Bryant Terry is a James Beard and NAACP Image award–winning chef and cookbook author and has been the chef in residence at the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco since 2015.
“Black Women, Food and Power” was the first program he ran while at the museum. He quickly learned that not only people from the Bay area were interested in this event, but attendees came from all over the country. There was a hunger for this kind of content. In response to this hunger, Terry published a book called “Black Food,” in which he drew on material from his program at the museum for chapters such as “Black Women,” “Food & Power,” “Land, Liberation & Food,” and “Black, Queer, Food.”
“Black Food: Stories, Art, and Recipes from Across the African Diaspora” is found in the cookbook section, but it is more than that. It offers feasts for the gastronomically inclined along with feasts for the eyes, with its rich photography, illustrations, and design. Interspersed with recipes are essays and poetry that celebrate myriad cultures within the Black community. It’s a work of social commentary, a cookbook, art book, and coffee table book all in one.
While most of Terry’s cookbooks are vegan, “Black Food” reaches beyond the wonderful world of plants. There are recipes that reflect a broad range of the Black diaspora and have appeal for diverse tastes, from vegan sweet potato coconut biscuits to okra and shrimp Purloo. Terry offers a few recipes of his own, but mostly he creates space for over 100 collaborators to shine. With each flip to a new section readers will discover richness of heart and flavor.
“Black Food” is available at the Harvard Public Library and many independent and Black-owned bookstores across Massachusetts. There are several copies of the book available across the CW MARS library consortium. The Harvard Schools PTO will be raffling off several books during February for Black History Month, and “Black Food” will be one of the books offered. All Harvard and Devens residents are welcome to enter the raffle, along with anyone in the school community. To learn more go to http://bitly.ws/onXP.
I have not had “Black Food” long enough to try a recipe, but I have had success with the following two recipes found in Terry’s other books. I’m sending you to the back of the books where you will find a wealth of glorious sauces, marinades, seasonings, vinegars, and oils.
Jerk Marinade
This marinade recipe is from “Vegetable Kingdom: The Abundant World of Vegan Recipes” by Bryant Terry, with photos rich in depth and texture by Ed Anderson.
I use jerk marinade on pressed tofu quite often, but there is nothing stopping you from trying it with chicken and other animal proteins. I use any extra marinade as a sauce, but absolutely do not do this if you are marinating raw chicken unless the sauce has been thoroughly heated to 165 F. Everything in this recipe is going into a food processor. A high speed blender can be used instead.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- 3 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons muscovado sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- 2 Scotch bonnet or habanero chiles, stemmed, seeded, and minced
- (I usually use jalapeños)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 6 tablespoons shoyu (I use gluten free tamari)
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme
- Fine sea salt
Yield: 2 cups.
Combine all the ingredients except the salt in a food processor, add ¼ cup water and purée until well combined.
Season with salt to taste.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use, up to one week.
Spinach-peanut Sauce
Terry’s 2014 book, “AFRO-VEGAN: Farm Fresh African, Caribbean, & Southern Flavors Remixed,” includes this unassuming recipe on page 86. With no accompanying photo, it’s easy to miss, but skipping this easy and flavorful dish would be a mistake. It’s inspired by ndolé, the national dish of Cameroon. Paige Green provides bountiful and mouthwatering photography throughout the book.
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1½ cups finely diced yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1½ pounds spinach leaves (about 12 packed cups)
- ½ cup skinless raw peanuts, soaked in water overnight and drained
- 3 cups vegetable stock, homemade (page 42 of the book)
- or store-bought
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
Yield: 4 cups
Heat the oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion, ginger, and salt and sauté until the onion is soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, two to three minutes. Remove from the heat. Put the spinach in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add about 2 cups of water. Cover and cook, stirring a few times, until the spinach wilts, about five minutes. Drain well, pressing the spinach to extract as much liquid as possible.
When cool enough to handle, transfer to a cutting board and chop finely. Add the spinach to the onion. Put the peanuts and stock in a blender and process until smooth. Transfer to the pan with the onion. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring often, until the sauce is thick, about 45 minutes. Stir in the thyme and cook for two to three minutes. Taste and season with more salt if desired.
Serve hot poured over rice.
