Archived Article By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published April 14, 2006 Click here for the current edition Today's The Day For  Gumbo z'Herbes Gumbo z'herbes is the least common of the three traditional gumbos we eat in New Orleans, and it's nothing the other two. For one thing, it doesn't usually contain a roux. In its most rigorously-constituted form, it contains no meat and perhaps even no seafood. This is penitential gumbo for Lenten eating. The name is a contraction of gumbo aux herbes--gumbo with greens. The more different greens it contains, the better the gumbo z'herbes. The tradition says that you must have an odd number of greens in there or risk bad luck. Whatever number of different greens you use will be the number of new friends you'll make before next Easter. More gumbo z'herbes is served during Holy Week than all the rest of the year combined. Depending on family tradition, one cooks gumbo z'herbes on either Holy Thursday or Good Friday. The city's most famous gumbo z'herbes has been served for decades at Dooky Chase's, on Orleans at N. Miro. There, Leah Chase made cauldrons of her version of the stuff, which uses quite a bit of meat. "This is the day of the Last Supper," she says, "so we take a break from the seafood." Dooky Chase is out of action right now, another victim of the storm. The gumbo was served, though--at Muriel's, which stepped up and offered to stand in for Dooky's yesterday, Dooky's traditional day for gumbo z'herbes. The proceeds to Mrs. Chase, who will use them to rebuild her historic restaurant. If you want to act like a real Creole, wherever you are, eat a bowl of gumbo z'herbes today.  I developed a new-style version of it for my cookbook; that recipe appears below. © 2006 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com