Trip to the USA: Sweet Potato & Smoked Pepper Gumbo Recipe

Gastronomic adventure on the horizon! Destination: Louisiana, United States of America to taste the gumbo that is the official and emblematic dish of this state. Follow our recipe of Sweet Potato & Smoked Pepper Gumbo and travel with your taste buds.

Today your taste buds land in Louisiana, USA! Louisiana is an American state located in the southeast of the country which, since the 18th century has stood out as a multicultural region (French, African, American and French-Canadian cultures) that is reflected in the creole and cajun cultures.

Gumbo is a typical Louisiana recipe that originated around the 19th century and is the most famous dish of this state. It’s thought that its name came from Africa through Louisiana French (a term for the dialects and varieties of French spoken traditionally in Colonial Louisiana).

This is a dish that crosses class barriers, appearing on the tables of poor or rich people. Its ingredients may vary, but gumbo consists of a strong and thick broth made with the creole “holy trinity”: celery, pepper and onion.

Curious? Then try the Sweet Potato & Smoked Pepper Gumbo: the secret of this recipe is the smokey, deep, full-bodied flavours from a blend of spices that slowly soak into the sweet potato and stock throughout the cooking. Made colourful with the addition of tricolour peppers, this sharing dish is vibrant and punchy whilst also being comforting and healthy. Travel to the USA with a steaming bowl of gumbo that is one of life's greatest pleasures!

Sweet Potato & Smoked Pepper Cumbo

Difficulty: Average
Preparation Time: less than 30 minutes
Cook Time: less than 1 hour
Serves: 4-6
Main Ingredients: Vegetables

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp smoked rapeseed oil
• 1 large red onion, finely diced
• 2 large celery sticks, finely diced
• 1 green pepper, roughly chopped
• 1 yellow pepper, roughly chopped
• 1 jar roasted red peppers, drained & roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp dried mixed herbs
• 1 tbsp chipotle paste
• 1 tbsp smoked, sweet paprika
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 1 l vegetable stock, hot
• 550 g sweet potato, peeled & chopped into large pieces
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 6 sprigs of thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• Sea salt & cracked black pepper

To serve:

• Small bunch of parsley, roughly chopped
• 90 g white or brown rice

Method of preparation:

1. Heat the oil frying pan over medium heat. Fry the finely chopped onion and celery for 5 minutes until it starts to soften. Then add the chopped peppers and fry for a further minute.
2. Sprinkle in the mixed herbs before stirring through the chipotle paste, then add the paprika, cayenne pepper and garlic and fry for 2 minutes.
3. Stir in the flour, coating all the ingredients in the flour and spices whilst ensuring it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the casserole.
4. Pour in the hot stock and add the sweet potato chunks. Stir through the maple syrup combining all the ingredients before adding the thyme and bay leaves. Season with a little salt (depending on how salty your stock is) and plenty of cracked black pepper.
5. Allow the gumbo to gently simmer with the lid off to allow the gumbo to reduce, if the sauce is reducing too quickly, turn down the heat and place on the lid. Simmer over low to medium heat for 45 minutes until the sweet potato is cooked through and the sauce has reduced and become thick and glossy.
6. Season again as necessary before sprinkling the dish with freshly chopped parsley and serve with boiled rice.

Tips:

• This dish isn’t exclusively sweet potato and peppers, you can try adding butternut squash or a can of red beans. It won't be as traditional, but it’ll make it more nutritious and make it for more people or meals.
• The cayenne pepper adds a spicy touch to the dish. If you don't like spicy, don't use the cayenne pepper and make sure you use sweet paprika.
• Smoked oil is recommended for this recipe, but not essential if you can't find it. Its aromatic flavour helps to further enhance the smoky notes of the recipe.
• Gumbo can also be made with combinations of meat (chicken, duck, rabbit...) or seafood (oysters, prawns, crab...). The gumbos that people are most familiar with today are seafood gumbo and chicken gumbo with sausage.

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