Gumbo

Gumbo is a stew popular along the United States Gulf Coast, with the New Orleans style recognized as Louisiana's official state cuisine. It originated in Louisiana in the early eighteenth century, blending Central and West African, French, German, Spanish and Native American Choctaw culinary practices. The dish is built from a stock, the Creole holy trinity of celery, bell peppers and onions, and a thickening agent, which may be okra, file powder made from ground sassafras leaves, or a roux of flour and fat, with roux now the most common choice. Vegetables are cooked down first, followed by meat or sausage such as andouille, simmered for at least three hours, with seafood added near the end since it cooks quickly, and the finished stew is traditionally ladled over rice to stretch its portions.