The Next Generation of Soul Food Recipes

Story by Caroline Randall Williams

Cookbook author Caroline Randall Williams redefines soul food with comforting new classics. Adapted from her cookbook, Soul Food Love. 

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Peanut Chicken Stew

Photo: Penny De Los Santos

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

Photo: Penny De Los Santos

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

Photo: Penny De Los Santos

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

Photo: Penny De Los Santos

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

Photo: Penny De Los Santos

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

Photo: Courtesy Clarkson Potter/Publishers

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. 

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