If you add the entire batch of noodles to the soup, keep in mind that as the soup sits the noodles will continue to absorb the broth, making your soup thicker.

In the same pot heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-low heat. Slowly stir the soup in a clockwise direction while adding the eggs at the same time, in the same clockwise direction. Tips

Hold a stir spoon in one hand the bowl containing the raw eggs in the other.

Add the cooked noodles to your soup. When you make a soup that does include raw rice, add it no more than 30 minutes before you expect the soup to be served. As grains like barley and rice and small pasta shapes are meant to add texture and heartiness to a brothy soup, they bring nothing to the dish when overcooked. Adding the rice at serving has another benefit; your Gumbo will fit better in your freezer. But if you're cooking your soup ahead of time to serve hours or days later, don't add the noodles until you're reheating the soup to serve it.

To avoid this fate, hold off on adding the grain until about 20 minutes before the soup is supposed to finish cooking. Drain rice in a colander and set aside.

Gumbo is one of those soups that is improved by being frozen. To avoid this, you can store the noodles and soup separately and simply add noodles to each serving of soup. If you're cooking soup just before you serve it, whether you add the noodles at the very end after they've been cooked separately or add them uncooked 10 minutes before the soup is due to finish doesn't really matter. Grate onion on the largest holes of a box grater, and garlic on the smallest. Continue slowly stirring the soup for about 1 minute in the same clockwise direction, until the eggs take on the appearance of shreds or ribbons.

Add uncooked rice, lower heat to medium and simmer for ten minutes or until tender. In a pot of soup, mushy rice and deteriorating pasta are downright sad occurrences.