1. The Story of Filé
For hundreds of years the Choctaw Indians have had a settlement at Bayou Lacombe on
the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain, and they had a way of making Gumbo long before
the white man and the black man arrived. They invented filé (pronounced feelay). The
tender green leaves of the sassafras tree are gathered, dried, and ground to a powder. Only
a few tablespoons of the powder will thicken a whole pot of Gumbo and give it a flavor
that’s spicy and pleasant. The filé must always be added after the pot is removed from the
fire. If allowed to boil, it becomes stringy and unpalatable. Okra and filé should never be
used together in a Gumbo or it will be as thick as mud. The Creoles in New Orleans used
filé only in the wintertime, when fresh okra was not available but many Cajuns prefer filé
gumbo year-round. They pass a big bowl of filé around at the table, so that all the guests
may take as much as they want.
The Indians also supplied dried bay leaves (laurel), an essential flavoring element in most
Creole soups and stews. At the old French Market there were always several Choctaws
sitting in the shade of the arcade, peddling their small caches of filé and dried bundles of
bay leaves.
On several visits to Bayou Lacombe a few years ago I was fortunate enough to meet one of
the last of those Indian filé makers. His name was Nick Ducre, and he was over eighty-five,
very proud, wise and independent. He owned a few acres of very valuable land on the
banks of the bayou. Rich folks had built up bayou estates all around him, but he clung to
his land and kept it in a primitive state with plenty of game-coons, possums, squirrels,
rabbits, and even a few deer. A great story teller, he told us much about the good old days
in the early part of the century. Once a month he would take a schooner across the lake to
New Orleans and sell his filé and bay leaves at the market at the New Basin Canal. He
would sell out in one day, buy himself a pint of whiskey, and sail for home that night, a
happy Indian.
At our last parting Nick gave me a sample jar of his homemade filé, and I made a pot of
gumbo with part of it. Because I didn’t realize just how strong it was, I overdid it. That
gumbo got so thick, the stirring spoon stood upright in it. I have saved the rest of that filé
as a memento of one of the best Indians I ever knew.
So whenever you eat gumbo filé, give a thought to the almost vanished Choctaws of
Lacombe. filé of a commercial grade can be purchased at any grocery store in New Orleans
and in the Cajun country, but the homemade kind is stronger and tastier. If you can’t find
an Indian source, you can make it yourself by pounding dried sassafras leaves with pestle
and mortar. And while you’re at it, pound up a few bay leaves for a terrific flavoring
element.
The Choctaws and their Filé are long gone from the French Market, which is now little
more than a tourist trap to purchase Mardi Gras beads, T-shirts, and a million varieties of
hot sauce. It’s still a must stop though, if just to feel the history of the old French Market.