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1
Heat 1/2 cup oil in a heavy 5-quart pot or Dutch oven and brown chicken on all sides over moderate heat, turning so pieces brown evenly.
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2
Remove chicken and set aside.
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3
Make a roux by blending flour into the remaining oil in the same pot and stirring constantly over moderate heat until roux is a deep coffee brown, adding a little more oil if mixture is dry.
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4
Add sausage slices, diced ham, onion, green pepper, and celery.
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5
Saute, stirring, for about 10 minutes.
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6
Add browned chicken pieces, scallions, garlic, parsley, thyme, bay leaves, and water to cover, stirring to incorporate the roux into the liquid.
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7
Add salt and black pepper and simmer soup, partly covered, for about 1 hour or until chicken is tender.
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8
Remove chicken, trim off skin and bones, and return chicken in large pieces to the soup.
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9
If you are using the very spicy rind of the tasso ham, you will probably not need cayenne or Tabasco.
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10
Otherwise, add either toward the end of cooking and adjust other seasonings.
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11
This soup can be prepared in advance up to this point and stored, covered, in the refrigerator for 2 days.
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12
Bring soup to a simmer.
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13
Five minutes before serving, remove from heat and stir in file powder.
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14
Cover and let stand for about 5 minutes, but do not simmer or the file will make the soup too thick.
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15
(If you prepare more of this gumbo than you need for one meal, remove the portion to be served and add a proportionate amount of file to that.
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16
It is better not to boil soup once the file has been added.)
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17
Ladle into wide soup plates with a mound of rice and pieces of chicken.
