Photos by Rolando Diaz
Haitian cuisine is varied: The food draws influences from French and West African traditions and Caribbean ingredients. These six dishes — from stews to fried meats — serve as a good introduction to the culinary offerings of the Haitian community in Miami.TWEETSHARE
Pate
Pate are Haitian puff pastries with savory fillings. In Miami, pate is one of the few Haitian food names that is often Anglicized in English conversation, even among Haitians. Instead of pate, it’s frequently called a patty, usually with the qualifier of Haitian or Creole to distinguish them from Jamaican patties, which are better known to the greater population.Lakay Tropical Ice CreamGet pate here in Miami
Pate demonstrate the melding of French and West African foodways characteristic of Haitian cuisine. The dough is made much like French puff pastry, but as in most of the Caribbean, margarine, lard, or shortening often takes the place of butter, typically a luxury ingredient. The dough tends to have thicker, chewier layers towards the middle of the pastry while the outer layers are thin and brittle. The most popular pate fillings are spiced ground beef or salted cod, but other common fillings include ground chicken, ground turkey, or smoked herring. Miami’s Haitian bakeries offer pate at any time of the day, as do an increasing number of restaurants.
Fritay
Fritay refers to fried foods. Certain fritay, like the seasoned grated malanga fritters called akra, can trace their lineage directly back to West Africa, where similar preparations exist with the same name. Perhaps the simplest fritay is patat, slices of deep fried white sweet potatoes typically served as a snack or side dish. Bannann peze — fried slices of green plantain that are pressed into flat discs and fried again — are ubiquitous in Haitian cuisine, and similar to plantain preparations found throughout the Caribbean.
Meats require a more complex process. Beef or goat (and sometimes turkey) become tasso, while pork becomes griot (also spelled griyo), which is considered Haiti’s national dish. Preparing the meat typically involves thoroughly washing it, scrubbing it with salt and citrus, scalding it with salted water, and then marinating it in a seasoning paste called epis consisting of parsley, scallions, bell peppers, Scotch bonnet chiles, garlic, cloves, thyme, and citrus juice, along with other herbs and seasonings that vary with each cook.
The meat is slowly braised in its own juices, then fried to yield a crisp exterior and moist, tender interior. Chicken drumsticks receive the same treatment, plus a light dusting of cornstarch before frying to make poul fri, Kreyòl for “fried chicken.” Pikliz, a fiery cabbage slaw preserved in vinegar and generously seasoned with Scotch bonnet chiles, accompanies almost all fritay, its acidity and heat cutting through the richness of the fried meats and vegetables.
Though enjoyed regularly in Miami, in Haiti tasso and griot are considered special occasion dishes. Fritay — particularly griot — continue to feature prominently in social occasions: Griot festivals occur throughout South Florida and some Haitian nightclubs advertise fritay nights.
Diri ak djon djon
Diri ak djon djon is one of the most extravagant and unique dishes in Haitian cuisine. Often translated as “black rice” or “black mushroom rice,” diri means rice in Kreyòl, and djon djon is the Kreyòl word for fungus, referring to a variety of mushrooms found in northern Haiti. Similar mushrooms are found throughout the Caribbean, but Haitians are the only people in the region to feature them prominently in their cuisine. In the U.S., most markets that serve the Haitian community will import these mushrooms dried. They typically sell for around $64 a pound, making them the most expensive ingredient in Haitian cooking.Opa Locka Hialeah Flea MarketWhere to get diri mushrooms in Miami
Making diri ak djon djon involves soaking the dried mushrooms in hot water to produce a black liquid in which to cook the rice along with peas or lima beans and seasonings; other additions to the dish include whole cashews and dried or fresh shrimp, creating an aromatic and visually striking finished product. The German manufacturer, Maggi — a brand very popular among Haitians — also produces djon djon-flavored bouillon cubes. Used with inexpensive parboiled rice, these cubes allow for the recreation of a more affordable version, though more traditionally-minded Haitian cooks criticize this approach as cutting corners. Diri ak djon djon continues to be a dish that few restaurants serve regularly, and many families will only prepare it for holidays. It pays to inquire if a restaurant has it on hand or to make a special visit when it is featured as a daily special.
Soup joumou
On January 1, 1804, Haiti not only became the second nation in the Americas to gain its independence from European rule but also the first free Black republic. Haiti’s freedom came after a long, violent slave revolt — the first successful one since the initiation of the trans-Atlantic slave trade nearly two centuries earlier. Many Haitians recount tales from that era of a pumpkin soup that the French colonizers enjoyed and forbade slaves from consuming. Some sources claim that slaves were prohibited from even touching the pumpkin used to make it.
Now Haitians throughout the diaspora commemorate their hard-fought freedom every year on New Year’s Day by eating soup joumou, a puree of soft, mild Caribbean pumpkin cooked with beef stock. Cabbage, pasta, carrots, plantains, root vegetables, celery, and various cuts of beef that can include ribs and trotters are added to that soup base, which is seasoned with Scotch bonnet chiles and other herbs and spices….read more……….