Disclosure: This post has been sponsored by AncestryDNA. All views and opinions are my own.
“Where are you from?”
At the surface, this is an innocent enough question, but I can often sense the intent of the questioner when I respond, “Chicago.” At times, this is what they were looking for, whereas on other occasions there is dissatisfaction. The emboldened will press further with something along the lines of, “Where is your family from?”
Depending on my level of petty that day, I’ll follow up with sharing that my dad was born in Chicago, too, and my mom is from D.C., fully aware that that’s not the answer they were looking for. Other times I’ll be a bit more blunt with the truth and get straight to the point: slavery.
The fact is that I can only trace back my lineage a few generations, which is the case for multitudes of African-Americans in this country. I’ve always had complex feelings about only being about to trace my heritage back so far and, at times, not having a clue as to how to answer the question of where I’m from. So when I was approached with the opportunity to learn more by AncestryDNA, my decision was an easy one.
As one might have guessed with any knowledge of the slave trade, the bulk of my DNA is traced back to West Africa, but there’s some other interesting places in there, too, such as Great Britain, Finland/Northwest Russia, and Ireland/Scotland/Wales. (Again, slavery.) It even shows aspects of the Great Migration and my family’s Southern roots.
With all of this in mind, I took to the task of coming up with a recipe to reflect my lineage. Researching the cuisine of Togo taught me about akume (“savory porridge made from maize flour”) and pâtes (“sauces that accompany akume, usually made from eggplant, tomato, spinach, or fish”), and some of the staple seasonings included cardamom and ginger. Benin’s food includes a lot of similar ingredients (the two countries are neighbors), and also noted the inclusion of peppers and pumpkin seeds in its sauces.
Akume appears to be nothing more than a different word for grits, and taking into account my Southern background, cheese grits seemed like a great base for this dish. As for the sauce, I used eggplant and tomatoes as the main ingredients, with some warmth and spice coming from cardamom, ginger, and a serrano chile. Add a few pumpkin seeds on top for some textural contrast and voila! This recipe for eggplant and tomato sauce with cheese grits was born—a representation of my heritage in a bowl.
Eggplant Tomato Sauce with Cheese Grits Recipe
This eggplant and tomato sauce is inspired by the flavors of West Africa with cardamom, ginger, and chile. It's served atop a bed of cheese grits and topped with pumpkin seeds for texture.
Ingredients
Eggplant Tomato Sauce
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 serrano chile, minced (I left some of the seeds)
- 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- One 1 to 1 1/2 pound eggplant, cut into large dice
- One 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
White Cheddar Grits
- 6 cups liquid (water, milk, stock, or some combination thereof)
- 2 cups white corn grits
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 6 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups) grated sharp white cheddar cheese
- Salt and pepper, to taste
For Serving
- Pumpkin seeds, for sprinkling
Instructions
Eggplant Tomato Sauce
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the garlic, chile, ginger, and cardamom, and cook until fragrant and softened, about 1 minute.
- Add the eggplant, toss to coat in the oil, and cook until it starts to soften and breakdown, about 10 minutes. (You may need to add more oil if the pan gets too dry.)
- Add the tomatoes and salt and simmer, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes.
White Cheddar Grits
- Add the liquid to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Whisk in the grits and cook, stirring occasionally, until the grits are thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the butter and cheese and stir until evenly combined. Season with salt and pepper. (Note: If you add some salt and it tastes bland, you need to add some more. Grits take a bit more seasoning than you might think.)
To Serve
- Spoon some of the grits into a bowl and top with some of the eggplant tomato sauce. Sprinkle some pumpkin seeds in the bowl and serve.
If you, too, have been curious about DNA tests and want to give it a try, AncestryDNA is on sale August 10 to August 20 for only $59 (they regularly cost $99).
Thank you for sharing the backstory as well as this amazing recipe. I loved the way the smooth cheesy grits and the chunky spicy tomato/eggplant blend with and enhance each other, without any flavor or texture getting lost.
Delicious and will make this again!