SOUP

Serve with Bethel Heights Gewurztraminer

Heat ½ cup vegetable oil in dutch oven until very hot.

Add one half cup flour and whisk over high heat constantly until roux is dark reddish brown (don’t let it burn).

Remove roux from heat and add the following at once:

• 1 cup chopped bell pepper
• ½ cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped onion

Sauté on medium heat 4 to 5 minutes until vegetables soften.

Add one large can chopped tomatoes. Bring to smooth consistency and set aside.

Prepare in separate bowl this spice mix:

• 1 ts cayenne pepper
• 1 Tb dried thyme
• 1 Tb basil seed (or dried basil)
• 1 ts filé (can omit, but it is gumbo!)
• 1 or 2 bay leaves
• 1 Tb black pepper
• ¼ cup chopped parsley
• Salt to taste

Add to the roux and sauté several minutes to bring up the flavors.

Add 1 or more kielbasa sausage (turkey), diced in small pieces or discs. (Optional: omit if you want all seafood.)

Bring 5 cups of stock to a boil. Use about 4 cups low fat chicken stock and 1 cup clam broth. Add more clam broth and/or a little white wine toward the end to bring the gumbo to the consistency you like. I use about 7 cups total.

Add hot stock slowly to roux, stirring between additions. Soup should be thick, but not too thick; final consistency should be somewhere between vegetable and split pea.

Cover soup and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add seafood:

• 1½ lb rock shrimp
• 1½ lb mussels in shell (see note below)
• 1 lb salmon chunks (or other solid white fish such as halibut or snapper)
• 1½ lb scallops (cut in half or quarters if using sea scallops)
• Crab meat (optional)

Add to simmering broth, in above order with just a minute separating. Simmer until everything is hot, and mussels open. Serve immediately. About four minutes total time.

Serves 10 or 11 as a first course.

Mussels are tricky: Even after scrubbing and cutting away visible beards, after they open, some may have sand inside, beards still attached, etc. For this dish, I would buy the ones that are cleaned and flash cooked – a relatively new phenomenon. Add just before the scallops, if using. Or, I would cook mussels separately in simmering water, and add back after you have ensured they are clean and open.

To make this heartier fare, add up to 1 cup cooked rice or risotto.

Here is another idea for Gewurztraminer.

For an appetizer course:

• Good crusty bread
• Muenster cheese, mild but pungent
• Apple slices, cantaloupe, or green grapes