gumbo. Once the gumbo starts cooking, it requires high heat and close monitoring so there won't be time to prep.

Most of the ingredients for this dish are commonly available. However, gumbo file' powder, a thickening agent made from ground sassafras tree leaves, can be tricky to find. Try the international section or spices section of your grocery store where you might find it sold by Zatarain's. Otherwise, it's inexpensive on Amazon.

The kombu necessary for the vegetarian stock is also available on Amazon.

I combine dry herbs and spices into one dish and combine the fresh garlic and hot sauce in another.

Known as The Holy Trinity in Louisiana, the 'mirepoix' is an essential mix of equal parts chopped onion, celery, and green pepper. The trio can be combined and set aside.

We typically use about 1.5 to 2.5 pounds of protein per batch of gumbo. In my vegetarian 'seafood' version, I add mock seafood products to incorporate a richer flavor and variety of texture. in the past I've also added Quorn chicken along with kelp powder to boost the seafood flavor. In AK's traditional seafood version, he used 1 pound of shrimp, the meat of 3 small lobster tails, a dozen large oysters, and a dozen large scallops. The protein does not need to be cooked prior to adding to the gumbo, but it should be fully cleaned and sized.

ingredients for Vegetarian & Traditional Seafood Gumbo

2 cups onion, chopped

2 cups celery, chopped

2 cups green bell pepper, chopped

3/4 cup margarine or soy butter (do not use real butter!)

3 T gumbo file' powder

2 bay leaves

1 T smoked or sweet paprika

1/2 tsp ground white pepper

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp ground red (cayenne) pepper

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried oregano

1 T minced garlic

1 T Tabasco sauce (or substitute a milder hot sauce, per preference)

1-1/2 cups tomato puree

5 cups stock

1.5 to 2.5 lbs protein (seafood or vegetarian)

2-3 pinches of dried arame sea vegetable, rinsed (for vegetarian version, optional)

salt to taste

Step 3:

Begin cooking the gumbo about 1.5 hours before you plan on serving the meal. The cooking happens in several stages, so read the full instructions before you begin.

cooking instructions

In a large steel or enamel pot (e.g. 6-quart, not nonstick), melt margarine over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and bell pepper. Cook approximately 5 minutes or until onions start to turn translucent.

Turn heat to high and add herbs, spices, hot sauce, and garlic. Stir constantly for 5 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium. Add tomato puree and cook an additional 6 minutes, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pan as ingredients start to stick.

After 6 minutes add stock and bring pot back to boil. Once boiling reduce to a simmer and cook covered for one hour, stirring occasionally.

After 1 hour add salt to taste. You can also increase spice level at this time. 6-10 minutes before serving add protein, cook time depending on the proteins used. (Also add optional arame at this time. If you don't have arame, consider adding a strip or two of kombu during the previous step of simmering for 1 hour)

If served with side dishes and rice, a batch of gumbo easily serves 6 people.

Herbs and spices added to the mirepoix

Protein is added to the gumbo base approximately 10 minutes before serving. If you're making a seafood version, allow just enough time to bring meat up to proper temperature without overcooking.

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Vegetarian (and vegan) seafood gumbo

Served with a side of vegetarian corn maque choux, and skillet corn bread.

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We'll never know if Paul Prudhomme would have signed off on a vegetarian gumbo with faux seafood, but I do believe he wouldhave been proud of anyone who was willing to experiment in the kitchen.

Seafood gumbo two ways, bringing vegetarian and omnivore friends together for Thanksgiving!

Happy Holidays and Laissez les bons temps rouler!