Yes, beans are great, but I'm also after something else when I cook them: their cooking liquid. Depending on the bean type, that liquid stands convincingly in place of traditional meat stocks made from chicken, duck, or pork. It's just the thing in a vegan gumbo, where its sweet, earthy flavors give the gumbo richness and depth and pair up well with a nutty roux and bitter greens, or whatever the season calls for. <br /> <br />A few things are crucial to making vegan gumbo besides the bean liquid: the roux—which thickens the gumbo and lays down a foundation of rich, nutty flavor— and the "holy trinity" of onion, celery, and green bell pepper, whose fragrance as it hits the finished roux is one of my favorite scents in all of cooking. <br />Outside of these essentials, different directions are yours to take—in the case of a vegan gumbo, this means vegetables. In cooler months, leafy greens are an obvious choice: the more varieties, the better. I'm pulling handfuls of radish greens, turnip greens, mustards, and collards from the straggling vegetable garden. It’s a combination I love for its mix of spicy, pungent, earthy, and bitter flavors, but if what you have is exactly one bunch of kale or a head of cabbage, you'll do fine. <br />

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