Gumbo and Mardi Gras? Yep, they go together. Here are two recipes to get you started.

The month of February keeps the celebrations rolling.

Mardi Gras and Black History Month get events and parties started. Then comes Valentine’s Day, and now the last stretch of Mardi Gras and Black History Month is fast approaching.

Both events have their own special history and ways of observations. Common to both are foods from Cajun offerings to barbecue to grits and grillades to spicy pot of turnip greens and cornbread.

History is a large part of both February celebrations. The real South is diverse and ever changing and so are the foods that define it.

Chef Jackie Seavey of Island View Casino and other American Culinary Federation chefs are readjusting menus and the way foods are prepared for the new trends in food, especially plant-based foods.

A group of 28 black food bloggers, too, are focusing on vegan foods this year.

Blogger Kenneth Temple, www.kennethtemple.com/ , makes a vegetarian gumbo that he says is probably the first gumbos that were made. The key to his gumbo is file’ or ground sassafras leaves. Of course, seafood and meats also found their way into Cajun gumbo.

Along the Mardi Gras parade routes, revelers are cooking up pots of gumbo, jambalaya, crawfish and even some of the best-smelling burgers.

Where Mardi Gras first began can be the subject of a heated debate. Was New Orleans or Mobile or Biloxi, the site of the first Mardi Gras? The answer depends on which historian that is asked.

Much of the popular Mardi Gras fare comes from African slaves and French and Spanish settlers.

Gumbo in Cajun kitchens often uses file’, ground sassafras leaves, just like Temple uses in his gumbo.

Cajun and Creole foods make use of a variety of spices. Note how similar the vegetables, herbs and spices from Temple are to the ones used in the gumbo from Epicurious’s test kitchen.

Vega file okra gumbo

1 cup grapeseed oil plus more if needed

24 ounces small okra, sliced 1/4 inch, tops and bottoms removed

1 large onion, chopped medium

1 red bell pepper, chopped medium

3 stalks celery, chopped medium

1 tablespoon Creole seasoning

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons onion powder

6 garlic cloves, chopped small

2 tablespoons tomato past

2 bay leaves

5 fresh thyme sprigs

1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce

8 cups low-sodium vegetable stock

4 field roast Italian sausage, sliced 1/2-inch thick

2 teaspoons file’ powder plus more for garnish

3 cups of wild rice blend cooked

Turn on the heat to medium heat in a heavy bottom pot, add grapeseed oil, heat for 5 minutes, once hot, fry okra in batches and fry for 1 to 2 minutes. Place in a bowl lined with paper towels. Add onion, bell pepper and celery and cook for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add okra and stir a few times.

In a medium bowl add the Creole seasoning, kosher salt, black pepper, cayenne, white pepper, garlic powder and onion powder; mix. Season with vegetables with half the seasoning mix, stir vegetable mixture a few times. Add garlic, bay leaf and thyme sprigs; stir a few times.

Add tomato paste, stir to make sure it coats the vegetables. Add the remaining seasoning mix, vegan Worcestershire and vegetable stock, stir a few times and bring gumbo to a boil. Add Italian sausage and file powder, bring back to a boil then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 35 minutes.

Turn off the heat, taste and adjust seasoning; serve in individual bowls with a rice, add file’ at the dinner table. – Recipe by Kenneth Temple

Chicken and sausage gumbo

1 tablespoon kosher salt plus more

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs

1/2 cup or more vegetable oil

1 pound andouille or other spicy smoke sausage, cut into 1/2-inch rounds

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 medium onions, finely chopped

4 scallions, thinly sliced (white and pale parts separated from dark)

2 celery stalks, finely chopped

2 green bell peppers, finely chopped

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

8 cups low-salt chicken broth

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

2 cups (1/2-inch-thick) slices fresh (or frozen, thawed) okra, divided

1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon hot sauce (preferably Crystal)

1 teaspoon file’ powder plus more, optional

Combine 1 tablespoon salt and next 3 ingredients in a small bowl: sprinkle all over chicken. Heat ½ cup oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Working in batches, sear chicken until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. Add sauce to pot; cook until browned, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to plate with chicken.

Strain drippings from pot through fine-mesh sieve into a 2-cup heatproof measuring cup; reserve 1 cup drippings, adding more oil if needed to measure 1 cup. Wipe pot clean; return drippings to pot.

Heat drippings over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Whisk constantly until roux is the color of milk chocolate, 15 to 20 minutes. Reduce heat to low; add onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in white and pale-green parts of scallions and next 3 ingredients. Cook, stirring often, about 10 minutes.

Slowly whisk in broth. Add bay leaves, thyme and reserve chicken and sausage. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer gently, skimming fat from surface and stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes.

Stir in 1 cup okra, Worcestershire and hot sauce. Simmer until chicken is very tender and flavors meld, about 45 minutes. Stir in remaining 1 cup okra; simmer until okra is crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Season to taste with salt.

Note: Can be made 2 days ahead. Let cool slightly; chill uncovered until cold. Cover and keep chilled. Rewarm gently before continuing. Add 1 teaspoon file’ powder, if using.

Serve gumbo over rice. Garnish with dark-green parts of scallions. Sprinkle with more file’ powder if desired. – Recipe from Epicurious in 2012

Wanted: C&D’s recipe

Robert M. Petersen of Biloxi has a friend who wants the shrimp remoulade recipe from the old C&D Gumbo House in Gulfport.

Readers, do any of you have this recipe? Or perhaps someone who worked there does? If so, please e-mail or call me with the recipe.

Andrea Yeager can be reached at ayeager51@cableone.net/ and Cooks Exchange, 205 DeBuys Road, Gulfport, MS 39507.

This story was originally published February 16, 2020 at 12:00 AM.