Gumbo, Grits, and Hushpuppies

Do y’all ever form an entire recipe around ingredients in your kitchen that you need to eat before they go bad?  I do this a lot, and this recipe is no exception.  I had a lot of corn and almond meal to get through, so I decided to make Cajun classic with grits and hushpuppies on the side.  Gumbo actually has African origins, and its identifying factor is the trio of vegetables it contains: onion, celery, and bell pepper.  I added carrots as well because I love carrots, but they are not necessary for the dish.  The hushpuppies recipe I got from the Vegan 8, so be sure to visit her site for that!

Ingredients

• 1 cup chickpeas, soaked
• 1 cup kidney beans, soaked
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3-5 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1-3 carrots, chopped
• 3-5 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 L vegetable broth
• 1 Tbsp. Cajun seasoning
• ½ tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2-3 Tbsp. mild miso paste
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 bag frozen okra (or frozen broccoli if okra is hard to find)
• Green onion, chopped for garnish
• 1 cup white corn meal for grits

Method

1. Add the beans, tomatoes, onion, garlic, carrots, celery, bell peppers, broth, and seasoning into the Instant Pot
2. Add enough water to cover the ingredients
3. Close and seal the Instant Pot
4. Press “Manual” and set the time to 23 minutes
5. After the timer goes off, let the pot depressurize for 10-15 minutes
6. Open the seal to “Venting”
7. Blend half of the soup with an immersion blender (or spoon half of the soup into a blender) until it reaches the desired consistency
8. Garnish with green onions and hot sauce
9. Add the white corn meal and 4 cups of water to a pot and heat on the stove
10. Stir constantly until the corn meal reaches a thick consistency
11. Add salt to taste
12. Serve soup and grits with hushpuppies, recipe from the Vegan 8
13. Enjoy!