Recommendations for Recipes Sought

[gnomi]

So, for Shabbat dinner, we're hosting a bunch of folks, and I've started doing the cooking because there are a lot of things to be made from scratch. However, I think I may have slightly overbought a couple of ingredients that won't last forever (in other words, produce). The things I know I have that are extra are celery (can't just buy the three or four stalks I need for the recipes, alas) and green pepper (I didn't know until I'd chopped all of it that I probably have about 1/2 c. too much).

I also have extra can (14.5 oz) of diced tomatoes and a bunch of other random ingredients in my pantry.

So, I turn to you lovely folks. Can anyone suggest a recipe that incorporates the above ingredients (not necessarily the diced tomatoes, but for sure the perishables) and that isn't overly time consuming to make?

Thanks in advance.

Comments

[gilana]

Delicious Gumbo! It works fine as just vegetarian, or with fish.

2/3 cup flour
2/3 cup oil
2/3 cup minced onion
2/3 cup minced celery
2/3 cup minced bell pepper
2/3 cup minced scallions
1 package frozen chopped okra or fresh okra
1 can stewed tomatoes (optional)
5 cups broth or stock
10 cloves minced garlic
2 tsp. salt
4 bay leaves
thyme
cayenne
ground red pepper
fish, chicken, beef and/or sausage (optional)
tabasco
file' powder
cooked white rice

First, chop the veggies.

Then, make the roux:
In a glass container (we use a glass loaf pan) microwave the oil and flour for 6 minutes, stir, and cook another 30-60 seconds if necessary until the roux is a mahogany brown. It will smell like burned popcorn.
Stir in the "holy trinity" of cajun cooking, minced bell pepper, celery and onion with some garlic.
Mix it well into the roux and microwave on high for 5 minutes.
If there is oil on top, pour it off. Add 2/3 cup hot water and stir until smooth.

Alternately, we have found that by using less flour and oil (only 1/2 cup of each), there was nothing to pour off. Also the addition of the hot water seem unnecessary in this case.

Next, the soup:

Heat the five cups of stock (we often use a vegetable stock or faux chicken broth so that we can serve this dish to our vegetarian friends) -- include in this five cups any juice run off from the canned tomatoes or other ingredients. Stir in the roux, tomatoes, okra and remaining garlic. Then add the bay leaves, thyme, cayenne and red pepper. You will have to find the right blend of seasoning for your taste.

If you are adding fish, cook the gumbo for 45 minutes, then add the fish and cook for 15 more minutes. With chicken or beef, add the meat right away and cook for one hour. With sausage, you're on your own. If the stock was salty enough, you may omit it, otherwise, add it now.

As with many soups, this one can be served right away, but is much better if allowed to sit refrigerated over night. When you are ready,
first fish out the whole bay leaves. put a handful of cooked rice in each bowl, and then sprinkle with some file' and chopped scallions.

For leftovers, throw all the rice in the pot and save the whole lot.

[crwilley.livejournal.com]

The idea of making a roux in a microwave seems to go utterly against the order of the universe, and yet I can see how and why it works. Am I right to say there's little to no risk of actually burning it? Can you make a lighter roux by microwaving for less time?

[gilana]

Yeah, I know it seems wrong, but it is a heck of a lot easier! It is possible to burn it -- I tend to stir it every 30 seconds after the first 6 minutes. Never tried to make a lighter roux; it doesn't seem to get the right smell before it starts getting dark.

[thesilia.livejournal.com]

i agree with you, in principle. i'm a roux purist, but i adore making it in the microwave. it's just so darn much faster. i draw the line at using roux from a jar. :) often, however, after microwaving the roux to near-doneness, i'll transfer it to a pan and finish it in the traditional way so that i can add my trinity. once the onions are translucent, i brown any sausage or uncooked meat/poultry that's going into the gumbo. if you don't use smoked sausage, you really want to add some smoked paprika to the soup to give it that rich flavor.

i agree with gilana that you can burn it, and you can also do it lighter by cooking for less time. for example, if you wanted a blonde roux to put in a bechamel sauce or something like that, you'd just shorted the initial cook time to 3 or 4 minutes.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Sounds yummy! Not going to have time (most likely) to make it for this Shabbat, but definitely a recipe to keep in mind. Thanks!