When I first heard the term Soul Food, the first thing I thought of is something unphysical, and more spiritual. Until I had to make my researchers to find out what the is soul food and what the originally came from. Below I share with you my discovery and a simple soul food recipe hush puppies which I already published a carrebian version of it last year when I shared with you guys the popular Caribbean dishes in Martinique.
Soul food is a variety of cuisine originating in the Southeastern United States, and from Native American culture. It is common in areas with a history of slave-based plantations and has maintained popularity among the Black American and American Deep-South communities for centuries. The expression "soul food" may have originated in the mid-1960s, when "soul" was a common word used to describe Black American culture. - Wikipidia
The term soul food became popular in the 1960s, but its origin is debated. One of the earliest written uses of the term is found in The Autobiography of Malcolm X, which was published in 1965. Those who had participated in the Great Migration found within soul food a reminder of the home and family they had left behind after moving to unfamiliar northern cities. Soul food restaurants were Black-owned businesses that served as neighborhood meeting places where people socialized and ate together. Early influences included African and Native American cuisine.
However, the actual origins of soul food trace all the way back to slavery. A large amount of the foods integral to the cuisine originate from the limited rations given to slaves by their planters and masters. Slaves were typically given a peck of cornmeal and 3-4 pounds of pork per week, and from those rations come soul food staples such as cornbread, fried catfish, BBQ ribs, chitterlings, and neckbones.
Slaves needed to eat foods with high amounts of calories to balance out spending long days working in the fields. This led to time-honored soul food traditions like frying foods, breading meats and fishes with cornmeal, and mixing meats with vegetables (i.e. putting pork in collard greens). Eventually, this slave-invented style of cooking started to get adopted into a larger Southern culture, as slave owners gave special privileges to slaves with cooking skills.
Introduction of soul food to northern cities such as Washington D.C. also came from private chefs in the White House. Many American Presidents have desired French cooking, and have sought after black chefs given their Creole background. Prior to having a black chef in the White House, the Washingtons had a white chef. They did not like the white chef's cooking, however, and replaced that chef with an African American one.[citation needed]
One famous relationship includes the bond formed between President Lyndon B. Johnson and Zephyr Wright. Wright became a great influence to Johnson in fighting for civil rights as he saw her treatment and segregation as they would travel throughout the south. Johnson even had Wright present at the signing of several civil rights laws.
Soul Food Cookbooks
Because it was illegal in many states for slaves to learn to read or write, soul food recipes and cooking techniques tended to be passed along orally, until after emancipation. The first soul food cookbook is attributed to Abby Fisher, entitled What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking and published in 1881. Good Things to Eat was published in 1911; the author, Rufus Estes, was a former slave who worked for the Pullman railway car service. Many other cookbooks were written by Black Americans during that time, but as they were not widely distributed, most are now lost.
Since the mid-20th century, many cookbooks highlighting soul food and Black American footways that's being complied by Black Americans, and have been published and well received. Vertamae Grosvenor's Vibration Cooking, or the Travel Notes of a Geechee Girl, originally published in 1970, focused on South Carolina "Lowcountry"/Geechee/Gullah cooking. Its focus on spontaneity in the kitchen—cooking by "vibration" rather than precisely measuring ingredients, as well as "making do" with ingredients on hand—captured the essence of traditional Black American cooking techniques. The simple, healthful, basic ingredients of lowcountry cuisine, like shrimp, oysters, crab, fresh produce, rice and sweet potatoes, made it a bestseller.
At the center of Black American food celebrations is the value of sharing and caring. Therefore, Black American cookbooks often have a common theme of family gatherings. Usher boards and Women's Day committees of various religious congregations large and small, and even public service and social welfare organizations such as the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) have produced cookbooks to fund their operations and charitable enterprises. The NCNW produced its first cookbook, The Historical Cookbook of the American Negro, in 1958, and revived the practice in 1993, producing a popular series of cookbooks featuring recipes by famous Black Americans, among them: The Black Family Reunion Cookbook (1991), Celebrating Our Mothers' Kitchens: Treasured Memories and Tested Recipes (1994), and Mother Africa's Table: A Chronicle of Celebration (1998). The NCNW also recently reissued The Historical Cookbook.
Celebrated traditional Southern chef and author Edna Lewis wrote a series of books between 1972 and 2003, including A Taste of Country Cooking (Alfred A. Knopf, 1976) where she weaves stories of her childhood in Freetown, Virginia into her recipes for "real Southern food".
(Photo above)
You need:
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup whole milk
1 small onion, finely chopped
Oil for deep-fat frying
Method
In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk the egg, milk and onion; add to dry ingredients just until combined.
In a large cast-iron or electric skillet, heat oil to 365°. Drop batter by tablespoonfuls into oil. Fry until golden brown, 2 to 2-1/2 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Serve warm.
Nutrition Facts
1 hush puppie: 55 calories, 3g fat (0 saturated fat), 9mg cholesterol, 86mg sodium, 7g carbohydrate (1g sugars, 0 fiber), 1g protein.
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup fine cornmeal
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt (1 tsp. if using fine salt)
4 large eggs
1 cup cooked corn kernels plus enough cream, milk or buttermilk to equal 1 1/2 cups
2 jalapeno peppers, seeds removed and diced
1 cup grated cheddar cheese, plus bit more for top before baking
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
Instructions
Place diced jalapenos in skillet, then place in a 10-inch top diameter cast iron skillet in cold oven on middle rack. Preheat oven to 400and leave skillet with jalapenos in oven as it preheats. in pre-heating oven. Check periodically to make sure they aren't burning and to give them a quick stir. Remove when they are lightly browned and allow to cool. Return skillet immediately to oven.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, lightly beat eggs in a medium to blend. Whisk in corn/cream mixture and cheddar cheese.
Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix butter and sugar together with a wooden spoon, just until butter absorbs the sugar. Add the egg mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in the cooled jalapenos. Mix in the dry ingredients just until barely incorporated.
Remove skillet from oven and lightly coat with nonstick spray. Spoon batter in to hot pan and quickly top with a bit more grated cheddar cheese. Bake cornbread until top is golden brown and springs back when gently pressed, 25-28 minutes when baked in a 10-inch skillet (may be longer if your skillet is smaller). Let cool 10 minutes before serving.
INGREDIENTS
2 pounds black-eyed peas, soaked overnight if possible
2 pounds smoked ham hock, meaty ham bone or slab bacon
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 large onion, peeled and stuck with 2 cloves
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon allspice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 pounds collard greens, cut in 1-inch ribbons (about 8 cups)
1 bunch scallions, cleaned and chopped, for garnish
PREPARATION
Drain peas and put them in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add ham hock or bone (if using slab bacon, cut it into 2-inch chunks), cover with 10 cups water and turn heat to high. Add salt, onion stuck with cloves, bay leaf, black pepper and allspice.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Skim off and discard any foam that rises to the surface. Simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until peas are tender. Throughout cooking, add water as necessary, always keeping liquid level 1 inch above surface, stirring with wooden spoon occasionally. Turn off heat. Check broth for salt and adjust seasoning. Mixture should be fairly brothy. With a pair of tongs, remove ham hock, ham bone or bacon. Chop meat and skin in rough pieces and set aside.
Put a large wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add vegetable oil and heat until wavy. Add garlic and red pepper and let sizzle without browning. Add collard greens and stir to coat. Season with salt and add 1 cup water, stirring to help wilt greens. Add chopped ham and reduce heat to medium, then cover with lid slightly ajar and cook until greens are soft, about 20 minutes. Check seasoning.
To serve, put greens and meat in low soup bowls, then ladle over hot black-eyed peas. Sprinkle with scallions.
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