The Gullah Geechee are direct descendants of the first Black people forcibly transported from Africa to the US, who arrived in southeastern port cities such as Charleston, South Carolina. Several isolated communities survive today in coastal cities stretching from Florida to North Carolina, including Georgia’s Sea Islands.
Known for taking immense pride in their distinct customs, heritage and African-Creole dialect, Gullah Geechee communities are similarly proud of their cuisine, which is the basis for much of what’s considered Southern food today. If you’ve ever had shrimp and grits or Hoppin’ John, you’ve had Gullah Geechee food.
Theirs is a grain-based cuisine, with rice playing a starring role — Gullah Geechee people brought rice farming and cultivation with them, having lived along the West African ‘rice coast’ from Senegal to Sierra Leone and beyond. Seasonal local grains such as benne seed and millet also appear frequently in Gullah Geechee recipes, along with stewed leafy greens and other slow-braised vegetables, like okra, corn and tomatoes. These ingredients show up in hearty, savoury Southern meals like Country Captain, essentially a thick chicken curry dish with rice. Seafood is also a staple of the Gullah Geechee diet, with shrimp, crab, oysters and fish being essential components of many recipes.
Matthew Raiford is a descendant of coastal Georgia’s Freshwater Gullah Geechee, and a farmer who tends Gilliard Farms, an expanse of land bought in 1874 by Jupiter Gilliard, his formerly enslaved great-great-great-grandfather. He’s also a 2018 James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef Southeast, and the author of Bress ‘n’ Nyam: Gullah Geechee Recipes from a Sixth-Generation Farmer. In the book, and at Gilliard Farms, he pays homage to the food and foodways that sustained his family, believing Gullah Geechee cuisine represents not only the foundation of US food, but also its future.
“Today is the beginning of reclaiming the past and one of the major foundations of American cuisine,” he says. “As for tomorrow, we continue to be stewards of the land and plant the seeds that shall grow strong roots.”
This is a dish full of unexpected flavours, like the spicy-smoky-sweet sensation of calypso seasoning, which has a hint of citrus and some heat from the dried chillies. You may find you need to make a few substitutions, as some of the ingredients can be hard to find in the UK. If you can’t find fish peppers, try replacing them with jalapeños for a milder heat or with cayenne for a more intense heat.
Culantro, a herb most often used in Caribbean and South American dishes, has strong, citrussy notes — you can substitute it with flat-leaf parsley if needed. The amounts given here will leave you with some
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