How has African Culture Influenced Latin American Dishes? Latin Dishes with Strong African Roots Highlighting some of our favorite plates to honor the uncredited ways African roots have deeply influenced Latin American culture and cuisine.
By: Johanna Ferreira | (@cup_of_johanna)
The deeply ingrained anti-Black racism that still very much exists in Latin America is the central reason why the African influences that have significantly impacted our cultures still often go ignored. There is even erasure regarding the African roots behind many of our staple cuisines. "The Caribbean, Central and South America are vastly influenced by African cuisine," says Dominican-American Chef and Culinary Instructor Irbania Tavares. "This all originated with the European slavery trades before African-influenced foods, such as Sancocho, Mofongo, Tacu Tacu, and Feijoada, became national dishes in the Caribbean and Latin America." Everything from West African techniques to spices largely influences our cuisines, which Tavares believes is essential to embrace and acknowledge.
"Understanding where the dishes that we love and enjoy so much come from creates a connection and deeper appreciation of the food we eat," she adds." It also creates respect for the culture that contributed to it. The African Diaspora left an immense influence in Latin America and in any other country they were enslaved."
Culture • Food
African culture influenced most Latin American dishes. Latin American countries are areas once colonized by Europe. They enslaved over 11 million Africans in Latin America. Thus, Africa influenced social, racial, economic, and cultural diversity and culinary diversity.
Mangu (Mashed Plantains) Dominican mashed plantains – one of Dominicans' most beloved dishes and base of "Los Tres Golpes" – are our gastronomy's most complete and complex breakfast. And if you want to make one that delights any Dominican, here is my "secret" best mangu recipe.
Mofongo Puerto Rican dish Mofongo is a Latin American dish. Mofongo is made of mashed plantains, mashed green plantains with garlic and vegetables. Chicharron (fried pork skin), chicken chunks, or shrimp are folded before shaping the food into a mound. Mofongo originates from the Angolan slaves
Mogo - What is mogo? Mogo, also known as cassava or yuca, is a root vegetable. It is similar to a potato but has a little more texture and a slightly sweet, nutty taste. You can enjoy mogo boiled or mashed as chips and, of course, in this chili mogo recipe! If you’ve ever had chili paneer, this is pretty similar, except instead of cubes of fried cheese, we have chunks of crispy cassava.
Rondon - Run down, also referred to as rundown, run dun, rondón, fling-me-far, and fling mi for, is a stew dish in Jamaican cuisine and Tobago cuisine. The traditional Jamaican dish is eaten in several Latin American countries that share a coast with the Caribbean Sea.
Vatapa - is an Afro-Brazilian dish made from bread, shrimp, coconut milk, finely ground peanuts, and palm oil, kneaded into a creamy paste. It is a common food in the North and Northeast regions of Brazil and is usually accompanied by white rice. The vatapá was introduced in Brazil by the Yoruba people under the name of Sheba-tapa.
Tacu tacu - is known across Latin America. Its ingredients, rice, and beans, are a staple food rooted in slavery. The black slaves loved to cook bean stews. In Peru, slaves fried leftover rice and beans with lard to make tacu tacu.
Okra soup -Okra soup is another Latin American dish from the Garifuna region in Trujillo, Honduras. It is a root soup, where the main ingredient is the African vegetable okra.
Spicy Tacnena The spicy tacneña is one of the most delicious tripe-based dishes and nutritious that we can find in all the gastronomy of Peru. Spicy Tacnena was born on cotton and sugar cane farms in the Sama Valley, in Peru, where African slaves lived. During slavery, slave masters gave them the inferior parts of the animals they owned. From these, the slaves and later the Garífuna community made recipes such as chicken foot soup, pig’s foot, pig’s head, pig’s tongue, fried giblets, chicharrones, and Chihara.
Mondongo is a common Latin American dish made by cooking a soup whose main ingredient is ox tripe. Mondongo soup is seasoned with pepper, onion, garlic, tomato, and aromatic herbs. Mondongo is in the African Kikongo language, meaning “intestines, entrails of a certain animal.
Tamales is also one of the Latin American dishes that use African cooking techniques. Corn flour is mixed with lard, meat, and stew, then sealed in the shape of a square for cooking. Latin Americans use banana leaves like Africans to seal dishes that require concentration of flavor, moisture, and consistency, being cooked slowly. In the Mississippi Delta, African Americans developed a spicy tamale called the hot tamale that is made from cornmeal instead of masa and is boiled in corn husks.
Snookums’s Okra Soup Recipe
INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups fresh or thawed frozen corn
2 cups thawed frozen lima beans
1 cup diced fresh Roma tomatoes
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
4 cups vegetable broth
Kosher salt
tap here
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups sliced fresh or thawed frozen okra (if using fresh, slice into 1-inch pieces)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 lemon
Steamed rice for serving (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat a large gumbo pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the oil, onion, bell pepper, garlic, and sauté until the vegetables soften. Mix in the corn, lima beans, and Roma tomatoes. Add the canned tomatoes, vegetable broth, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper and stir. Turn down the heat to a simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes.
In another saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the sliced okra and ginger, season with a little salt and pepper, and stir. Squeeze the half lemon over the okra (the lemon juice will help cut some of the slime). Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 4 minutes. Turn off the heat.
Once the broth mixture has simmered for 20 minutes, add the okra. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Stir the soup, then serve over rice (or enjoy it without).
Arroz con Glandules' The main components of arroz con gandules are rice and pigeon peas. The key to the delicious flavor of this and many Puerto Rican recipes is aromatic sofrito, which is a blend of green peppers, onion, garlic, sweet Caribbean peppers known as ajis dulces, and recao (or culantro). Sofrito is the most essential ingredient in Puerto Rican cooking.
Prep Time 30 minutes Cook Time 20 minutes
Ingredients
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 white onion
• 1/2 red onion
• 1/2 red pepper
• 1/2 green pepper
• 1 cup of cubed salchichón
• 2 tsp of Loisa Sofrito
• 1 Can of green pigeon peas y drained
• 1/2 cup of tomato sauce
• 3 to 4 olives
• 2 cups of medium-grain rice
• 2 cups of water
• 1 tsp Loisa Organic Adobo
• 1 tsp Loisa Organic Sazón
• 1 teaspoon Loisa Organic Oregano
• 5-7 leaves of culantro
• For the Tostones
• 1/2 tsp Loisa Sal Marina
• 1/2 tsp Loisa Organic Ground Black Pepper
• 1/2 tsp Loisa Organic Garlic Powder
• Cilantro for garnish
Directions
1. heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat in a large pot.
2. add the mashed garlic cloves with the onions and peppers once the pot is hot.
3. Add 1 cup of salchichón, 2 tsp of Loisa Sofrito, 1 can of green pigeon peas, 1/2 cup of tomato sauce, and 3 to 4 olives. Stir well for about 2 minutes or until all ingredients are incorporated.
4. add 2 cups of medium-grain rice and boil 2 cups of water. Stir very well for 1 minute.
5. Add your Loisa Adobo, Sazón and Oregano.
6. Let the boil uncovered for about 10 minutes; do not stir the rice until most water evaporates.
7. Reduce the heat to low; now you can stir the rice once; place the cilantro on top, cover the pot, and cook for about 20 minutes until all the water is absorbed and the rice is cooked.
8. Turn off the heat, uncover the pot, and remove the cilantro.
9. Serve with fresh cilantro on top and some tostones y Fuacata !!
Unfortunately, there's a gap of knowledge to be filled when it comes to how descendants of enslaved Africans have shaped Latin American cuisine. Our Spanish colonizers really went out of their way to erase African and Indigenous communities from our history, which is why they are often left out of historical contributions altogether. To honor the uncredited ways that Africa has deeply influenced Latin American culture and cooking, we highlighted a few popular Latin American traditional dishes with strong African roots worth taking pride in.
SEE AFRICAN TODAY
https://seeafricatoday.com/culture/10-latin-american-dishes-influenced-by-african-culture/
