From The Princess and the Frog · 2009 · Reconstructed
Swamp Gumbo
Serve when
Serve it the way Naveen presents it — proudly, in the pumpkin it cooked in, on their last night as frogs.
In the movie
Theatrical
- 00:55:50 Deep in the bayou, Tiana puts Prince Naveen to work mincing mushrooms for a rustic gumbo cooked right in a hollowed-out pumpkin, teaching him to cook with whatever the swamp provides.
- 01:09:47 Naveen surprises Tiana with the finished gumbo at a candlelit bayou dinner he's set up himself — 'You minced!' — the dish he learned to make now his to serve.
This is the gumbo Tiana teaches Naveen to make with nothing but what the bayou hands them — mushrooms minced by a prince who's never held a knife, cooked in a pumpkin because that's the pot they've got. When he serves it back to her on their last night as frogs, it's proof the lesson took: a prince who couldn't cook learning to feed someone he loves, the same idea the whole film keeps returning to.
Ingredients
Method
- Make a roux with the oil and flour, stirring constantly over medium heat until deep brown — the color of an old copper penny, 15 to 20 patient minutes.
- Add the onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic; cook 5 minutes.
- Stir in the minced mushrooms and okra and cook a few minutes more.
- Whisk in the stock, add the bay and thyme, and simmer 30-40 minutes until thickened.
- Season with cayenne, salt, and pepper. For the full effect, warm the finished gumbo in a hollowed pumpkin shell before serving over rice.