South Carolina Gullah Recipes

HOPPIN’ JOHN RECIPE

Tradition says that eating Hoppin’ John, collard greens and cornbread on New Year’s Day will bring a year filled with good luck. Made of black-eyed peas and rice, seasoned with ham hocks, onions, green peppers, and spices, the origin of the name is unknown, but it’s thought to be a Gullah dish from the colonial era.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon bacon drippings
2 cans (about 16 ounces each) black-eyed peas, slightly drained, or about 3 cups cooked black-eyed peas
1 cup chopped cooked ham
¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
3 cups hot cooked rice
salt to taste
sliced sweet onion, optional

PREPARATION:

In a large saucepan sauté chopped onion in bacon drippings until tender. Stir in black-eyed peas, ham, and cayenne pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes; stir in hot cooked rice and salt. Serve Hoppin' John hot with sliced onion and cornbread.

Recipe serves 4 to 6

Charleston Traditional Creamy She-Crab Soup

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1 quart milk
1/8 teaspoon ground mace
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups white crab meat (try to find fresh crabs with roe, but canned will do)
6 tablespoons dry sherry
1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

Fill the bottom of a double boiler halfway with water. Bring to a low boil. Melt butter in top of double boiler, add flour and stir until smooth.

Gradually add milk, stirring constantly until smooth. Add mace, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and crab meat, add roe . Cook over simmering water for 20 minutes.To serve, place 1 tablespoon of warmed sherry in each of 4 or 6 soup bowls (depends on how much soup you want). Ladle soup into bowls, top with a dollop of whipped cream, and sprinkle with fresh snipped parsley.

Makes 4 -6 servings

Cornbread Muffins

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter softened
2/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup milk
3/4 (10 ounce) package frozen corn kernels, thawed

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease or line 12 muffin cups. In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar, honey, eggs and salt. Mix in flour, cornmeal and baking powder; blend throughly. Stir in milk and corn. Pour or spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Spread honey mixed with a little softened butter over the tops while they are still warm. You can use this same recipe for cornbread.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

Carolina Country Hobo Bread

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of raisins
2 teaspoons of baking soda
1 cup of boiling water
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of chopped nuts
3 tablespoons of shortening
1 egg, beaten
2 cups of flour
1/8 teaspoon of salt

Pour the boiling water over the raisins and baking soda and let stand until cool. Combine the other ingredients with the raisin mixture and bake in a greased loaf pan at 350 degrees for 60 minutes or until done.

Cornbread Casserole

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (8 ounces) of cornbread stuffing mix
2 cups of frozen mixed vegetables slightly thawed
1-1/2 cups of cubed cooked ham
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups of milk
1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

In a microwavable baking dish (12x8x2-inch) mix together the stuffing, vegetables and ham. In a bowl mix together the eggs; milk, salt, and pepper pour this over the cornbread mixture and cover with plastic wrap. Put in the refrigerator and leave for at least 5 hours or overnight.

Next day, remove the plastic wrap and cover with waxed paper and microwave for 6 minutes rotate 1/4 turn. Continue microwaving for another 7 to 9 minutes or until a knife inserted in middle comes out clean. Sprinkle with the cheese.

Serves 4

Easy Chicken Pie

Ingredients:

4 large, boneless chicken breasts, cooked
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 can of chicken broth
1 cup of self-rising flour
1 cup of milk
1 stick of butter, melted

Cut the cooked chicken into small pieces. Put chicken into a shallow casserole dish and add the cream of chicken soup and chicken broth. In a separate bowl mix the flour, milk, and the margarine. Pour mixture evenly over chicken and bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour. Add any vegetables you like to the pie, if you like.

Crab Imperial

2 sticks butter
1 cup All-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
1/2 cup mushrooms, finely chopped
1/2 cup of parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cups of green onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup of pimentos, finely chopped
2 pounds of lump crab meat
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste
Bread crumbs

Melt butter in skillet over low heat. Add flour and whisk together to make a roux. Cook roux, whisking constantly over low heat until golden brown.

Add milk, whisking constantly, until well blended. Add celery and mushrooms, parsley, green onions and pimentos. Cook until vegetables are translucent, then carefully fold in crab meat, being careful not to break it up too much.

Add Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, salt and pepper, to taste. Pour mixture into individual baking dishes and top with bread crumbs. Bake at 350-degrees until bread crumbs are golden brown and mixture is heated through.

Serves 4

Carolina Country Slaw

Ingredients:

1 large cabbage, shredded
1 bell pepper, diced
1 onion, diced

Mix the pepper and onion together. Layer the cabbage and pepper and onion mix in a large mixing bowl. Pour 1 .5 cups sugar over this.

Mix the following ingredients together and bring to a boil:

1 cup of vinegar
3/4 cup of oil
1 tsp. of Salt
1 tsp. of celery seed
2 tsp. of Mustard
1 tbsp. Plus 1 tsp. of Sugar

Pour this over the cabbage, pepper, and onion and do not stir. Cover tightly and refrigerate for 4 hours. Tastes better if refrigerated overnight.

Serves 8

Sour Cream Baked Noodles

Ingredients:

1/4-pound wide noodles, cooked
1 cup of cottage cheese
1 cup of sour cream
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/8 teaspoon of black pepper
1 tablespoon of butter melted

Preheat oven to 375. Butter a casserole dish. In a large bowl put the cooked noodles, cottage cheese, sour cream, egg, salt, pepper and the butter and toss well. Put the noodle mixture into the dish and bake for 50-60 minutes. Until the noodles are bubbly and a little browned on top

Serves 4

Corn Skillet Fritters

2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons bacon drippings or oil
2 cups whole kernel corn, drained

Combine all ingredients except corn. Beat until smooth; blend in corn. Drop spoonfuls of batter in hot fat in skillet (1/8 to 1/4 inch deep). Brown lightly on both sides. Serve hot with butter and syrup.

Makes 12 to 14 fritters.

Peanut Butter Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups of white flour
1/3 cup of sugar
2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
3/4 cup of smooth peanut butter
1 cup of milk
1 egg, beaten

Grease a loaf pan and preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Next add to the dry ingredients the peanut butter, egg, and the milk and mix until well blended. Put the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 50-55 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Hush Puppies

2 cups sifted fine, stone or water ground white corn meal
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 tablespoon baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon minced yellow onion
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
4 - 5 tablespoons cold water

Stir corn meal, sugar, soda and salt together. Place onion in a small bowl. Add egg, buttermilk and beat until frothy. Pour all at once into the meal and stir lightly to mix. Add just enough of the cold water to make dough a good dropping. Fry in a deep fat fryer for about 2 minutes or until evenly browned.

Makes about 2 dozen.

Low Country Red Rice

Ingredients

1 small yellow onion
1 can (14 ounces) crushed tomatoes
3 thick slices bacon
1 cup long-grain white rice
Salt, ground black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste
1 cup chicken stock

Chop the onion. Have the can of tomatoes opened and ready to use. In a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, fry the bacon until crisp and the fat is rendered, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat from the pan.

Return the pan to medium heat and add the onion. Saute until it begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the rice and saute until the grains are coated with the bacon fat and are very hot, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt, and black and cayenne peppers, mixing well. Pour in the stock or water and bring to a boil. Cover tightly, reduce heat to low, and cook until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 30 minutes. Do not stir the rice during this time.

Spoon the rice into a serving bowl and crumble the bacon over the top. Serve at once.

Jambalaya

Ingredients

1/2 pound cooked chicken meat
1/2 pound cooked ham
1 pound cooked sausages
1 small green bell pepper
1 large yellow onion
3 cloves garlic
5 scallions
3 large tomatoes
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
2 bay leaves
Salt, ground black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste.
2 cups long-grain white rice
3 cups chicken, beef, or vegetable stock, or as needed

Chop the chicken and the ham into bite-sized pieces; you should have about 1-1/2 cups of each. Cut the sausages into 1/2 inch thick slices. Seed the bell pepper, then chop the bell pepper, yellow onion, garlic, and the scallions, including the tender green tops. chop the tomatoes.

In a large heavy skillet over medium heat, warm the vegetable oil. Add the ham and sausage and saute until well browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the flour, stir well, and add the bell pepper, yellow onion, garlic, and scallions and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, thyme, cumin, allspice, bay leaves, salt, black and cayenne peppers, and chicken and mix well. Then stir in the rice and pour in the stock. The liquid should just cover the contents of the skillet. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook until the rice is tender, about 20 minutes.

To serve, remove and discard the bay leaf. Spoon the rice and meats onto a platter.

Serves 6-8

Fried Okra

Ingredients:

1 pound of fresh okra
1/2 cup of self rising flour
1 cup of self rising cornmeal
1 cup of vegetable oil for frying

Wash the okra in cold water and dry with a paper towels. Remove the tops and stems and cut the pods into 1/2 inch long pieces.

Mix the cornmeal, flour, and salt together in a mixing bowl and add the okra. Stir the okra and cornmeal mixture together making sure to completely coat the okra pieces on all sides and then let it stand for a few minutes and then stir again.

Once the okra is completely coated shake the bowl to allow the leftover breading to settle to the bottom. Heat the vegetable oil over medium high heat in a large frying pan. Place the breaded okra into the pan fry until browned on all sides. Remove the fried okra from the pan and drain on paper towels before serving.

Serves 4

Shrimp And Grits

1 cup grits (not quick or instant; 8 oz)
6 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 lb medium shrimp in shell (31 to 35 per lb; about 40), peeled (deveined if desired)
2 Hillshire Farms smoked sausage "Hot Links" (from a 5-link package),chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped (1 cup)
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped (1 cup)
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

Combine grits, 5 cups water, and 1 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until grits are creamy and soft, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and keep warm, covered. Meanwhile, rinse shrimp under cold running water, then pat dry and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook sausage in a dry 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat, stirring, until browned and fat is rendered, about 4 minutes. Add shrimp to sausage mixture and cook, stirring, until shrimp just turn opaque, about 2 minutes, then transfer shrimp to a plate. Add onion and bell pepper to sausage mixture and increase heat to high, then cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle flour over sausage mixture, then cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add remaining cup water and bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up any brown bits from bottom of skillet. Return shrimp to skillet and stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste, then remove from heat. Stir grits and divide among 4 plates, then spoon shrimp mixture with sauce on top and serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.

Duck Purloo

2 lb boneless Moulard duck breast halves
4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (32 fl oz)
1 (1-lb) package bulk breakfast sausage (not links)
1/2 lb kielbasa (not low-fat), cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
2 large onions, chopped (4 cups)
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped (2 cups)
1 red bell pepper, chopped (2 cups)
3 oz fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 fresh habanero or Scotch bonnet chile, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Put duck breasts, skin sides up, in a 6 to 8-quart heavy pot and add broth. Bring just to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until very tender when pierced with a fork, 2 to 3 hours. Transfer duck to a bowl with a slotted spoon, then, when cool enough to handle, remove and discard skin and shred meat with 2 forks. Skim off and discard fat from broth and return shredded duck to pot. While duck cooks, crumble breakfast sausage into a deep 12-inch heavy skillet and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add kielbasa, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Skim off all but about 2 tablespoons fat and discard it. Add onions and bell peppers to sausage mixture and increase heat to high, then cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened, about 10 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Transfer sausage mixture to a large bowl. Cool to room temperature, then chill, covered, until duck is finished cooking.

Return sausage mixture to pot with duck meat and add remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, habanero chile, and salt. Stir in rice and bring liquid to a rolling boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender and moist but not soggy, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 15 minutes. Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper.

Cooks' note: Duck purloo can be made 3 days ahead and cooled completely, then chilled, covered.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Onion Pie

Ingredients:

1, 9-inch pie shell
1/4 cup of Italian dressing
2 tablespoons of butter or margarine
2 large onions, thinly sliced
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
2 teaspoon of sage
1 teaspoon of dried marjoram leaves, crushed
1/8 teaspoon of black pepper
2 eggs
1/2 cup of heavy cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pierce the bottom of pie shell with fork. Bake 8 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool the pie shell completely. In a large pan on medium heat, heat the Italian dressing and butter add the onions and cook until the onions are tender. Fill the pie shell with the cheese and pour the onion mixture in. Meanwhile in a bowl beat the eggs, cream, sage, marjoram and pepper and pour over the onions. Bake 35 minutes or until golden brown.

Frogmore Stew

INGREDIENTS

6 quarts water
3/4 cup Old Bay Seasoning
2 pounds hot smoked sausage links, cut into 2 inch pieces
12 ears corn - husked, cleaned and quartered
4 pounds large fresh shrimp, unpeeled

1. Bring water and Old Bay Seasoning to boil in a large stockpot.

2. Add potatoes and cook for 15 minutes. Add sausage and cook for 5 minutes more. Add corn and cook for another 5 minutes. Stir in the shrimp and cook until shrimp are pink, about 5 minutes. Drain immediately and serve.