1619 Through the Lens of Food: Esteban Mesa Montejo Part 2
Picking potatoes in Belcross, NC, Circa 1955, Courtesy of the New York Public Library
Today we continue our 1619 series in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of American slavery. This collection is part of a larger project on food in the African canon. Each of the stories will contain a related historical image and recipe. In part two of our third installment, we turn to the writings of Solomon Northup.
While living as a runaway, Montejo stole “taters and pigs” from free, black, small farmers and wealthier, small, white landowning farmers. The small landholdings “had more of everything and it was easier to procure food from them.” A twenty-pound stolen piglet, would provide enough food for about “fifteen days.” In addition to stealing food, Montejo hunted guinea pigs which he smoked. “I used to catch a guinea pig and smoke it without salt and it would last me for months. The guinea pig is the healthiest there is, although taters are the best thing for your bones . . . If you eat them every day, especially taro, you won’t have bone trouble.” According to Montejo, the woods where he lived as a runaway had an abundance of wild taro that had a large and shiny leaf making it easy to identify at night. He depended on several different beverages options on a daily basis. He made coffee out of the guanina leaf that he ground using a bottle. “You could always put a little wild honey in it to give it flavor.” And he used honey to make a cold, delicious drink called canchanchara made with river and spring water.
Ropa Vieja Recipe
Ingredients
3 cups cooked beef
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
3 tomatoes
1 onion
3 green peppers
garlic
pepper and salt
Instructions
This takes its name from the appearance of the meat which is prepared by tearing it into flakes. Heat butter, add flour, stir, and simmer until well browned. Add tomatoes, an onion, chopped green peppers chopped, a bit of garlic ground in a mortar, pepper and salt to taste, then the cooked flaked beef. Water maybe be added to form sufficient sauce.
