Gumbo Gets Southwestern Kick

So, how does a kid from Flint, Mich., the meat-and-potatoes heart of the country, become the doyen of nouveau Southwestern cuisine?

“I guess I didn’t know the rules when I started,” says David Wilhelm. “I just started dabbling with Mexican foods and others of the region.”

The result of that dabbling has made him what one Times critic called “a restaurant superstar,” founder and operator of such successful eateries as the Zuni Grill in Irvine, Cafe Topaz at the Bowers Museum and Cultural Center in Santa Ana, Diva in Costa Mesa, Kachina in Laguna Beach and downtown Los Angeles, Bistro 201 in Irvine and now the new Roxbury nightclub in Santa Ana.

Wilhelm’s first Orange County venture was Pava, a restaurant he opened in Corona del Mar in 1983. It was there he was discovered by El Torito Grill founder Larry Cano, who brought Wilhelm aboard to develop dishes for the 200-establishment chain.

In 1988, Wilhelm left El Torito and opened Tacos Tacos in Los Angeles and then Kachina in Laguna Beach, where one of the more popular dishes--the accompanying Southwestern seafood gumbo--was developed.

It’s a pretty standard gumbo--until the chili and other peppers are added; then it takes on a flavor all its own.

SOUTHWESTERN SEAFOOD GUMBO

7 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 pound spicy smoked sausage

1/4 cup diced carrots

1/4 cup diced brown onion

1/4 cup diced celery

1/4 cup pasilla chili

1 1/2 teaspoons blackening spice

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon dry oregano

1 tablespoon dry basil

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 teaspoons chipotle peppers, pureed

1/2 cup beer

1/2 cup water

1 ounce chicken base (paste)

2 tomatoes

1/4 cup roux (see below)

12 medium shrimp, cleaned and deveined

12 medium scallops, cleaned, tendons removed

1 1/2 cups fresh fish of choice, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

12 fresh clams or mussels

In heavy saucepan, heat oil and saute sausage, carrots, onion and celery until vegetables are tender. Add chili, blackening spice, garlic, oregano, basil, bay leaf, peppers and beer and simmer for 5 minutes. Add water and chicken base and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer while making roux (see below). Stir in roux and simmer a few more minutes, until thickened. Add shrimp, scallops and fish and continue simmering about 3 minutes, until fish is done. Just before serving, add clams or mussels and continue cooking about 1 minute, just enough time to heat through. (6 servings.)

Roux

1/4 cup duck fat

1 tablespoon flour (approximate)

Place fat (chicken fat or sausage drippings can be substituted) in small sauce pan on high heat. Slowly add enough flour to make thick paste, stirring constantly until golden-brown.