Welcome to my first quarterly review of noteworthy books on Black food culture. The past few years have been an exciting time for Black authors sharing their experience and wisdom in the culinary space. So many great books have been published, and the ones that I review below are definitely going to crowd your bookshelves.
Kweyol/Creole by Nina Compton
First up is Kweyol/Creole by Chef Nina Compton. This cookbook is very personal for Chef Compton uses food to tell her life story. She begins by sharing what it was like growing up on St. Lucia. It’s a Caribbean Island that we rarely learn anything about, and I’m grateful to know more about its food traditions. The next stop in her food professional career took her to Jamaica. Because much has been written about Jamaican food, the recipes are more familiar. Still, Chef Compton provides recipes with inventive twists like slathering plain old corn-on-the-cob with jerk seasoned butter. Chef Compton. Chef Compton’s further deepened her culinary education in Miami, Florida, exploring what she describes as the “Afro Latin Diaspora.” This section of the cookbook has her take on several classic, Latin dishes. Chef Compton concludes by “coming home” to New Orleans where she runs the magnificent Compere Lapin restaurant. Chef Compton begins each section with delightful personal essays that reveal the mind of this intriguing chef.
Recipes I want to try: Bouyon (a traditional stew of pork, beans, and dumplings), Jerk Buttered Corn, Pheasant Gumbo, Steamed Snapper with Pepper Ginger Sauce, Sorrel (a hibiscus drink), and Sweet Potato gnocchi.
Recommendation: This is a “must buy” for anyone interested in how the food and flavors of the eastern sides of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea intersect.
Braided Heritage: Recipes and Stories on the Origin of Southern Cuisine by Jessica B. Harris
In this cookbook, Harris finds an inventive way to tell the southern food story. The book is divided into three sections which delve into a particular, yet significant, culinary influence: Native Peoples, Europeans, and African Americans. Each influence is given equal footing as the narrative unfolds and shows how they are interconnected. In addition to an introductory essay detailing how the food traditions developed historically, Harris includes biographic essays of people who are deeply immersed in that particular culinary tradition. Throughout the book, there are “call outs” which highlight the culinary history of important ingredients in the tradition and the social context of their use. Stuff like that nourishes my food nerd soul!
Recipes I want to try: Aunt Mary’s summer vegetable dish, Chicken gizzard jambalaya, Samp (a beans, hominy, and meat stew)
Recommendation: The biographical and historical essays and call outs make this book one to get for yourself, or gift to that food nerd in your life.
American Soul: The Black History of Food in the United States by Anela Malik.
DISCLAIMER: I am featured and quoted in this book.
This BEAUTIFUL book by Malik provides a “sampling of important moments in the development of American foodways through the lens of Black history.” This cookbook is more a compilation of informative historical essays, compelling illustrations, infographics and photographs, pertinent quotations, and profiles of fascinating Black people contributing to America’s food scene in various ways. The entire narrative is seasoned with the author’s personal reflections as she explores soul food’s story. That’s a story filled with joy and pain, but Malik’s accessible prose keeps readers engaged. There isn’t an aspect of the Black culinary experience in America that isn’t touched with American Soul‘s pages. Most of the recipes are classic soul food standards, so there were only a few surprises and sources of intrigue there.
Recipes I want to try: Collard medley salad, Corn ribs, and Upright roast duck,
Recommendation: This is a definite “must buy” that will appeal to a wide range of readers, from the ones just being introduced to this storied cuisine to old heads like me who like a satisfying refresher course.
Recipes from the American South by Michael W. Twitty
Of all the books that I reviewed, this one surprised me the most . . . but in a good way. In his prior books, Twitty’s lyrical prose infused the narrative while recipes played a supporting role. Not with this one, honey. This is a COOKBOOK through and through. As such, the book is organized by broad categories of ingredients and dishes rather than by courses. Twitty tells an expansive culinary story with an overview of southern food’s evolution and his personal connection to the cuisine. Twitty also does the same with briefer essays to introduce an ingredient category. The recipes track what you’d typically find in a survey of southern cuisine. Each recipe includes an informative headnote that gives the dish a culinary context with many accompanied with a gorgeous photograph. As soon as I saw that Phaidon published this book, I expected nothing less.
Recipes I want to try: Chinese Mississippi collard greens, Kilt greens, Madeira picnic ham, Ocracoke Island fig cake with buttermilk glaze, Possum and sweet potatoes, and Sorghum-brined chicken in cabbage leaves.
Recommendation: This is a great book for anyone, especially home cooks, who wants a solid introduction to southern food and is ready to roll up their sleeves and cook with a bounty of accessible recipes.
Author’s Note: I received and reviewed free copies of American Soul and Recipes from the American South provided by the author’s respective publishers.
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