A gumbo of many greens — the more kinds, the more friends you'll make in the year — traditionally eaten on Holy Thursday. The most vegetable-dense, deeply West African dish in the gumbo family.
Gumbo z'herbes is the Lenten gumbo of Black Creole New Orleans, tied to Holy Thursday and to the African and Catholic blending that defines the culture. The folk belief — that each green is a friend you'll make in the coming year — makes the pot itself a blessing.
Built on a wide variety of greens — collards, mustards, turnip tops, spinach, watercress, cabbage, beet tops and more — gumbo z'herbes is among the most micronutrient-dense dishes in the entire Black American canon: enormous vitamin K, A, folate, iron, fiber, and potassium. Made meatless and with a light roux, it is a genuine cardiovascular and metabolic ally.
Cook down an odd number of different greens (an old tradition holds the count should be odd), reserve the pot likker, build a roux and the trinity, then return greens and likker and simmer with seasoning. Use a light or dry-toasted roux, lean on smoked turkey or keep it fully vegetarian for Lent, and serve over brown rice to keep all that micronutrient density working for you.
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