This spicy blend of fish, shrimp, and okra isn’t at all difficult to make, but the timing of each ingredient added must be adhered to precisely, because cooking times are brief and overcooking ruins the dish. This is an elegant, rather expensive blend that is low in calories but high in flavor. It is served over plain steamed white rice to provide a little substance to the meal. A cheese course to follow and then a light dessert should keep your guests more or less on the path of diet righteousness. Serves eight to 10.
4 lbs. cod fillet
1 lb. medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. ground coriander
1/8 tsp. dried jalapeno (Spice Islands)
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
4 cups fish bouillon (see note 1)
2 cups dry white wine
1 large can peeled Italian plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1/4 tsp. dried jalapeno
Salt to taste
16 oz. frozen baby okra (see note 2)
2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley
8 cups cooked white long grain rice
Note 1: If you haven’t any homemade fish fumet (stock), there are very good fish bouillon cubes made by Knorr and available in most supermarkets.
Note 2: Okra is easier to slice if it is only half thawed. Fresh okra is, of course, preferable, but it is hard to come by in winter.
Cut the fish into one-and-a-half inch chunks. Shell and devein the shrimp and put them in a plastic baggie, which should be closed securely and refrigerated. Mince the garlic and add to it the cumin, coriander, and quarter-teaspoon of dried jalapeno. Mix this to a paste with one-quarter cup water, then massage the paste into the fish chunks, put them in a bowl, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let it marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes, then refrigerate until needed.
Heat the oil in a large, heavy casserole and add the chopped onion. Cover and simmer the onions over very low heat about five minutes, until transparent. Add fish bouillon, wine, chopped tomatoes and their juices, bay leaf, the remaining dried jalapeno. Simmer briefly and add salt to taste. Cover and simmer 20 minutes.
Add sliced okra and cook five minutes after the stew returns to the boil. Stir in the fish chunks and simmer five minutes longer — when the fish is barely opaque. Add the shrimp, stir gently and simmer one minute. Turn off the heat, move the casserole to a cold burner, and let the gumbo steep, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Reheat over medium flame but do not boil because the fish will disintegrate, the shrimp toughen, and the okra will lose its slight crunchiness. Spoon three-quarters of a cup of rice into the bottom of each soup plate and ladle the gumbo over it. Sprinkle each serving with parsley. Because of the various delicate textures, this dish doesn’t freeze or even reheat very successfully.
