” There’s more of gravy than of grave about you, Whatever you are!”
— from Dickens’ A Christmas Carol

I spent a year trying to convince myself that some of the meat-based stews and soups I often cook were fine without meat. Vegan vegetable, hot and sour and cream of broccoli gave me no difficulty. Lentil soup and gumbo, however, tasted tart and were not recognizably the same.

When I was about 20 I used to bike, helmet-less and hardly touching the handlebars, from my day job as a draftsman in the NOLA CBD to my night job as a busboy at Turci’s restaurant. The ride was a couple of miles to a spot uptown, off Magazine, the future location of Leisure Landing record shop. They always gave us a free bowl of the most delicious lentil soup before our shift. I worked hard to recreate that recipe over time. I had it down but, without the smoked sausage, the soup was not the same.

Then I started adding pot liquor, the leftover liquid from pots of vegan Southern greens. I add oil, smoked paprika, garlic, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar to the water with the greens before cooking them down. A bit of vinegar and the resulting liquid is more than simply delicious.

Early in his career, my stepfather, a wonderful man who was instrumental in making Mississippi a better place for children, went out in the field to survey the state of little people’s health in rural areas. He was surprised to find that the children in the city were ailing compared to those in the country. It stumped him until he realized that the healthier babies’ mothers had filled their bottles with pot liquor! Pot liquor is rich in iron, vitamin C and vitamin K, among other things.

After the addition of pot liquor instead of plain water my lentil soup is no longer broken. I don’t even miss the sausage … much.

The gumbo, however, was a problem.

I’m from Louisiana. New Orleans was my first city, my friends there my first real family. If I couldn’t make a good vegan gumbo, this new healthy eating thing might have to go. I can enjoy gumbo without bits of sausage or shrimp, but only if the flavor is robust, gutsy and deeply true. It has to roll through my subconscious and bring me back to the archetype of my life over time. A rich workmanlike substrate with spices which lift you away from daily preoccupations and lend a vague subliminal sense of your dreams and those of your dining companions afloat on the oily surface, for an instant more plausible. Definitely more plausible.

A rich workmanlike substrate with spices which lift you away from daily preoccupations and lend a vague subliminal sense of your dreams and those of your dining companions afloat on the oily surface, for an instant more plausible.

This was a deal breaker.

Gumbo is better made days and days ahead. Restaurants in the parishes often have a huge pot going for longer, I imagine, than health inspectors would allow elsewhere. Health inspectors just like many people from the area, are first and foremost people from Louisiana, after which things like occupations, politics and religion are worn more or less like clothing. They are, in all likelihood, aware of the subtext. Food like this is serious and is more than what it seems.

I’ve found a stock which, when added to my gumbo recipe, feels right. I always thought people were acting a bit outré when they used the term, ‘umami.’ They aren’t and miso is more than a little amazing.

The best recipe for basic vegan stock I’ve found is one I’ve tweaked from this video.

Basically, cut leftover bits of onion, celery, peppers, garlic and other vegetables (avoiding the cruciferous) into smallish pieces. Mix 2 parts oil with 3 parts miso of any darkness in a quantity enough to lightly coat the vegetable pieces. Bake at 300 for about a half hour or until they begin to brown a bit. Cover with water at least an inch over and simmer until reduced. Freeze in small containers for stock. I sometimes use potato ends, cumin and hot peppers. Below are some pictures to help you along.

NOTE: All soups and stews benefit from a day or three’s rest in the fridge. This may be even more true for vegan mixtures. The lentil soup and gumbo, de-meatified, tastes decidedly better after resting a few days, or freezing and rethawing after even longer.