Fresh Fields Market, 11660 Plaza America Dr., Reston, 703/736-0600.

Big Easy Seafood Okra Gumbo

This gumbo doesn't use a roux for thickening; it's thickened with okra and filé powder, which is ground sassafras leaves. Look for filé powder in the spice section of the supermarket. From "Emeril's New New Orleans Cooking" by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch (William Morrow, 1993).

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 tablespoon salt
4 turns freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup peeled, seeded and chopped Italian plum tomatoes
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced shallots
2 quarts fish stock
1/2 pound firm-fleshed fish, such as grouper, tilefish, monkfish or sea bass, diced (about 1 cup)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
6 bay leaves
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 cup sliced fresh okra (about 8 large okra)
2 teaspoons Emeril's Creole Seasoning (recipe follows)
1/2 pound peeled medium fresh shrimp
1 cup shucked fresh oysters, with their liquor
1/2 pound (about 1 cup) fresh lump crab meat, picked over for shells and cartilage
1 teaspoon filé powder
4 cups warm cooked long-grain white rice
1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped green onions (scallions), tough dark green tops discarded

Heat the oil in a large pot over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the onions, celery and green and red peppers, and saute for 1 minute. Add the salt and pepper and saute for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, garlic and shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 4 minutes.

Stir in the stock, add the fish, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce, bay leaves, basil, oregano and thyme, and bring to a boil. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium.

Fold in the okra and Creole Seasoning, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Skim the impurities from the top of the gumbo, turn the heat to high and cook for 5 minutes. Fold in the shrimp, oysters and crab meat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Slowly sprinkle in the filé, stirring to incorporate it thoroughly, and simmer, stirring, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

To serve, ladle 1 1/2 cups of the gumbo into each of 12 gumbo bowls or soup plates, and add 1/2 cup rice to each. Sprinkle each serving with 1 tablespoon of the green onions (scallions).

Makes 12 cups, 8 main-course servings. Per serving: 284 calories, 22 gm protein, 29 gm carbohydrates, 9 gm fat, 100 mg cholesterol, 2 gm saturated fat, 1229 mg sodium.