Food: The red hot chilli peppers

A gumbo is always thickened with a roux made with oil and flour unlike our butter and flour method which seems odd to most classically trained cooks, but it works and in fact you wouldn't know the difference. Note that what we call prawns are what Americans know as shrimp.

for the stock

500g raw prawns preferably with their heads on

1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

1tbsp vegetable oil

1tbsp tomato paste

A few sprigs of thyme

1 glass of white wine

10 black peppercorns

12tsp fennel seeds

2 litres fish stock (a good cube will do)

for the gumbo

3tbsp vegetable oil plus an extra one

4tbsp plain flour

1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 stick of celery, peeled if stringy and chopped into 12cm dice

1 green pepper, seeded and chopped into 12cm dice

200g okra, trimmed and thinly sliced

1 220g can chopped tomatoes, drained and the flesh chopped over a little

A few splashes of Tabasco

First make the stock. Remove the heads and shells from the prawns, de-vein them by running a knife down the back of the prawn and remove the black vein, then give them a wash. Put the meat in the fridge.

Chop the heads and shells up a bit and with the onion and garlic fry them in the vegetable oil on a high heat for a few minutes until they begin to colour. Add the tomato puree, white wine, peppercorns, fennel seeds and stock, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 1 hour. Remove from the heat and strain through a sieve, pushing as much through as possible with the back of a large spoon or ladle.

Meanwhile make the roux. In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat 3 tablespoons of the vegetable oil and stir in the flour. Cook on a low heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring every so often until the mixture turns a sandy colour. Remove from the heat and put to one side.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of vegetable oil in a heavy- bottomed saucepan and fry the onion, celery, green pepper and okra for 3-4 minutes until they soften. Add the roux, stir well and gradually add the shrimp (oops - I mean prawn) stock, canned tomatoes and juice. Season with a little salt and pepper, add a few drops of Tabasco and simmer for 1 hour. Add the prawns and cook for a further 5 minutes. Before serving, check the seasoning and add a little more Tabasco if you wish. E

Clockwise from top: Chicken and smoked sausage jambalaya; shrimp and okra gumbo; oysters Rockefeller

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