Gumbo z'herbes is the least common of the three traditional gumbos we eat in New Orleans, and it's nothing like the other two. For one thing, it doesn't usually contain a roux. In its most rigorously constituted form, there should be no meat or seafood in gumbo z'herbes. This is penitential gumbo for Lenten eating. However I add bacon and a ham hock for seasoning.
The name is a contraction of gumbo aux herbs--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.
Besides the usual mustard, collard greens and turnip greens, some of the additional greens may include spinach,
green onions
, parsley, watercress,
beet tops,
carrot tops, radish tops, peppergrass,
dandelion greens
, green leaf lettuce (not iceberg) or cabbage.
More gumbo z'herbes is served during Holy Week than all the rest of the year combined. It was a family tradition that my Mère (grand-mother), Louise Egan (1883-1955) cooked gumbo z'herbes (without meat) on either Holy Thursday or Good Friday________________________________________