Selvin's Specialty Gumbo

A note from the chef: When I called Chris Strachwitz of Arhoolie Records to ask permission to use his Clifton Chenier recordings with the gumbo instructional video, he was outraged. He didn't care that we might pirate his music, but he was furious that I would represent this muddled creation as real gumbo. "It's inauthentic," he sniffed, his voice rich with disdain.

Now Chris Strachwitz knows something about Louisianne culture. He not only produced many records by Clifton Chenier, the Savoy-Doucet Band and all those others, he's logged so much time in the bayous, he practically qualifies as coon-ass. He's never eaten my gumbo -- many certified Louisiana prawnsuckers have and found it not without merit -- but he was unmoved by my arguments.

"It sounds like one of those New Orleans gumbos," he said.

Actually, the recipe I prepare is a jumbled combination of things -- and I never said it was authentic. It most definitely isn't. My recipe developed over the years. I stole the idea of grinding the sausage, for instance, from a bowl I ate in a North Beach joint many years ago. Gumbo was on the menu as a daily special because the chef was from Louisiana. I don't know who taught him to grind his sausage.

Strachwitz takes a very harsh view of people messing with regional American folk traditions and I want to support that viewpoint. Although there are many variations on the basic Louisiana gumbo -- and, in fact, every pot, to a certain degree, turns out its own way no matter what you do -- there are purists.

Call it an homage. Call it an improvisation, a meditation based on the concept of gumbo. Call it anything but late for dinner. -- J.S.

Dredge chicken cubes in seasoned flour. Brown chicken in cast iron Dutch Oven (stick-free surfaces don't make it for gumbo).

Remove chicken. Ladle off some of the chicken fat; add bacon fat, if you've got it (vegetable oil can be used, but bacon fat is especially tasty).

To make the roux, add flour to cooking oils (one part flour for one part oil) and cook briskly at high heat, stirring constantly. The idea is to cook the flour, not burn it, and let it go until the color of the paste moves past milk chocolate to chestnut. Be patient -- this can take quite awhile, but reaching the right color is key to a good roux.

Once roux critical mass is achieved -- when it turns to a dark brown chestnut color -- dump in the vegetables, which will quickly absorb the roux.

Cook until onions and peppers soften. Coarsely grind sausage in food processor and add to pot. Let cook another five minutes or so. Add tomatoes and okra and cook another five minutes.

Return the chicken and spice to taste with salt, three peppers and thyme (I leave off blasting the dish with red pepper and opt for adding hot sauce after serving -- I think the gumbo should have a slight snap, some authority, but not bite back).

Cover with chicken broth and simmer 40-60 minutes. Add shrimp for the final 15 minutes. (Shrimp are not essential; sometimes I ladle out a panful before adding the shrimp in case somebody is allergic to or doesn't like seafood).

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