Gumbo Ya Ya

This dish is our reverse engineering of the gumbo ya ya served at the Ivy on Robertson Blvd in Beverly Hills. It may not be an exact version, but it is true to the original in spirit and savor.

This dish is a great way to get rid of a heap of duck or goose stock. When you make confit you wind up with a pile of duck carcasses. To make duck stock, dump these carcasses, the wings and any other parts you don't need for the confit or other dishes, into a stock pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and let simmer for a couple of hours. Then strain out the skin, bones and other such and keep the good stock for this gumbo.

To make our version of gumbo ya ya:

1. boil 2 cups of black eyed peas in enough water to cover until they are tender
2. peel five or six stalks of celery and chop them into slices, dice a couple of medium onions, dice up a variety of peppers, red, green, jalapeno as you choose
3. cut up 1/4 pound of pancetta, Irish bacon, or even regular bacon, then cook this up on the bottom of a stock pot - add a bit of olive oil if your bacon is made from low fat pigs
4. add the vegetables to the cooked bacon and cook them until soft
5. add a teaspoon of thyme or marjoram, a bay leaf,, a tablespoon of good red chile powder, a teaspoon or two of file gumbo, and a pound of okra with the ends cut off (frozen is fine); stir and cook everything together
6. add in the duck stock, a big can of whole peeled tomatoes, and a cup of rice
7. let cook for about 45 minutes to an hour so the flavors can marry
8. in a frying pan, cook up a pound of andouille sausage (pork or turkey), slice them into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces and add them to the gumbo

Adjust the flavors, adding thyme or marjoram, tabasco, file gumbo, salt, pepper and other goodies to taste.