Gumbo (French: Gombo) is a stew popular in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and is the official state cuisine. Gumbo consists primarily of a strongly-flavored stock, meat or shellfish, a thickener, and what Louisianians call the "Holy Trinity" of vegetables, namely celery, bell peppers, and onions. Gumbo is often categorized by the type of thickener used, whether okra or filé powder (dried and ground sassafras leaves). The dish derived its name from Louisiana French, which may have derived the name from a source such as the Choctaw word for filé (kombo). Gumbo can be made with or without okra or filé...