MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Many Americans celebrate Kwanzaa this week, a way to celebrate and explore African American and Pan-African culture. Well, a winter celebration calls for a hearty meal, so NPR's Anastasia Tsioulcas checked in with a chef who specializes in modern takes on beloved African American dishes.
TANYA HOLLAND: I've had clients who have asked me to make a peach cobbler in December, and I'm like, no (laughter), not going to do it. I didn't put up any peaches.
ANASTASIA TSIOULCAS, BYLINE: Chef Tanya Holland has some great and very specific ideas about how to bring seasonal foods to a winter table, particularly for the sixth night of Kwanzaa, the karamu, or feast, held on New Year's Eve. Holland's known across the country for her many television appearances, including "Top Chef." Her modern spin on soul food classics is the topic of her most recent cookbook, "California Soul," and she's often asked for Kwanzaa recipes. Holland says one of the gifts of the season is the chance to celebrate the entire African diaspora. One of the dishes that she recalls as an early introduction to the diverse foods of Africa via Kwanzaa is a quintessential dish from Senegal, chicken yassa.
HOLLAND: Which I think is really delicious, a braised chicken with onions and spices.
TSIOULCAS: It's also a chance to bring out some soul food classics.
HOLLAND: We cook the food of our ancestors and focus on the ingredients that were brought from Africa, like black-eyed peas, okra and the dishes that were just really humble and traditional - collard greens, cornbread. We always have, like, those staples - yams - on our menu.
TSIOULCAS: But she says for African Americans, Kwanzaa also gives a chance to celebrate the diversity of the African American experience, family to family.
HOLLAND: It's so different if your ancestors are from Mississippi versus Virginia versus Louisiana versus the Carolinas as to whether you ate a lot of rice or potatoes or gumbo.
TSIOULCAS: Since Kwanzaa's inspired by African harvest festivals, Holland says it's a great time to make and share cozy, comforting dishes. If you don't eat meat, she says, lean into the earthy, savory flavors of mushrooms.
HOLLAND: They're such a great substitute for that, like, rich umami, just really satisfying flavor and texture. Some of them can be quite meaty, like maitakes. I love cooking them like a little steak.
TSIOULCAS: And for meat eaters?
HOLLAND: I love braised meats also this time of year. I will be cooking my North African spice oxtails at the end of the week for a friend (laughter).
TSIOULCAS: That's an oxtail stew flavored with ras el hanout, a complex blend of rich spices that often includes cumin, ginger, paprika, cinnamon and rose petals that's pretty much guaranteed to warm you right up. Holland says Kwanzaa and other wintertime holidays are a great opportunity to create connection. Growing up, she says, her parents and five other couples, both Black and white, gathered regularly to cook and sample new foods together.
HOLLAND: That really informed how I see the world and how I know the power of the table and bringing people together over food. My dad didn't really get abroad until his '70s, but they were exposed to different cultures and exposed me to different cultures through the menus they created.
TSIOULCAS: And any opportunity to build kinship over food, Holland says, is one we should all take to heart, whether that's on a Kwanzaa table or just gathering on a cold winter's night. Anastasia Tsioulcas, NPR News, New York.
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