New Series on Fish Dishes

Oyster dish, recipe below

Today I am staring a series on fish dishes based on an abundance of sources I found in researching my book Hog and Hominy: Soul food from Africa to America. The impetus for the series has been the increasing numbers of people I see fishing now that the weather is warmer here in the Hudson Valley. I am going to start off using my sources on fish and African cookery in the sixteenth century make my way across the Atlantic and time into various parts of the Americas. I found that African cooks used pieces of fish as seasoning when they had access to them. Fish and oysters contributed essential protein to the commoner’s diet. Here is a West African oyster recipe and hot sauce recipe.

West African Smoky Hot Oyster Bites recipe

Ingredients
2 cans smoked oysters, drained
1 package puff pastry
Hot sauce
Madagascar Sauce Dynamite

Method
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly oil a baking tray.
Roll out the pastry thinly and cut into circles about 3 inches in diameter.
Place a smoked oyster onto each circle.
Sprinkle some hot sauce over the oysters to taste.
Fold the pastry over and seal the edges gently with a little water and a fork.
Place the oyster bites on the baking tray and bake for 15 minutes until golden-brown.
Serve the baked oyster bites with the Madagascar Sauce Dynamite; makes 20.

Madagascar Sauce Dynamite recipe

Ingredients
12 “bird” peppers (chiltepíns or piquins), crushed
3 tablespoons freshly ground ginger
3 tablespoons freshly minced garlic
1 medium onion, diced
¼ cup tomato paste
1 cup white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup water
1 tablespoon freshly chopped thyme

Method
Mix all ingredients together in a pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, cool, purée in a blender, and place the sauce in a small jar. Makes 2 cups