During Black History Month, Alabama NewsCenter has featured stories about the impact African-Americans have had on food in this state – not only what we grow but what we eat. Dating back to slavery, Africans and their descendants have helped define food in Alabama, influencing and enhancing our cuisine.

Today, we feature recipes from some of the people we have profiled this month who have shaped and are shaping our culinary landscape:

• George Washington Carver, the “Peanut Man” of Tuskegee University who found hundreds of uses for peanuts and promoted them and sweet potatoes, soybeans and peas as a way to enrich cotton-depleted soils of the South and offer farmers growing alternatives to cotton.
• Vera Malone Beck, a native of Athens who spread her Alabama cooking into thousands of homes in Ohio as a test kitchen cook for the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper.
• Martha Hawkins, owner of Martha’s Place in Montgomery, who had to remake her troubled life to bring to life her dream of owning a restaurant.
• Juliette Flenoury, who cooked at the Mountain Brook Club for more than four decades and was noted for her corn pones, fried chicken, cornbread dressing, chicken pot pies and more.
• Ama Shambulia, who worked with Chris Dupont at Birmingham’s Café Dupont and directs the Healthy Living Programs of Urban Ministry Inc. in Birmingham.
• Duane Nutter, chef at Mobile’s Southern National restaurant, which was a semifinalist for the prestigious James Beard Award for Outstanding New Restaurant in America.

We didn’t plan it this way, but the recipes would make a wonderful meal: Start with Carver’s peanut soup followed by Shambulia’s marinated “greens” salad, enjoy Nutter’s fried catfish and/or Hawkins’ pork chop casserole with a side of Beck’s Hoppin’ John and Flenoury’s corn pones for your entrée, then top it off with Beck’s sliced sweet potato pie for dessert. (And if you decide to make this meal, the NewsCenter staff will be happy to accept an invitation to try your results!)

George Washington Carver is known for his innovations with peanuts and sweet potatoes. (Photo courtesy of Tuskegee University Archives)

Thanks to Tuskegee University for granting permission to publish a recipe from Carver’s Bulletin No. 31 from March 1916. Thanks as well to Carolyn Williams, Beck’s daughter, for allowing NewsCenter to publish her mother’s recipes, and to these extraordinary culinary artisans for letting us share their recipes with our readers. Enjoy!

GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER
PEANUT SOUP

INGREDIENTS

1 quart milk
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup peanuts

PREPARATION

Cook peanuts until soft; remove skins, mash or grind until very fine; let milk come to a boil; add the peanuts; cook 20 minutes.
Rub flour into a smooth paste with milk. Add butter to the peanuts and milk, stir in flour paste, season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

Ama Shambulia is using healthy food for community outreach in Birmingham’s West End. (Michael Tomberlin / Alabama NewsCenter)

AMA SHAMBULIA
MAMA AMA’S MARINATED ‘GREENS’ SALAD

INGREDIENTS

4 bunches fresh greens (chard, collard, kale, mustard), washed and finely sliced
1 rib celery, finely sliced
½ red onion or 1 shallot, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 fresh thyme sprig, leaves chopped
Chopped cayenne pepper, to taste
½ cup fresh lemon juice
½ cup Bragg Liquid Aminos*
¼ cup olive oil

PREPARATION

Combine greens and next five ingredients in a salad bowl.
Whisk together the lemon juice, Bragg Liquid Aminos and olive oil. Pour over greens mixture; toss to combine. Serve immediately.
* Bragg Liquid Aminos is available at health food stores, some grocery stores and Asian markets. Substitute ¼ cup soy sauce and ¼ water for Bragg Liquid Aminos if necessary.
Note: Feel free to mix and match the greens based on what’s in season. Shambulia likes to serve this alongside black-eyed peas.

Vera Beck went from humble beginnings in Limestone County to working with some of the biggest chefs in the world and developing a loyal following in Cleveland, Ohio. (Erin Harney / Alabama NewsCenter)

VERA BECK
HOPPIN’ JOHN

INGREDIENTS

1 pound dried black-eyed peas
½ pound ham hock or hog’s jowl
1 hot pepper
2 medium onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, lightly crushed
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup raw long-grain white rice

PREPARATION

After soaking beans according to basic instructions, place them in a large kettle with 6 cups water, the ham hock, hot pepper, onions, garlic and salt.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until beans are almost tender.

Bring mixture back to a boil. Add rice, reduce heat to very low and cook, tightly covered, until rice is tender, about 20 minutes more.
Note: Hoppin’ John traditionally is served with greens and cornbread.

Juliette Flenoury mixes a batch of the corn pones that delighted diners at the Mountain Brook Club. (contributed)

JULIETTE FLENOURY
CORN PONES

INGREDIENTS

5 lbs. Martha White (plain) cornmeal
1½ cups granulated sugar
1 cup salt of your choice
4 cups of melted shortening at 450 degrees – use laser or any kitchen thermometer
4 gallons of boiling water to pour into mix
Another gallon and a half of boiling water for dipping spoon

PREPARATION

Preheat convection oven to 450 degrees.

Spray 4 half-sheet pans with pan release spray and put into hot oven for 10 minutes (be careful not to let them stay in longer than that because they get too smoky) and then pull them out to use for panning the pones. This helps create a little caramelization.

The Businessman’s Special: collard greens, black-eyed peas and onion, with two of Juliette Flenoury’s mouth-watering corn pones. (contributed)

Use a large commercial-grade metal kitchen spoon for mixing and shaping the pones.

Mix all dry ingredients first in a very large stainless steel mixing bowl (industrial/commercial grade).

Pour hot, melted shortening into the cornmeal, stir quickly and incorporate well.

Pour boiling water 4 cups at a time until you have the right consistency. You may not need all of the water you prepared for this recipe but have it on hand, just in case.

Stir vigorously. The mixture is very dense, and at times hard to stir, but needs to be fully incorporated.

Build a ridge on the side of the bowl nearest you and smooth it off. Start scraping your spoon toward yourself as the cornmeal mixture curls inside the spoon. Take it and turn your spoon to the left, tap it to release the pone onto the pan. Repeat this the same way every time. All pones should be right next to each other and uniform. A little extra hot water should be added via the large kitchen spoon at intervals to keep hydration level correct. Smooth out, pat it down, back and forth, then scrape to roll the pone into the spoon. Also, halfway through this recipe, you will need to change out your dipping water with fresh boiling hot water to keep the temperature up for the conduction through your spoon so the pones will curl uniformly within the spoon and so the spoon will stay clean.

Put pones in the oven and bake for 45 minutes at 450 degrees. Check halfway through and rotate the pan. The pones should be brown on the top ridge and the rounded sides to give you the crunch you desire.

Chef Duane Nutter, left, and Reggie Washington are co-owners of Southern National in Mobile. (Bruce Nix / Alabama NewsCenter)

DUANE NUTTER
MY UNCLE’S FRIED FISH

INGREDIENTS

6-10 catfish fillets (this is also good with Gulf shrimp)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1½ cups oil (canola or peanut oil)

PREPARATION

Heat oil in a heavy frying pan to about 350 degrees, I prefer to use cast iron.
In a large bowl, mix cornmeal, flour and all the spices, then place in a shallow dish for dredging.
While the oil is getting hot, sprinkle the fish with a little salt on each side, then dredge fillets in flour mixture and fry in the hot oil. (A good test to see if your oil is hot enough: Flick a little of your cornmeal mixture into the oil. If it sizzles at once, you’re ready to add your fish.)
Fry until golden brown, 2-4 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets.
Use a metal fish spatula or regular metal spatula to turn your fish. When they are finished cooking, let them drain on some paper towels.
Note: If you are using a cast-iron pan, remember to monitor your heat because they hold heat really well; you will need to lower the heat on the stove at some point.
Serve with Whiskey Tartar Sauce.

WHISKEY TARTAR SAUCE

INGREDIENTS

2 cups mayonnaise (I prefer Duke’s)
1 cup chopped bread and butter pickles
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons chopped green onion
1 lemon, juice and zest
2 teaspoons whole-grain Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
2 ounces whiskey of your choice
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper

PREPARATION

Add all ingredients to a large bowl and whisk until all items are well incorporated. Adjust seasoning by adding salt and pepper if needed.

Martha Hawkins’ pork chop casserole (contributed)

MARTHA HAWKINS
PORK CHOP CASSEROLE

INGREDIENTS

6 pork chops
1 tablespoon cooking oil
3 large potatoes, peeled and sliced
½ pound carrots, sliced in disks
1 large onion, sliced
1 can (10½ ounces) condensed mushroom soup

PREPARATION

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Heat the oil in a skillet and brown the pork chops on both sides.
Place the pork chops in a 2-quart casserole dish. Add the potatoes, carrots, onions and mushroom soup. Cover with lid or foil.
Bake 45 minutes.

The “Vera Beck Cookbook” compiled some her best recipes from the Cleveland Plain Dealer and can still be found in homes in Ohio and beyond. (Erin Harney / Alabama NewsCenter)

VERA BECK
SWEET POTATO-COCONUT PIE

INGREDIENTS

2 cups cooked sweet potatoes, mashed
¼ cup flaked coconut
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons vanilla
¼ teaspoon iodized salt
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk (not unsweetened evaporated)
3 eggs
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1 nine-inch unbaked pie shell

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Thoroughly combined the potatoes, coconut, spices, vanilla and salt. Blend in condensed milk, eggs and butter. Pour into unbaked pie shell and bake just until pastry starts to brown, about 12 minutes.

Reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Makes one 9-inch pie.