I recently discovered a wonderful little cookbook written by Louisiana native Gwen McKee. All of you afficionados of gumbo know that the key to good gumbo is the roux. Those of you that have attempted to make a roux from scratch also know that the paucity of ingredients don't comport with the difficulty in creating this absolutely key ingredient to a perfect bowl.
Gwen's recipe for Microwave Roux ably explains how to overcome this difficulty. This book was published in 1986 but if you can somehow obtain a copy, I would highly recommend it. The Little Gumbo Book has only twenty-seven recipes but all are outstanding. Here is one of the recipes.
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup flour
2/3 cup chopped onion
2/3 cup chopped celery
2/3 teaspoon minced garlic
2/3 cup chopped bell pepper
2/3 cup chopped green onions (optional)
2/3 cup hot water
Mix oil with flour in a 4-cup glass measuring bowl. Microwave uncovered on HIGH for 6 minutes. Stir and cook another 30-60 seconds on HIGH for 6 minutes. Stir and cook another 30-60 seconds on HIGH till the color of mahogany.
Now you can add your chopped vegetables, stir well, and "saute" them on HIGH for another 5 minutes till soft but not brown.
Now before stirring, pour oil off top. Add hot tap water, stirring till smooth. Beautiful! And it freezes for later use.