ST LOUIS - FEAST DAY 25th AUGUST

ST LOUIS IX

FEAST DAY 25 AUGUST

RECIPE FOR GUMBO – FOOD OF LOUISIANA

Louis IX was crowned king of France in 1226, at the age of 12 upon the death of his father, Louis VIII. His mother, Blanche of Castile, was politically astute and no shrinking violet, having dealt decisively with the internecine wars and rebellions afflicting France at the time, and obtaining victory in the Albigensian Crusade.

Queen Blanche acted as regent on Louis’ behalf until he came of age. She chose tutors to educate Louis suitably for a king, teaching Latin, writing and speaking with dignity and grace in public, the arts of government and the military arts. He learned riding and hunting, biblical history, geography and literature. She attended to his religious education, instilling in him a reverence for matters of virtue, saying to him: “I love you, my dear son, with all the tenderness with which a mother is capable; but I would infinitely rather see you fall down dead at my feet, than you should ever commit a mortal sin.” https://www.stlouiskingoffrance.org/our.../saint-louis-ix/

He is esteemed as a just king, with a reputation for fairness and moral integrity. He was a reformer of the French Royal judicial system, in which the king was the supreme judge to whom all could appeal for the amendment of injustice at a local level – (for an example of this appellate system, see the film “Ridicule” (1996), directed by Patrice Leconte). He banned trials by ordeal, ameliorated the private wars that had divided the country and introduced the presumption of innocence to criminal procedure.

Under his patronage, Robert de Sorbonne built in Paris the university which bears his name. Katharine Burton, in her and Helmut Ripperger’s, “Feast Day Cookbook”, (Catholic Authors Press), relates a story where Louis IX had St Thomas Aquinas as a guest, to dine at the palace.

Louis died of the plague while on the second crusade, at the age of fifty-five. He had been a good husband and father, devoted to his wife, Marguerite of Provence, and to his eleven children. His mother, Blanche of Castile, was at his side, ready to counsel him and sometimes to act as his cook. Katherine Burton says, “for with her own hands, she was wont to prepare for Louis his favourite dish of Lampreys, or eels.” The recipe chosen by Ms Burton for his feast day was a recipe dated 1658 by Le Sieur de La Varenne, of Pate d’Anguilles (Eel Pate).

I have elected not to reproduce the recipe for eels as a feast day dish, although it is available for diligent researchers at the abovementioned book, at p. 117.

Instead, I will set out a recipe for Gumbo, as a dish for which the state of Louisiana in the United States is justly famous, Louisiana having been named after the saintly King.

GUMBO

INGREDIENTS

Duck fat

7 Chicken drumsticks

7 Bone-in chicken breasts, with skin on

½ cup olive oil

½ cup dry white wine

Speck or Pancetta, diced

1 Toulouse/Andouille sausage

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1 cup coarsely chopped celery

1 green capsicum, coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

Okra

Cajun seasoning

Cayenne pepper

Paprika

Tabasco (2 tablespoons)

Chicken stock

4 bay leaves

2 thyme sprigs

1 can tomatoes

2 tablespoons white vinegar

Tapioca (Arrowroot) flour

METHOD

1 Peel back the skin from the chicken breasts and drumsticks without removing the skin and make deep cuts in the meat. Sprinkle the Cajun seasoning into the cuts and rub on the meat and then replace the skin.

2 Whisk the ½ cup olive oil and white wine together and marinate the chicken in the mixture for one hour in the fridge.

3 Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade and discard the marinade.

4 Heat 2 tablespoons of the duck fat in a large casserole over medium- high heat. Fry the chicken skin-side down in batches, turning once until golden brown. Transfer to a plate.

5 Add the Toulouse sausage, and fry with chopped speck or pancetta. Transfer to a plate with the chicken.

6 Place onion, green capsicum and celery into the casserole and cook until onion is softened. Put onion mixture aside.

7 Add Tapioca flour (Arrowroot) and stir continuously until a thin paste forms. Add onion mixture. Add tomato, thyme, bay leaf, smoked Paprika and cayenne pepper.

8 Return sausage and pancetta/speck to pan and stir until simmering.

9 Add stock, saffron and chicken, bring to the boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low-medium and simmer until juices run clear when chicken is pierced (20-25 minutes).

10 Meanwhile, place duck fat in a skillet and cook the okra, sliced lengthways, with vinegar for 15minutes. Remove the okra with a slotted spoon and stir into the gumbo. Add Tabasco at this point if wanted.

11 Simmer for 45 minutes or so. Remove the chicken off the bone and return to the gumbo.

12 Cook rice and serve with the gumbo. You can add chopped green onions or shallots sprinkled over.