Sausage Gumbo

Like Louisiana cuisine in general, gumbo is all about mixing, matching, blending, and creating something glorious from sundry elements. Both Cajun and Creole, gumbo’s cooking canon has only a few rules: It should contain rice (cooked separately and added after the soup itself is made); it should start with a roux made of flour and fat (preferably lard); and it must be thickened as it cooks, using either okra or filé powder. All gumbos are loaded with ingredients, so the term sausage gumbo means only that disks of sausage are a prominent feature, along with maybe duck or chicken or perhaps even seafood.