The AfroMexican recipes from the Costa Chica of Guerrero
A couple of preliminaries. Now that I am on networked blogs on Facebook, I’m getting comments in both places. I planning on doing the substantive replies here. So to Diana Buja, who worried about what was African about the daily meals, the answer is that so far as I can see not much here.
Second, several people have said they would like this book to add to their collection. I’d be happy to take orders and send them. The book is cheap, about $7 US for 160 pages nicely produced paperback, the mailing is not, probably at least $20 US unless you want to wait until I am in the States in January 2010. But let me know and I will be happy to round up copies. In Mexico you grab books when they appear.
Now to the recipes.
The author gives no indication of who gave her the recipe, whether this was a dish for a special occasion or everyday, and certainly makes no effort to place them in context of the other cuisines of Africans in the Americas.
There are a hundred recipes, divided into maize, beans, pork, barbacoa, beef, deer, moles (no not the animal, the style of dish), iguana, tamales, fish and shellfish, pozoles, drinks, bread, sweets, postres, and various.
I started listing them all. I’ve given up. Their names will mean nothing to many readers even when translated and be misleading to others (totopos are made of a mixture of nixtamal and lard, for example).
They are highly regional versions of Mexican standards, stamped by the poverty of the region, the climate of the region, and the abundance of fish given that these communities live on the coast. There is more hunted meat than you would normally find: deer, rabbit, squirrel (under iguana), turtle eggs, armadillo. The moles, pipianes, etc are simple with few spices.
I perked up at frijol con arroz but this is not a hoppin john type recipe. Here it is.
You put the 1/2 kilo of beans on to boil without salt, when they are soft you add salt to taste, then you put on the fire a clay pot with 2 big tablespoons of lard and onion cut in rounds, when that is golden, you take the pot off the fire and add the beans without their broth, you let them season for about 15 minutes and then you crush them and you add broth to the required thickness [refried beans, essentially]. Put on the fire a pot with three times as much water as 1/2 kilo of rice. When it is hot, add the rice, stir it, and let it cook on a slow fire.
Serve with pickled chiles and dry cheese.
This is a pretty liquid boiled rice, if the measurements are to be believed, with refried beans.
Sounds like red beans in their own juice that was so popular in Haiti, only the cooks didn’t mix the rice in with the beans, but served the beans on top with lots of chopped parsley on top. They fried garlic with the parsley most of the time, too, and used as a sort of post-cooking sofrito to flavor the beans. AND this dish most often ended up on top of cornmeal mush/fufu/toh …
Cindy, I’m not clear. Did they mash the beans in Haiti? That’s what is happening in this recipe.
That’s exactly what they’re doing, mashing the beans. It makes a gravy-like, sauce-like dish. However, Haitians serve this over rice or cornmeal mush, topped with a fried parsley-garlic sauce. It’s generally not mixed in with the rice. That said, eaters stir the rice and beans together as they eat the dish.
Thanks for the clarification, Cindy.
Rachel: I gather you have moved now to Queretero. As you may remember when I last visited you, I was working on a book about the Three Cultures of Mexico:One Cuisine and had a delightful meal with your friends across the street. This goes to the Univ. of California Press at the end of the week, and there is one whole section in it on the foods of the African-Mexicans. I spent several weeks on the Costa Chica and found some incredible foods. Not using the foodstuffs of Africa, but that which was available to them in Northern Oaxaca and Southern Guerrero, mainly seafood.
Actually Marilyn, we decide to move to Mexico City. Will reply to your email ASAP. Wonderful news that the book is about to appear.
I just heard about AfroMexican cooking on ABC 7 LOS ANGELES about 10 minutes ago…sounds wonderful . I went right to Google to find recipes and cookbooks. I’m soo excited❗❗❗❗❗❗