GUMBO YA YA RECIPE RECIPES

Steps:

• Wash greens thoroughly (several times if necessary) and strip leaves away from the stems. Discard stems.
• Rough chop the greens and add them to a tall stockpot and cover with water.
• Add the onion and garlic, stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Scoop greens out of the cooking liquid (you'll want to reserve 2 quarts of the liquid) and set aside 2 cups of drained greens. Puree the remaining greens in a food processor and set aside.
• In a heavy bottomed Dutch oven or pot, heat the bacon fat and/or oil and stir in the flour; cook, stirring constantly until the mixture turns the color of peanut butter.
• Add the chopped onion, bell pepper and celery and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
• Scoop out 2 cups of the cooking liquid and begin slowly stirring that into the roux, until well blended; continue until you have added 2 quarts of the liquid to the roux.
• Add the pureed greens, plus the reserved whole greens to the pot, and stir in the seasonings. If you are doing completely meat free, stop here and simply allow the gumbo to simmer. If you are using a ham bone or ham hocks, add those here.
• Cut any other meat you are using into equal sized pieces, and sauté in a separate skillet with a bit of canola oil. Add the meat and pan drippings to the pot of greens.
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 1-1/2 hours. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
• Serve over hot rice, sprinkle with filé, if desired, and pass hot peppers and hot sauce at the table. Freezes beautifully.