The Next Generation of Soul Food Recipes
Peanut Chicken Stew
Recipe: Peanut Chicken Stew
A lot of times, when people say a soup is thick enough to be a meal, they're playing you. But this soup sustains. This recipe takes its cues from West Africa, particularly Senegal and The Gambia, known for peanut, or groundnut, stews.
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Salmon Croquettes with Dill Sauce
Recipe: Salmon Croquettes with Dill Sauce
Back in the day, salmon croquettes usually meant rich bindings and fillers (eggs, flour, cracker crumbs) to hold them together. And they were typically fried in an inch of bacon grease. Here, the binder is egg only, and the patties are pan-seared in a little olive oil.
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Fiery Green Beans
Recipe: Fiery Green Beans
This recipe--one we got from a young black chef at a hip, more than a little bougie, burger joint in Nashville—is a luminous example of the new old school.
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African Chickpea Soup
Recipe: African Chickpea Soup
My Uncle Paul and Aunt Sonia Bontemps, who helped found an African-American genealogical society, took Grandma on a trip to revisit the scenes of her youth and explore our family history. One myth, which can't be proved, is that the Bontemps family descended from Madagascar. The possibility encouraged us in the exploration of Madagascan foodstuffs and foodways, culminating in this hearty and healthy recipe.
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Honey Peanut Brittle
Recipe: Honey Peanut Brittle
Many enslaved African-Americans came from beekeeping countries; others interacted with certain Native American groups who bartered with beeswax and honey. This candy deliciously celebrates those all-but-forgotten intertwinings in early American society. It also celebrates George Washington Carver, who advocated for everything peanut.
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Soul Food Love
Caroline Randall Williams is an award-winning poet and young adult novelist currently pursuing her MFA at the University of Mississippi. Her first cookbook, Soul Food Love, which she co-authored with her mother, Alice Randall, is due out in February 2015.