All the common gumbo elements are present – a dark roux, the holy trinity of vegetables, andouille sausage plus a great mix of your favorite leafy greens.
One bowl of this greens gumbo and gumbo z’herbes will become the love of your life as it did for me back in 2008 when I had it for the first time during one of my New Orleans visits.
Ingredients For This Recipe
The ingredient list is for your standard black-eyed peas and rice. Perhaps the main variation is the use of turkey wings which provide smokiness, flavor depth, and richness.
How to Make This Greens Gumbo
Which Greens Work Best in Gumbo Z’herbes?
Greens are a matter of choice in this recipe. My advice is to use what’s readily available to you. That being said I like collards, mustards, and turnips. I love the dark color the collards provide and the spiciness of the mustards. Spinach, chard, and kale tend to always make the cut for me. Beet tops, carrots tops, broccoli greens, etc. are perfectly suitable and add variety in taste, flavor, and texture.
Step 1: Wash the greens thoroughly
Wash thoroughly to make sure all the dirt, silt, and grit is gone. Chop the greens first before washing as they’re much easier to cut dry.
Step 2: Saute the turkey and sausage
Brown the sausage 2-3 by cooking over medium heat and stirring a few times
Brown the turkey wings first cooking about 1-2 minutes per side at medium heat. Reserve the rendered fat for the vegetables. Reserve both the sausage and turkey on a paper towel-lined platter to soak up some of the fatty grease.
Step 3: Saute garlic, onions, and peppers.
I prefer to mix all my seasonings together in one small bowl and then season as I go by adding a pinch here and there. I start with adding seasoning at the vegetable saute and then add a bit more at each next step.
Saute the vegetables in the rendered fat for more flavor. If there is a lot of grease from the turkey and sausage reduce it as you don’t want too much here. You only need enough for a thin layer/coating of the pan.
Step 4: Add Remaining Ingredients To Pot
Add the cabbage and okra before the greens. Give them a good saute which will help remove the slime from the okra. Season both during the saute. Layer in the greens. Don’t worry if the pot is too full. Once you add stock and cover with the lid the greens will reduce quite a bit.
Add the turkey and sausage back to the pan
Step 5: Add the Chicken Stock
Don’t worry about the amount of greens being too much for the pot. They will eventually cook down and make for plenty of room.
Step 6: Make the roux and add it to the pot.
Can You Make This A Vegan Gumbo?
Given half my household is vegan, I typically make a vegan version more than the meat-based original recipe. The key is making a killer vegetable stock. I find the trickiest element is replicating the smokiness you’d typically get from using smoked meat. I substitute dried smoked Mexican chili peppers. Morita or chipotle works best.
Serving Suggestions
Gumbo z’herbes can be a side dish or main entree depending on your needs. It’s most commonly eaten with rice, but I like to change it up and go with a super grain like quinoa or freekeh. These are good sources of protein so make a better option than rice when making the vegan version.We generally serve it family-style in our house along with many other dishes like:
Key Cooking Tips For Black-Eyed Peas
- Start with the roux early. You can prep and cook the gumbo while the roux bakes for more efficiency
- Add cider vinegar near the end of cooking. The sausage and turkey adds some fat and the vinegar will help break it up. Note you can minimize fattiness by removing much of the grease after saute step
- Frozen or fresh okra walk all the same. I do find that fresh okra holds its texture better.
- If using a commercial stock, go with a low sodium version, as the regular versions tend to be really salty.
- Season at every step!
For more recipes featuring collard greens you might like:
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Ingredients
For The Gumbo
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 pound smoked sausage sliced
- 1/2 pound smoked turkey wings
- 4 cloves garlic diced
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 medium bell pepper diced
- 1/2 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp cayenne
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 1/2 tbsp black pepper
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 4 lbs assorted greens (about 6 bunches) collards, mustard or turnip greens, spinach, chard, and kale , trimmed, washed, dried, and roughly chopped
- 2 cups okra chopped (fresh or frozen)
- 1/2 medium cabbage leaves roughly chopped
- 5 cups chicken stock
For the Roux
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup of vegetable oil
Instructions
Prepare the roux.
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Combine oil and flour in a cast iron skillet and mix well.
- Add roux to the oven and bake until you achieve desired color. You may need to check and stir every 15-20 minutes until down.
- Remove and reserve for gumbo
Make the gumbo
- Mix all the spices together in a small mixing bowl.
- Heat oil in large dutch oven pot and brown the sausage stirring as needed to ensure all pieces get browned. Remove the sausage to a paper towel lined bowl or plate. Add the turkey to the pot and brown (2 minutes per side). Remove the turkey and add to plate with sausage.
- Depending how much fat has rendered remove enough so that only the bottom of the pan has a small thin layer of grease. Add the garlic, onions, peppers, and about 1/3 of the seasoning. Saute 2-3 minutes then add the okra and cabbage sautéing another 3 minutes.
- Add all the remaining greens, another 1/3 of seasoning, turkey, sausage and the stock. Mix well. Add the roux mixing fully. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for an hour adding the last of the seasoning after about 30 minutes of cooking.
- Serve with rice.
Notes
- Start with the roux early. You can prep and cook the gumbo while the roux bakes for more efficiency
- Add cider vinegar near the end of cooking. The sausage and turkey adds some fat and the vinegar will help break it up. Note you can minimize fattiness by removing much of the grease after saute step
- Frozen or fresh okra walk all the same. I do find that fresh okra holds its texture better.
- This is gumbo, exact measurements are not required so don’t bother!
- If using a commercial stock, go with a low sodium version, as the regular versions tend to be really salty.
- Season at every step!
This gumbo looks outstanding. Thanks for sharing the great recipe.
Thanks Jason and thanks for visiting the site!