In addition to a history rife with heroes, from Frederick Douglass to Martin Luther King, Jr., to Jackie Robinson, Black Americans also bring to the table a delectable cuisine, borne from the days when slaves prepared meals for their families with little food and limited supplies and resources.   Staples such as black eyed peas and sweet potatoes, corn, and greens were used to make tasty concoctions that could be cooked in a cast iron skillet over an open fire.  Recipes and cooking techniques were passed along orally to later generations, and although meals have evolved to embrace a healthier lifestyle, the essence of the dishes remains the same.

Grits, or chitterlings, are simply coarsely ground dried corn.  There’s no wrong way to prepare grits, they take on the flavor of whatever you use to enhance the dish.  Butter, pork fat, herbs and spices, all enhance the corn in unique yet tasty ways.

Basic Grits Recipe

1 cup liquid (stock, water, milk)

¼ cup grits (coarse ground)

Bring liquid to a boil and add grits.  Reduce heat to low and cook about 30 minutes, stirring often, until grits have are thickened and creamy.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, add a pat of butter if you want, or maybe even some bacon fat or herbs.

Black eyed peas were thought to bring good luck when eaten at the New Year, although they were a staple all the year through.  Flavorful and full of nutrients, black eyed peas are as easy to make as grits!

Black Eyed Peas

1 pound black-eyed peas, soaked overnight

1-2 large ham hocks

¼ cup diced onion

Pepper, garlic powder, salt, crushed red pepper, or other herbs as desired

5 cups water or stock

Simmer all ingredients for about two hours, until peas are tender.  Add more liquid as needed (liquid should always be about 1” over beans in the pot.)  When peas are tender, remove the ham hock and pull any meat from the bone and drop into the peas.  Serve over rice if desired.

Greens are an essential part of the “soul food” menu, and they are as easy to make as they are delicious to eat. Our friend the ham hock shows up again, and adds an unmatched salty-smoky flavor to the greens.

Mess o’ Greens

1 large ham hock

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

Bacon drippings

1 onion, finely chopped

1-2 tablespoons vinegar (cider is best)

3 bunches collard greens, trimmed

Sugar to taste

Crushed red pepper to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

Boil the ham hock in 2 cups of water for several hours, or cook in a pressure cooker for about 45 minutes.

Saute the onion and garlic in bacon drippings, then add sugar, crushed red pepper, and ½ cup water.  Add the collards and simmer on low until wilted.  Pull the meat from the ham hock and add to the greens with the liquid used to cook the hock.

Sweet potatoes thrived in the soil common to the south, stored well over the winter months, and were rich in nutrients, thus making them a prevalent element of slave diet.  Just two large potatoes made a decadent pie, and the result was a treat that was naturally sweeter than its pumpkin counterpart.

Sweet Potato Pie

2 cups mashed sweet potatoes

1 1/3 cups of sugar (brown, white, or any combination of the two)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

3 eggs

½ cup milk

6 tablespoons butter

Mix all ingredients until smooth and pour into an uncooked pie shell.  Bake at 350 for about an hour (pie should be firm when touched in the center.)  Top with whipped cream if desired.

The post In Honor of Black History Month appeared first on Houston's Blog.