Soul Satisfying

What's Cooking in some of the poshest kitchens across this land? Soul food. More and more gourmet chefs are doing it gustatorially with ribs, black-eyed peas, collards and spoon bread---and the reaction of first-time delvers into soul cuisine is usually total delight. Once denigrated as little more than sustenance for the poor, soul food is coming into its own, and justly so: Its imaginative variety and hearty robustness appeal to all except the most confirmed calorie counter. The dishes that today fall under the soul umbrella (trying to pin down an exact definition of soul food is like attempting to codify the permutations of rock; it's almost impossible) were created out of the direst economic necessity by slaves in the Old South, who had to make do with their masters' discards and leftovers and what they found growing wild in the fields around them. There are African, Cajun and American Indian influences bubbling felicitously together in the savory soul-food cooking pot. There's also much colorful folklore. Take hush puppies, for instance. Legend has it that they got their name from Negro cooks who, after frying fish, would make small corn-meal fritters. They would then throw some of them to the hungry hounds begging around the frying kettle, to keep them from baying. Thus---hush puppies.

It's been argued that soul food is really Southern food and should not be ascribed to one race; but inasmuch as most of the cooks in the pre-Civil War South were Negro, the point is almost academic. Back in those days, the "good and proper" slave was one who obeyed but didn't think. One of the few places on the estate where slaves were allowed to kindle their imaginations was the kitchen of the great house. There, an ingenious and improvisational spray of hot African pepper or ground thyme or Indian sassafras leaves would transform a nondescript gumbo into the most luscious of seafood stews. When the mammy in the kitchen decided to lay on the sugar in the sweet-potato pie, the mistress, who probably never cooked a whole meal in her life, wouldn't dream of crossing the mammy's path.

Nowhere was the black man's culinary ingenuity more apparent than in his ability to transcend the basic foodstuffs with which he had to work. Chitterlings, almost always called by their colloquial sobriquet, chitlins, make an excellent case in point. The intestines of the swine, chitlins rarely found their way to the master's table, even though the English at one time considered them a delicacy. (Thomas Hardy wrote of the "tender links of chitterling" served at an English wedding party.) But in America, it remained the lot of the black man to give the dish its proper due. He spent endless hours scrubbing, scalding and scraping, to get chitlins ready for the pot. Nowadays, most of the time-consuming effort can be bypassed by finding a pork specialty shop that can supply chitlins that have already been cleaned and scraped and are ready for boiling. They should then be simmered for about two hours in salted water, flavored with onion, thyme, vinegar and hot pepper. Once this step is out of the way, the chitlins are split, cut into small pieces, dipped into a fritter batter and deep fried. The crisp, lightly fried morsels that emerge from the kettle will quickly overcome any preconceived notions about the inelegant status of chitlins. Other staples have come in for upgrading in recent years. The once lowly grits are now grist for the party table. Spoon bread has become a delectable corn-meal soufflé, rich with eggs, to be eaten with mountainous applications of fresh butter.

There's a distinctive soul approach to commonplace dishes. Chicken can be fried innumerable ways, but if it's done soul style, it will have been dipped in flour---with almost indecipherable flavors of paprika, cinnamon, pepper, salt and sugar---fried in transparent fat two fingers high and taken off the fire only at the moment of tender truth.

Soul fare features its own particular set of gustatory ground rules. The best of the country hams, the Smithfield from Virginia, should be served either ice cold, sliced paper thin, or warm, combined with the mildest of fresh cream sauces, to balance the intense saltiness of the meat. Light biscuits should never be eaten later than ten minutes after they've been snatched from the oven. As with biscuits, spoon bread should be taken to the table posthaste. To delay in the serving of this feathery deification of the corn god is to court disaster. And speaking of corn meal, soul cooks prefer the white variety over yellow meal. The best corn meal is known as "stone ground," an old process that results in a fluffy meal, less refined than the yellow kind but rich with the sharply etched country flavor of dried corn.

Bachelors who need fresh crab meat but who haven't the time to cook them and extract the meat should buy freshly cooked iced crab lump in screw-top cans---not the hermetically sealed cans. Ask for the grade called deluxe, which means big lumps; the smaller flakes are usually commingled with countless pieces of crab shell.

Any chef who's captain of his soul food must know his spices and face the rewarding fire of cayenne and Tabasco sauce. Unused gumbo filé will not languish on his shelf for years. Pepper will be freshly ground, nutmeg freshly grated. Whenever possible, fresh rather than dried tarragon, chives and parsley will be procured. Since all dried herbs and leaf spices begin to lose their bloom the first time the stopper bottle is unstopped, one should go through his spice shelf and promptly discard those spices that have lost their pungency. Finally, soul cooks must learn how to work quickly, as in frying hush puppies, but also must have the patience to proceed at a deliberate pace when slow cooking is the success secret of dishes such as gumbo or barbecued spareribs.

The following recipes are designed for six hungry soul seekers.

[recipe_title]Seafood Gumbo[/recipe_title]

[recipe]2 dozen large oysters, freshly shucked[/recipe]

[recipe]1 lb. deluxe fresh crab lump[/recipe]

[recipe]1 lb. medium-size shrimps[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 cup shortening[/recipe]

[recipe]1 cup onion, small dice[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 cup celery, small dice[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup green pepper, small dice[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup sweet red pepper, small dice[/recipe]

[recipe]2 large bay leaves, chopped fine[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 teaspoon leaf thyme[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup finely minced fresh parsley[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup flour[/recipe]

[recipe]1-1/2 quarts chicken broth, fresh or canned[/recipe]

[recipe]1-lb. can tomatoes[/recipe]

[recipe]1 cup long-grain rice[/recipe]

[recipe]salt[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper[/recipe]

[recipe]1/8 teaspoon Tabasco sauce[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 teaspoon curry powder[/recipe]

[recipe]2 teaspoons gumbo filé[/recipe]

Examine crab meat very carefully, lump by lump, and remove any pieces of shell or cartilage. Store in refrigerator. Place shrimps in a saucepan with 1 quart cold water and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring water to a boil; turn off flame and let shrimps remain in water 5 minutes. Drain shrimps, reserving liquid. Peel shrimps and return shells to cooking liquid. Store shrimps in refrigerator. Simmer liquid and shells (continued on page 196)Soul Satisfying(continued from page 152) about 1/2 hour or until liquid is reduced to 1 pint. Strain liquid and set aside. Melt shortening in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Add onion, celery, green pepper, sweet red pepper, bay leaves, thyme and parsley. Sauté, stirring frequently, until onion is deep yellow. Reduce flame; stir in flour and continue to sauté stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Slowly stir in chicken broth. Drain tomatoes, reserving juice. Chop tomato meat coarsely; add tomatoes and their juice to the pot. Simmer slowly about 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Cook rice, following directions on package. Add salt to gumbo to taste. Add black pepper and Tabasco. Dissolve curry powder in 2 tablespoons cold water and add to pot. Add oysters, crab lump and shrimps. Simmer about 5 minutes or until edges of oysters curl. Remove pot from flame. Be sure gumbo is no longer boiling. Sprinkle gumbo filé into pot while stirring constantly. (Gumbo should never be boiled after filé powder has been added or sauce will become excessively thick.) Gumbo is usually taken to the table in a large soup tureen or deep casserole and is spooned into large shallow soup dishes. Add a mound of hot rice in the center of each dish.

[recipe_title]Hush Puppies[/recipe_title]

[recipe]1-1/2 cups corn meal, white if possible[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 cup flour[/recipe]

[recipe]3/4 teaspoon salt[/recipe]

[recipe]1 teaspoon baking soda[/recipe]

[recipe]2 eggs, beaten[/recipe]

[recipe]1-1/2 cups buttermilk[/recipe]

[recipe]1 medium-size onion[/recipe]

[recipe]Salad oil or lard[/recipe]

Sift corn meal, flour, salt and baking soda. Combine eggs and buttermilk, mixing well. Add 2 tablespoons salad oil. Grate onion into buttermilk mixture. Combine liquid and dry ingredients, mixing well. Pour oil or melt lard to a depth of 1 in. in an electric skillet preheated at 370°. Drop batter by teaspoons into hot fat. Turn hush puppies to brown on both sides. Serve at once. Soul soothing with broiled or fried fish, particularly catfish.

[recipe_title]Red Beans and Rice[/recipe_title]

[recipe]1 cup dried red or pink beans[/recipe]

[recipe]1 smoked ham hock[/recipe]

[recipe]2 medium-size onions[/recipe]

[recipe]1 large clove garlic[/recipe]

[recipe]1 piece celery, very finely minced[/recipe]

[recipe]1 tablespoon salad oil[/recipe]

[recipe]1 small bay leaf[/recipe]

[recipe]1 cup long-grain rice[/recipe]

[recipe]Salt, pepper, cayenne pepper[/recipe]

[recipe]Tabasco sauce[/recipe]

When dried peas or black-eyed peas are used in place of red beans, the dish is known as Hoppin' John.

Wash beans; soak overnight in cold water. Place ham hock in a pot with enough water to cover. Add 1 onion and garlic. Bring to a boil; reduce flame and simmer 1 hour. Drain beans and add to pot. Keep ham hock covered with water and cook until ham hock and beans are tender, about 1 hour longer. (The saltiness of the ham will usually make it unnecessary to add salt to the cooking liquid.) Remove onion, garlic and ham hock from pot. Drain 2 cups of the cooking liquid from beans. If necessary, add water to make 2 cups liquid. Mince the remaining onion; pieces should be no larger than rice grains. In another pot or saucepan, sauté onion and celery in 1 tablespoon oil until onion is yellow, not brown. Add bay leaf, rice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 2 cups reserved bean liquid. Add a dash of cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil. Stir once; reduce flame as low as possible. Cover pot and cook rice, without stirring, until rice is tender, from 15 to 20 minutes. Toss beans and rice together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pass Tabasco sauce at table. Meat from ham hock may be minced and added to dish or may be used for some other cooking purpose.

[recipe_title]Fried Chicken And Apple[/recipe_title]

[recipe]2 broilers, 2 lbs. each (not large "frying" chickens)[/recipe]

[recipe]1-1/2 cups milk[/recipe]

[recipe]Salad oil or lard[/recipe]

[recipe]1 cup flour[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup sugar[/recipe]

[recipe]2 teaspoons salt[/recipe]

[recipe]1 teaspoon ground cinnamon[/recipe]

[recipe]1 teaspoon paprika[/recipe]

[recipe]3 large Delicious apples, peeled and cored[/recipe]

Have broilers cut up for frying. Singe broilers, if necessary. Place in a deep bowl with milk (use more milk, if necessary, to cover chicken). Soak 3 to 4 hours. Preheat oven at 325°. Remove chicken from milk and discard milk. Dry chicken with paper toweling. In an electric skillet (or two skillets, to complete frying more quickly), pour oil or melt lard to a depth of 1 in. Preheat skillet at 370°. Sift flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and paprika. Dip chicken into flour mixture, coating each piece completely. Shake pieces and pat to eliminate excess flour. Fry until medium brown on both sides. Replace oil, wiping out pan and adding fresh oil when necessary. As soon as all pieces of chicken are browned, stack them on edge in a shallow baking pan or casserole. Cut each apple crosswise into 4 rings. Dip into flour mixture. Fry until medium brown on both sides. Place apple rings in baking pan with chicken. Place pan in oven 15 to 20 minutes to complete cooking. Serve at once. Southern fried chicken, once served only with a creamy gravy, is now usually wolfed down crisp and dry.

[recipe_title]Spoon Bread With Bacon[/recipe_title]

[recipe]1-1/2 cups white corn meal[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 lb. bacon[/recipe]

[recipe]1-1/2 cups milk[/recipe]

[recipe]1 teaspoon salt[/recipe]

[recipe]3 cups milk[/recipe]

[recipe]4 tablespoons butter[/recipe]

[recipe]4 eggs, well beaten[/recipe]

Preheat oven at 400°. Fry bacon until crisp; drain and chop coarsely; set aside. Combine corn meal with 1-1/2 cups milk and salt. In a heavy saucepan, bring remaining 3 cups milk to the boiling point. Reduce flame, so that milk simmers. Slowly stir corn-meal mixture into hot milk. Cook over a low flame, stirring frequently, until mixture is quite thick, about 5 minutes. Remove from fire and stir in butter. Slowly stir in eggs and bacon. Turn into a greased casserole or soufflé dish not more than three fourths filled. Bake uncovered about 30 minutes or until spoon bread has risen and is deep brown on top.

[recipe_title]Oven Barbecued Spareribs[/recipe_title]

[recipe]6 lbs. spareribs, cut into serving-size pieces[/recipe]

[recipe]1 large onion, sliced[/recipe]

[recipe]2 medium-size cloves garlic, sliced[/recipe]

[recipe]1 cup cider vinegar[/recipe]

[recipe]2 8-oz. cans tomato sauce[/recipe]

[recipe]2 medium-size tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced[/recipe]

[recipe]1 cup brown sugar[/recipe]

[recipe]1 cup water[/recipe]

[recipe]1 teaspoon ground allspice[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 teaspoon ground cloves[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper[/recipe]

Place all ingredients except spareribs in blender. (Blending may be done in two batches, if blender well is not large enough to hold all ingredients at one time.) Blend at high speed 2 minutes or until all ingredients are thoroughly puréed. Set aside 1 cup of mixture to be used as a dip. Chill in refrigerator. Pour balance over spareribs in large shallow roasting pan. Marinate 3 to 4 hours in refrigerator. Preheat oven at 325°. Bake spareribs l-1/2 hours or until well browned. Turn spareribs to brown on both sides. If barbecue sauce begins to char in pan, dilute with water to prevent scorching. Pass reserved barbecue sauce as a dip; it may be served either hot or cold.

[recipe_title]Creamed Smithfield Ham[/recipe_title]

[recipe]1 lb. cooked Smithfield ham, sliced very thin[/recipe]

[recipe]3 tablespoons sweet butter[/recipe]

[recipe]3 cups light cream[/recipe]

[recipe]1 tablespoon arrowroot or cornstarch[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup milk[/recipe]

[recipe]1-1/2 ozs madeira[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 oz. brandy[/recipe]

Cut ham into 1-in. squares. Cover ham with cold water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. As soon as water boils, drain ham, discarding water. Melt butter in saucepan over low flame. Add ham and cream. Very slowly bring to a boil. Dissolve arrowroot in the milk and slowly stir into saucepan. Simmer 5 minutes over low flame. Stir in madeira and brandy. Add salt and pepper, if desired. Serve at brunchtime with a poached egg on crisp toast, at dinnertime over rice or inside a mashed-potato border, or at suppertime over waffles.

[recipe_title]Sweet-Potato Pie With Bourbon[/recipe_title]

[recipe]1 9-in. unbaked piecrust[/recipe]

[recipe]2 17-oz. cans yams in syrup[/recipe]

[recipe]1 cup sugar[/recipe]

[recipe]1 teaspoon ground cinnamon[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 teaspoon salt[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 teaspoon ground ginger[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 teaspoon ground allspice[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 teaspoon ground cloves[/recipe]

[recipe]1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg[/recipe]

[recipe]3 eggs, beaten[/recipe]

[recipe]1 cup light cream[/recipe]

[recipe]1-1/2 ozs bourbon[/recipe]

[recipe]1 teaspoon vanilla extract[/recipe]

Be sure piecrust is 9 ins. wide; a smaller crust will not hold all of filling. Thaw crust, if frozen. Pierce sides and bottom with fork at 1-in. intervals. (Piercing the crust will prevent it from getting out of shape, but the crust will still hold pie filling.) Preheat oven at 400°. Bake piecrust 10 to 15 minutes or until crust is half baked, not browned. Drain yams well, discarding syrup, and mash them with potato ricer. In a mixing bowl, combine yams with balance of ingredients, mixing well. Pour into piecrust. Return crust to oven. Bake 20 to 25 minutes. Chill before serving. Serve with a dab of sweetened whipped cream on each portion, if desired.

The preceding recipes are, of course, but a small slice of the splendid provender awaiting the enterprising and adventurous soul searcher. Seek and ye shall find.