Mini Gumbo Pot Pies (Take 2)

A few months back, I put up a recipe for mini seafood gumbo pot pies, spicy little pescatarian pots of joy that were topped with puff pastry crust. After visiting New Orleans, I decided to revisit this recipe and tweak it here and there. I learned so much on my trip and got a serious lesson in NOLA cooking from my friend, Gwendolyn Scott, who owns her own catering company out there. We caught the whole thing on film and wrapped it into my first webisode of Exotic Table, which I’ll post a little later this week! (All of the pics here are from the video.)

That NOLA smoked sausage is just irresistible, so you know I had to throw a little andouille in…I also made some changes to my “holy Trinity” ratio (holy Trinity is Louisiana’s catch phrase for onions, celery and peppers, which are key to their cooking) and added in a lot more okra to help thicken up my gumbo.

Thick, rich, spicy and hearty, but elegant enough to serve to dinner guests – little mini gumbo pot pies are a fun twist on an old favorite. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields 8 10-ounce ramekins

1 stick unsalted butter

¾ cup all-purpose flour

2 tbsps butter

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 green pepper, finely chopped

1 celery, finely chopped

1 fresno, finely chopped

1 (1/2 lb) andouille sausage, diced

4 or 5 garlic cloves, minced

Creole seasoning (recipe follows, a little over 4 tbsps)*

4 cups chicken stock

2 cups sliced okra

1/3 cup peas

½ cup heavy cream

2 dried bay leaves

½ cup sliced green onion

small handful of cilantro, finely chopped

small handful of parsley, finely chopped

1 lb mixed seafood (lump crab, rock or small shrimp, bay or small scallops, shelled lobster)**

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

lemon juice to taste

1 egg (beaten with a bit of cream or water)

2 sheets of puff pastry, thawed according to package directions

Procedure

Preheat oven to 400° F.

I like to start by making the roux since it takes some time to develop color. That is, melt butter in a heavy bottomed cast-iron pan (large enough) or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk. Continue to whisk at very frequent intervals (semi-constantly) for 15 to 20 minutes until the mixture has turned a deep chocolate brown. Be careful not to burn.

In a separate skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat and add onions and a bit of salt (to draw out the moisture). Cook for about 2 minutes and add peppers, celery. Cook for another 5 minutes, and push to veggies one side. Crank up the heat, and brown the sausage in that side of the pan. When browned, add minced garlic and creoled seasoning, mix in the veggies, and let cook for about 30 seconds to a minute until fragrant. Remove from heat, and, if the roux is ready (good timing!), add directly to the roux.

To the cooked roux, add the chicken stock and whisk to fully incorporate. Add the onion mixture as discussed, okra, peas, heavy cream, and bay leaves. Make sure none of the roux is stuck to the bottom or in the crevices of the pot. Bring mixture up to a boil and lower to a simmer for 20 minutes. You want it to thicken up, so leave it partially covered.

On a floured surface, roll out the puff pastry to about 1/8th of an inch thick. Using pastry cutters or a glass that’s larger than the diameter of your ramekins, cut out 8 circles. Make sure they are large enough to fit over top the ramekins.

To the gumbo, add the green onions, chopped herbs, and seafood. Adjust seasonings at this point, adding salt, pepper and a shot or two of lemon juice, if needed. Ladle gumbo evenly into ramekins.

Brush the tops of the ramekins on the outside with the egg wash. Place puff pastry circles on top, crimp to your desired effect, and brush entirely with the egg wash. Use a knife to make slits into the top to let the steam escape. Place ramekins on baking sheets and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the top is brown and crusty.

*Creole Seasoning:

1 tsps onion powder

2 tsps garlic powder

1 tsps dried oregano leaves

3/4 tsp dried sweet basil

1 tsps dried thyme leaves

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp white pepper

¼ tsp cayenne pepper (whatever you can stand!)

½ tsp celery seed

2 tsps sweet paprika

½ tsp ground mustard

**For the seafood, I like to use small pieces for a few reasons. (1) The seafood has to fit into the ramekins with room for all of the other great stuff, and (2) I only put the seafood in right before it goes into the oven – small pieces will cook perfectly (without overcooking) and pre-cooked items, like crab, don’t turn to mush. If you are using larger shrimp or decide to do this in a casserole dish rather than individual ramekins, adjust your cooking time accordingly.

Sumptuous Beef & Rice Casserole w/ Raw Mango Salad

The first time my mom made my husband pilau we were having a party at my place in NYC. There were around 25 people over, celebrating, drinking wine and eating standing up because I didn’t have enough chairs for everyone. The layout of my apartment is pretty open with the kitchen, dining, and living rooms all visible. No joke, at the end of his 4th helping of the dish, my husband stood up abruptly, pronounced my mom had purposefully “roofied” him…and promptly went to sleep on the couch in front of the other 20-some-odd people!

In the spirit of dishes that work well for the holidays, I thought I would put this recipe out since it’s a delicious communal or even potluck dish. Hanging with my parents this weekend meant my mom and I were seriously throwing down in the kitchen, and pilau was definitely on the menu. Typically, there’s so much “a little of this, a little of that” that it’s pretty close to impossible to get a solid recipe out of the whole affair. But I managed to pry this one out. And even with this dish, it takes a bit of intuition and a little praying to get the beef and the rice to be cooked perfectly at the same time. But it is so worth it. For me, it’s old school comfort food, a taste memory that dates back to my early childhood.

I did a little research, and pilau = pilaf which is actually Turkish! And this is extraordinarily exciting for me because I am planning a trip to Turkey later this year. Cannot wait to cook their version…Much like another rice casserole I’ve mentioned, biryani, this dish originated in Persia and can be found throughout the world, taking its individual form in different cultures. Afghani palau has carrots, raisins, and nuts; in parts of East Africa, coconut milk is included. And West Indian pelau is closer to their peas and rice with the inclusion of chicken or another protein.

This version is a true combination of my mom and I. The ingredients are largely hers, but I changed the technique to try to create the best textures and flavors possible. I made a raw mango salad to go along with it, which provides the perfect cool and acidic balance to the warmly spiced rice and beef that melts in your mouth. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields 6 to 8 servings

Pilau:

2 lbs beef chuck, cut into 1 ½ inch cubes

5 tbsps canola oil

1 stick of cinnamon

3 whole cloves

3 whole black peppercorns

3 whole cardamom pods, cracked open

1 ½ tsps cumin seeds

2 tsps black mustard seeds

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

1-3 green chilies, finely chopped

½ tsp grated ginger

½ tsp of ground cumin

¼ tsp of ground coriander

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 ½ bunches of fresh cilantro, chopped (including stems)

1 marrow bone (totally optional, I added it for extra flavor)

4 ½ cups light beef stock or beef stock + water

3 ½ cups of basmati rice

Salt and pepper to taste

Raw Mango Salad:

juice of 1 lime

2 ½ tsps rice wine vinegar

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp cayenne

1 raw mango, peeled, seeded and diced

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced

1 apple, peeled, seeded and diced

½ red onion, minced

2 small sweet red peppers, minced

4 to 6 mint leaves, chiffonade

small handful of cilantro, finely chopped

Procedure

For the Pilau:

Preheat the oven to 325° F.

Thoroughly wash the basmati rice until the water runs clear. You want to remove as much starch as possible. Set aside.

Heat a large Dutch oven over high heat. Liberally season the cubed beef. Add oil to the pot and sauté beef for 2 to 3 minutes in batches. You don’t want to overcrowd the pot or the meat won’t brown. Also, you don’t want to cook the beef all the way through – just enough to brown the outside. Using a slotted spoon, spoon beef onto an unlined plate and set aside.

Turn the heat down slightly to a medium heat and add all of the whole spices. When they start to pop, add onions, chilies, ginger, ground cumin and ground coriander and cook for 6 to 8 minutes. Lower the heat if necessary – you want the onions to turn translucent but not brown. Add the garlic and ½ of the chopped cilantro and cook for another minute. Add beef back to the pot along with any juices that have accumulated on the plate and the marrow bone if using.

This is where it gets slightly tricky. Pre-measure the 4 ½ cups of liquid – you can use a light stock, water or some combination of the two. You want to keep track of how much liquid you’ve added because the rice will become sticky if you end up adding too much and will be dry if not enough is used. Add liquid to the pot to just cover the meat. Place the lid on the pot, and turn the heat up. When the temperature comes up and it’s about to boil, place covered pot in the oven and cook for about 1 ½ hours or until the meat is fork tender.

Once meat is cooked, add rice and the remaining liquid to get to 4 ½ cups. Re-season if necessary and place back in the oven for another 30 to 35 minutes until rice is cooked and fluffy. Rice may take a little less or more time depending on the type of rice you are using, type of pot in which you are cooking, etc., so I would advise checking it at intervals.

When serving, use the other half of the chopped cilantro to garnish the top.

For the Raw Mango Salad:

Combine lime juice, rice wine vinegar, cayenne and salt in a small bowl to create a dressing.

In a separate bowl, toss together raw mango, cucumber, apple, red onion, sweet red pepper, mint and cilantro. Add dressing and adjust seasoning if necessary.

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Mini Gumbo Pot Pies (Take 2)

Sumptuous Beef & Rice Casserole w/ Raw Mango Salad