Leah Chase's Gumbo z'Herbes recipe
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ต.ค. 2024
- Every Holy Thursday since the early 1950s, just about seven decades, Leah Chase has stirred up a gumbo z’herbes like none other. I must have been one of the lucky people who were represented in making a new friend for every green added to her huge pot. That adds up to a whole big bunch of friends for Miss Leah.
Get the recipe here: www.wwltv.com/...
Great way to honor Ms Leah. Thank you Kevin and WWL.
This is a type of Callaloo. It is a dish of cooked greens that is consumed in different versions throughout the Afro-Caribbean diaspora. Greens and different types of Spinach is an important part of African cuisine.
The history of gumbo z’herbes is not West Africa or the Caribbean. The history of gumbo z’herbes is from France and Germany. The real name of gumbo z’herbes is gombo aux herbes in Louisiana French. The name comes from the green soup from France called potage aux herbes. It’s a green soup.
When making gumbo z’herbes, it’s traditionally eaten on Holy Thursday and to use usually 7 types of greens when making it. In Germany, there is a green soup that uses 7 greens to make and is eaten specifically on Holy Thursday called seven green soup (Sieben Kräutersuppe) and in some parts of Germany it’s called green Thursday soup (Gründonnerstagsuppe). Both the french and German soups are green soups and are similar to each other and both are the origin of the Louisiana version.
The name of gumbo z’herbes comes from the french green soup which is the original origin of gumbo z’herbes. The influence from the 7 green Holy Thursday German soup also comes from blending of styles with the french soup, the number of greens used and it being eaten on Holy Thursday. And because in Louisiana, a gumbo is usually a class of soup-stew creations, the name gumbo was used in place of potage for the name gombo aux herbes. Gombo z’herbes is written with a z because it’s based on phonetic French pronunciation of aux + herbes. This history is verified in historic literature from Louisiana. The french were in Louisiana since 1699 and the Germans were in Louisiana since 1721 and both were colonial Louisiana populations.
@@IslenoGutierrez I am quite familiar with this theory but it is incorrect. Africans have traditionally eaten soups made from greens and the enslaved Africans and their descendants continued this tradition but also adopted Catholic religious practices. The late Mrs Leah Chase shared the traditional Gumbo story when speaking about her Gumbo but she also recognized its similarity to the Callaloo of the Caribbean.
Gumbo Z'herbes originated from the Afro-Creole persons of Louisiana. Gumbo Z'herbes is a relative of the green soups eaten in Africa and throughout the African diaspora. Relatives of this gumbo include the Callaloo which is found throughout the French and Spanish speaking countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. The spelling and preparation of this soup differ slightly according to region but it is always made of various greens cooked with crabs and/or salted meats.
In Africa salted dried seafood such as shrimp, fish and sea snails are also used as flavorings. Most countries in the Caribbean use Amaranth leaves or Taro leaves but cassava, sweet potato and the leaves of other root vegetables can be used.
In Martinique there is also the Soup z'habitant which uses a blend of greens and vegetables. Other Caribbean names for this green soup include Pepperpot (Antigua and Jamaica). The Pepperpot of Guyana is not in this category.
There is a reason why Collard greens are an essential part of soul food. It is innate within all African diaspora communities to have a soup made of one or several "greens". Potlickker is another North American version of the greens soup.
If you look outside of Louisiana you will notice that versions of the Louisiana Creole foods are found throughout the African diaspora and just a few states across in South Carolina.
The West African greens soups are too many to list but you can look up Pondu/ Saka-Saka as a start. It is a speciality from the Congo. Congolese enslaved were also sent to Louisiana and of course you are aware of Congo Square. Take some time to research West African and Latin American and Caribbean food on TH-cam or elsewhere and you will soon discover that the roots of the renowned Louisiana Creole foods are not European.
The literature concerning the cuisine of Louisiana was crafted during the era of slavery. The enslaved were seen as witless tools not a group of intelligent persons who came with their own traditions and knowledge. This present age of enlightenment and the resources available via the internet has provided more than enough evidence supported by historical documents to reveal that the palates of the European Creoles and Acadians were "colonized" by the enslaved West African cooks.
@@lizabetx483 The cuisine of south Louisiana is multicultural. It has elements of European, African and Native American influences and all of these peoples formed it with those influences that blended together. It’s been called the Creole cuisine for hundreds of years stretching back to colonial Louisiana times. Creole means “non-indigenous native-born local person of any race, their culture and cuisine” and historically features on the descendants of colonial Louisiana of any race except Amerindians. So references to Cajun cuisine are false since Cajuns are white Louisiana Creoles that adopted the identity Cajun in the 1960’s and before that were called Creoles that cook and eat Creoke cuisine because it’s the same multicultural cuisine across south Louisiana but with regional differences.
As for gumbo z’herbes, there is no evidence that ties this soup to Africa. Just because similar soups in other places may have a tie to Africa, doesn’t make this one to. There is substantial evidence that gumbo z’herbes is a descendant of both potage aux herbes from France and Gründonnerstagsuppe from Germany. For one, there is the name, Potage aux herbes. Potage was clearly replaced by the word gumbo/gombo due to a gumbo being a class of soup-stews in Louisiana. It’s a famous soup in France. There is also the fact that gumbo z’herbes is made usually with 7 or 9 greens. Well, potage aux herbes is traditionally made with 9 greens/herbs. The German green soup is traditionally made with 7 greens/herbs. Another name for the German green soup is 7 green soup. Then there is the fact that gumbo z’herbes is traditionally eaten on Holy Thursday, the same as the German green soup. In fact, the name Gründonnerstagsuppe means green Thursday soup in German. These hints are undeniably at the origin of gumbo z’herbes and historians have noted this. This level of evidence does not exist for African influence on gumbo z’herbes, it just doesn’t. You’re pointing to unrelated soups with unrelated names and cultural characteristics, solely because they contain greens which is ridiculous. I mean there are soups across Europe that use greens as well. But that’s not the only factor. I’m pointing to soups with the near same name and cultural characteristics such as 7 or 9 greens and eaten on Holy Thursday pointing to clear descent. There is no way these are coincidence, not in a thousand years.
And just the same, the palates of African slaves were “colonized” by Europeans as well. This was a two-way street. Items like roux, the holy trinity (onion, celery, bell pepper), smoked sausage, andouille, tasso, chaurice (hot sausage/hot link), creole mustard and many others are testament to this. Dishes like fricassée, Sauce Piquante, Courtbouillon, shrimp Creole, Jambalaya, stuffed mirliton, étouffée, meat pies, crawfish pies, crawfish bisque, boudin, cracklings, blackened redfish, shrimp remoulade, charbroiled oysters, muffalettas, bbq shrimp, crawfish pasta, cochon de lait, poboys, ponce/chaudin, baked macaroni, smothered cabbage etc. are testament to European influence and creation in south Louisiana cuisine. I’m not here to take away from African contributions as there were some also and I know which ones there were, but we must be truthful here and say south Louisiana cuisine is completely multicultural and was not formed mostly by any single ethnic group.
As for South Carolina, they clearly have borrowed our dishes. The trinity and smoked sausage in the food is a characteristic of south Louisiana cuisine, a trademark even, not South Carolina cuisine. It’s absent from historical recipes in the South Carolina while it exists in historical Louisiana recipes. They have several dishes that incorporate these ingredients and are clear carbon copies of Louisiana dishes. There was active slave trade between New Orleans and the Carolinas well into the 19th century and the fact that recipes and witness accounts for these Louisiana dishes in question predate those in south Carolina with similarities.
But back to subject, south Louisiana is a multicultural cuisine that belongs to all of us Louisianians here in south Louisiana. Gumbo z’herbes just happens to be one of French and German origin as the evidence dictates and is undeniable. It’s not coincidence that gumbo z’herbes uses 7 or 9 greens exactly the same as the French and German soups, is eaten traditionally on Holy Thursday exactly the same as the German soup and has nearly the same name as the French soup. Gumbo z’herbes is also listed in historic literature from the historic records of the Old Ursuline Convent in New Orleans as being “a soup of French origin” (pointing to the potage aux herbes of France as its ancestor).
The recipe is in Mrs. Chases' Dookey Chase Cookbook written in 1990. When I learned that she passed away, I ordered the book and made this gumbo. It's a lot of work to clean and chop all of those greens, but its worth it. Serve it to a crowd...it makes a lot and everyone will be happy.
I want to be a chef and i want to be as good as Leah Chase
Go for it Jay, you can be Anything you’d like... if you can believe it then you can achieve it❣️
@@back2beauty985rhgo ❤
The history of gumbo z’herbes is from France and Germany. The real name of gumbo z’herbes is gombo aux herbes in Louisiana French. The name comes from the green soup from France called potage aux herbes. It’s a green soup.
When making gumbo z’herbes, it’s traditionally eaten on Holy Thursday and to use usually 7 types of greens when making it. In Germany, there is a green soup that uses 7 greens to make and is eaten specifically on Holy Thursday called seven green soup (Sieben Kräutersuppe) and in some parts of Germany it’s called green Thursday soup (Gründonnerstagsuppe). Both the french and German soups are green soups and are similar to each other and both are the origin of the Louisiana version.
The name of gumbo z’herbes comes from the french green soup which is the original origin of gumbo z’herbes. The influence from the 7 green Holy Thursday German soup also comes from blending of styles with the french soup, the number of greens used and it being eaten on Holy Thursday. And because in Louisiana, a gumbo is usually a class of soup-stew creations, the name gumbo was used in place of potage for the name gombo aux herbes. Gombo z’herbes is written with a z because it’s based on phonetic French pronunciation of aux + herbes. This history is verified in historic literature from Louisiana. The french were in Louisiana since 1699 and the Germans were in Louisiana since 1721 and both were colonial Louisiana populations.
Meat? I like Mr. Belton, but this dish is traditionally served during Lent. Of course, it's not solely Lenten fare, so go for it. Also, y'all didn't mention Dr.John. He and Dooky both passed about a week apart.
This doesn't look good or sound good!🤷🏾♀️
Don't let the way it looks fool ya baby. Its so good
Doesn’t look good, looks amazing
@richhester84 And very nutritious.