In honor of Black History Month, which is celebrated in February, we invite you and your family to try something new. Check out this list of soul food recipes, as well as the history behind each traditional dish, and feel free to let us know what you think!
Corn Bread
Fluffy yellow corn bread straight from the oven, piping hot and ready to be split open for a waiting pat of butter… it’s the traditional accompaniment to many a meal. Somehow the taste of hot corn bread just seems to blend perfectly with the smokey taste of country hams. Nothing sops up gravy or soaks up the pot likker from a mess of greens as well. It’s the first item that disappears from the bread basket at any soul food restaurant.
As much a part of African-American life as family reunions and summer barbecues, corn bread is also a part of our history. It was essential to our survival as a people as well.
During the tribulations of slavery, individuals received rations of cornmeal, which was the staff of life for many. The cornmeal was transformed into various dishes from corn pones to hoecakes to hush puppies and mushes, to our all time favorite – corn bread.
In much of the South, the cornmeal that goes into the corn bread is white. In the North and in other areas of the country, it’s yellow. The best is stone-ground, and some is even self-rising. Whatever color the cornmeal is – yellow or white, whatever the shape – whether baked in squares or corn sticks or even in muffin shapes, corn bread is a piece of our history on the table. (Jessica B. Harris)
Southern-Style Corn Bread
1 cup flour
1 cup white or yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 ½ cups buttermilk
1/3 cup shortening or butter, melted
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Grease 9-inch square baking pan.
Mix flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Beat eggs in medium bowl; stir in buttermilk and shortening. Add to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Makes 10 servings.
Black Eye Pea Fritters
This is not a mother memory, but rather a memory of my father. My father didn’t believe in throwing away anything. One night, when we didn’t eat all of the black eye peas, he said, “Don’t worry, you’ll see them again.” The next morning, when we came downstairs, we smelled the most delicious thing cooking, and it was fritters. We ate them all, and then father said, “Those were the black eye peas you left last night.” They were wonderful. My father believed that “waste not, want not” was the best way. (Angeline Newberry Donaldson, Newberry, South Carolina)
Black eye pea fritters
2 cups pancake mix
1 cup cooked black eye peas
Long Cabin syrup or dark molasses
Prepare pancake mix as directed on package. Stir in peas.
Using about ¼ cup batter for each fritter, cook on hot greased griddle until bubbles form on top. Turn to brown on other side. Serve warm with syrup or molasses.
Makes 20.
Fried Chicken
If it’s Sunday, and it’s dinner, one thing that is virtually guaranteed to be on the table is fried chicken. There may be ham and there may be pork chops, but there WILL be fried chicken.
There are many ways to fry chicken. Some cooks bread the chicken with a milk-bound batter, while others simply roll the pieces in a mixture of cornmeal and seasonings. The results, though differing in taste according to method and seasoning, are invariably delicious. For many of us, fried chicken wouldn’t be fried chicken without rice and gravy to go with it, but there are those who like it dry as well.
Any good African-American cook will tell you that, in order to fry truly great chicken, you need a heavy, black, cast-iron skillet. They’re right. People go on about how the cast iron conducts the heat evenly so that it cooks better, and that’s true. But, for some of us, the cast-iron skillet is more than a cooking tool. It’s a link to the past and to the history of the hands that have fried chicken in iron skillets for generations. (Jessica B. Harris)
Southern Fried Chicken
3 ½ pounds chicken pieces
1 ½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 cup flour
1 ½ cups shortening
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Place flour in paper or plastic bag. Add chicken pieces, 1 or 2 at a time; shake to coat.
Melt shortening in large cast-iron skillet on high heat. Add chicken, skin side down a few pieces at a time; cook 15 minutes on each side or until cooked through and golden brown. Drain on paper towels; keep warm. Repeat with remaining chicken.
Makes 8 servings.
Grits
There were eight of us; I was the oldest girl. I always observed my Mother cooking. Sometimes, when things were low, she’d put together a bit of this and a bit of that and make a big meal for us. She’d stretch things, and yet it would be a meal where everyone got an even portion. She would always see to it that everyone got an equal amount. This was really important, as there were eight children. She’d use just a little to make a lot. It helped us through the difficult times when we had to save a dollar. (Claudette Francois Sweet, Denver, Colorado)
Brown sausage in large skillet on medium-high heat. Drain. Remove sausage; drain on paper towels. Cook bacon in skillet on medium-high heat until crisp, turning frequently. Drain, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings in skillet.
Prepare grits as directed on package. Spread ½ in 3-quart shallow casserole. Top with sausage and bacon.
Heat reserved drippings in skillet on medium-high heat. Add green pepper, green onions, onion and garlic; cook and stir until tender. Add eggs; cook until eggs are set, stirring occasionally. Break apart eggs; add to casserole. Top with 1½ cups of the cheese and remaining grits.
Bake 40 minutes or until heated through. Top with remaining ½ cup cheese.
Makes 8 servings.
Chitlins
To some, they’re an acquired taste. To others, they’re a dish fit for a queen. To all of us, whether we eat them or not, they’re a taste of our history. Chitterlings, or chitlins as we really call them, are the pig’s innards. Like so many elements of African-American cooking, these unwanted parts were taken, scrupulously cleaned, seasoned, cooked and transformed into a delicacy with loving attention.
Anyone who has ever cooked chitlins knows that their preparation is time-consuming and arduous, for each little fold and wrinkle must be thoroughly washed and then scrubbed and scrubbed again before they’re fit for a gourmet. But if you love them, then it’s worth it.
Whether they’re boiled in a potently pungent pot or lightly breaded in cornmeal and flour and then deep fried, chitlins are a part of our past. For many, they’re a part of our present as well, especially during the holiday season, when buckets of them are sold at supermarkets and butcher shops. It’s only fitting after all, that during the holiday season, we remember the past and the chitlins and other dishes that helped our ancestors survive so that we could be here today to celebrate. (Jessica B. Harris)
Chitlins
10 pounds frozen chitlins, thawed
¼ cup vinegar
1 large potato, cut in half
2 medium onions, quartered
1 stalk celery, cut into thirds
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon salt
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
Hot cooked riuce
Hot pepper sauce
To clean chitlins, wash and scrub, using small brush, in warm water in sink. Rub to remove excess fat and residue. Wash and rinse several times until water runs clear. Drain.
Bring chitlins, cold water to cover, vinegar, potato, onions, celery, garlic, salt, bay leaves, and red pepper to boil in large saucepot on high heat. Reduce heat to medium; cover and simmer 1½ to 2 hours or until tender. Remove potato; discard. Remove chitlins from saucepot; cool slightly. Cut into pieces. Serve over rice with hot pepper sauce.
Makes 12 servings.
Pound Cake
Pound Cake is an all-purpose dessert in the African-American world. It can be served hot, fresh from the oven, just plain or with a light dusting of powdered sugar. It can turn up topped with a scoop of ice cream and a dash of freshly made chocolate sauce, or it can even turn up toasted as a leftover from the dessert of the night before. It’s the baker’s standby.
Originally prepared from a pound of each ingredient (flour, sugar, and so forth), the pound cake had been a kitchen standby in African-American homes for more than a century. Its simplicity goes well with a basic, no frills attitude to everyday desserts.
However, like many things in the African-American world, the pound cake is incredibly versatile. It can be left plain and taken to offer solace to a grieving family, or it can be decorated with birthday candles and transformed into something even more magnificent with the addition of an icing or a filling or both. Dressed up in its Sunday best, the pound cake is the centerpiece of many a dessert table, church tea, or bake sale. (Jessica B. Harris)
Sour Cream pound Cake
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 2/3 cups sugar
5 eggs
1½ teaspoons vanilla
½ cup sour cream
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 9x5-inch loaf pan.
Mix flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with sour cream, stirring after each addition until smooth. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake 1 hour and 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.
Makes 12 servings.
For Lemon-Poppy Seed Pound Cake: Prepare as directed, beating in 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel and 3 tablespoons poppy seed with the vanilla. Bake 1 hour and 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
For Coffee & Cream Pound Cake: Prepare as directed, increasing sugar to 2 cups. Mix 4 teaspoons instant Sanka brand 99.7% caffeine free coffee with the vanilla in small cup; add to batter. Continue as directed above.
