Kwanzaa Bonanza

Many Kwanzaa cookbooks have been published over the years, but none have matched the depth of Eric V. Copage’s “Kwanzaa: An African-American Celebration of Culture and Cooking” (William Morrow, 1991). There is another book out this year, however, that may become a holiday classic. “Merry Christmas, Baby” (HarperCollins, 1996) is a collection of stories, poems, sermons, memories, art and recipes from prominent African Americans past and present, including Langston Hughes, W.E.B. DuBois, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson George. Among the cooks are Leah Chase, Edna Lewis and Patrick Clark.

As the title suggests, the book, edited by Paula L. Woods and Felix H. Liddell, isn’t devoted exclusively to Kwanzaa, which begins today and continues through New Year’s Day. Rather, it’s a reading book, liberally illustrated with color plates of African American art, for the whole holiday season. It’s also light on recipes, but there are some good ones. We’ve pulled together some of the book’s best recipes for this menu that could be served as part of the Kwanzaa Karamu, or feast, which is traditionally held on the sixth day of Kwanzaa, December 31.

A Kwanzaa Menu

Smoky Celery Root Soup

Roast Leg of Pork

Couscous With Pumpkin and Pine Nuts

Pecan Pie With Spice Crust

Shopping List

1 (5-pound) bone-in pork roast

1 bunch celery

3 sweet potatoes

1 small package bacon

1 leek

3 large celery roots

3 quarts defatted chicken stock

1 bunch fresh mixed herbs

1 bunch fresh thyme

1 pound pecans in shell or 1/2 pound shelled

1 orange

1 (10-ounce) package quick-cooking couscous

1/4 pound pine nuts

1 (1 1/2- to 2-pound) cooking pumpkin or winter squash

Staples

Salt, pepper

Seasoned salt

Garlic

Onions

Rice

Milk

Sour cream, optional

Flour

Sugar

Ground cinnamon

Ground nutmeg

Shortening

Butter

Eggs

Dark corn syrup

Vanilla extract

Olive oil

Game Plan

Day before or morning of dinner: Make pecan pie.

3 hours before: Prepare pork for roasting and place in oven.

2 hours to 90 minutes before: Add sweet potatoes to roast and continue cooking. Sream or boil pumpkin. Prepare soup and set simmer on stove.

1 hour to 30 minutes before: Check pork; remove from oven if cooked. Puree and strain soup, then bring to boil and keep warm until serving. Let pork rest 20 minutes before slicing.

15 minutes before: Prepare couscous.

LEAH CHASE’S ROAST LEG OF PORK

1 (5-pound) pork roast, bone-in

2 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon seasoned salt

3 tablespoons pepper

6 cloves garlic

1 cup chopped onions

1 cup water

1 cup chopped celery

3 sweet potatoes, quartered

Trim excess fat from pork. With point of knife, make 6 (1-inch) slits throughout roast.

Combine salt, seasoned salt and pepper, then fill each slit with garlic clove and bit of salt-pepper mixture. Rub remaining salt-pepper mixture over entire roast.

Place pork in roasting pan and sprinkle onions and celery around meat. Add water, cover pan with foil and roast at 350 degrees about 1 hour.

Remove foil and baste roast. Place sweet potatoes around roast and continue cooking until meat is cooked to desired doneness (an internal temperature of 150 to 155 degrees is recommended) and sweet potatoes are tender, about 1 more hour.

Makes 8 servings.

Each serving contains about:

317 calories; 1,120 mg sodium; 104 mg cholesterol; 9 grams fat; 19 grams carbohydrates; 37 grams protein; 0.85 gram fiber.

PATRICK CLARK’S SMOKY CELERY ROOT SOUP

1 slice bacon, diced

1 small onion, diced

1 leek, white part only, diced

1/3 cup rice

3 large celery roots, diced

1 1/2 to 2 quarts defatted chicken stock

Bouquet garni (mixture of fresh herb sprigs tied with twine or in cheesecloth)

1/2 cup milk

Salt, pepper

Sour cream, optional

Fry bacon in skillet until crisp. Remove bacon from pan and drain on paper towels. Add onion and leek to fat in pan and cook over medium heat until tender. Add rice, celery roots, 1 quart chicken stock, bacon and bouquet garni. Bring to boil, reduce heat then simmer, covered, until rice and celery roots are tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

Puree mixture in blender and strain. Return to boil in pan, stir in milk and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in remaining stock if thinner soup is desired. Serve hot with dollop of sour cream.

Makes 6 to 8 large servings.

Each of 8 servings, without sour cream, contains about:

93 calories; 210 mg sodium; 3 mg cholesterol; 2 grams fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams protein; 0.95 gram fiber.

PATRICK CLARK’S COUSCOUS WITH PUMPKIN AND PINE NUTS

1 1/2 cups peeled pumpkin or squash, cut into 1/2-inch dice

1 onion, diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cups defatted chicken stock

1 sprig fresh thyme, leaves only

Dash ground cinnamon

1 (10-ounce) package quick-cooking couscous

Salt, pepper

1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted

Steam or boil pumpkin pieces until tender-crisp. Set aside.

Cook onion in olive oil in large nonstick skillet over low heat just until tender. Add chicken stock and bring to boil. Add thyme, cinnamon and couscous. Stir, cover and remove from heat. Let stand until liquid is absorbed, 5 to 7 minutes.

Fluff with fork and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in pumpkin and pine nuts. Serve immediately.

Makes 8 cups, 16 servings.

Each 1/2-cup serving contains about:

115 calories; 43 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 4 grams fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams protein; 0.59 gram fiber.

ALEXANDER SMALLS’ PECAN PIE WITH SPICE CRUST

CRUST

2 cups flour, sifted

2 tablespoons sugar

Pinch salt

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3/4 cup shortening

6 tablespoons ice water

FILLING

1 1/2 cups pecan halves

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 cup dark corn syrup

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange peel

CRUST

Combine flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in mixing bowl. Cut shortening into flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse meal. Gradually sprinkle in ice water while lightly kneading dough by hand just until dough holds together. Gather dough into ball, wrap in wax paper and refrigerate 1 hour.

Roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Line greased 9-inch pie pan with dough, trimming extra dough away from edges.

FILLING

Spread pecans evenly over bottom of dough-lined pan. Set aside.

Gently whip together melted butter, sugar, eggs, corn syrup, vanilla extract and orange peel in mixing bowl until well-blended. Pour mixture over pecans in pie pan.

Bake pie at 375 degrees 15 minutes, then lower temperature to 350 degrees and cook 35 to 40 more minutes. Remove and let cool on rack before cutting.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Each of 8 servings contains about:

673 calories; 111 mg sodium; 87 mg cholesterol; 36 grams fat; 85 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams protein; 0.38 gram fiber.