A Pepper Pot
A 19th century anglicised version.
This recipe is adapted to from Christian Isobel Johnstone’s The Cook and Housewives Manual (1826) (Johnstone also used the pen-name ‘Meg Dods’ who was a cook that featured in Sir Walter Scott’s St Ronan’s Well). While it is by no means representative of modern iterations of this dish it is a good demonstration of how dishes eaten by enslaved people were also enjoyed by their enslavers, and subsequently found their way into middle class cookbooks in Britain.
Of her Pepper Pot recipe which appears in Chapter V on Broths, Soups and Gravies Johnstone says ‘This is now understood to be a sort of clear-larder, Saturday’s dinner dish, composed of shreds and patches. It ought properly, if fine cookery is attempted, to be an Olio, composed of a due admixture of meat, fish, fowl, vegetables and roots.’ She suggests either mutton, chicken, veal or bacon for the meat element, with a good proportion of onions, some root vegetables and a little rice. It is finished with lobster or crab and is ‘highly seasoned’ with pepper (she doesn’t specify what sort) and cayenne.
Dr Peggy Brunache and I discussed why recipes like this began to appear in middle class cookbooks during the nineteenth century.
Ingredients for the Pepper Pot (for 4 servings)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
4 whole chicken thighs
2 large chard leaves & stalks OR a couple of handfuls of baby spinach (c. 100g)
1 onions, peeled, cut in half then sliced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
2 tsp Cook’s pepper (see below)
½-1 tsp cayenne pepper (or according to taste)
850ml / 1½ pints cold water
30g white rice (I use Basmati)
100g mixed crab meat (or use all white) OR 100g raw prawns, roughly chopped
Juice of 1 small lime and salt for seasoning
Method
Heat the oil in a large, deep saucepan over a medium to high heat. Brown the chicken thighs then remove from the pan and drain on absorbent paper.
If you are using chard, remove the stalks and slice as you would celery. Finely shred the leafy part and set aside until required later.
Drain off all bar 1 tablespoon of the oil from the saucepan that you fried the chicken in. Fry the sliced onion, sliced chard stalks and diced carrot in the remaining oil until they take on a little colour. Add the Cook’s pepper and cayenne then cook for a further minute or so before adding the water.
Return the browned chicken thighs to the pan. Bring the up to boiling point then simmer for 25 minutes or until the thighs are thoroughly cooked. Take the thighs out of the liquid using a slotted spoon. Remove and discard the skin then shred the meat on each thigh using two forks. Discard the bones.
While you are shredding the chicken, add the rice to the pan. Ensure the liquid has returned to the boil then continue to cook for 10 minutes.
To finish the pepper pot, return the shredded chicken to the pan along with the mixed crab meat and shredded chard leaves or baby spinach. Cook until the greens have wilted and the chicken is thoroughly heated through. Season with lime juice and salt (if required) then serve in bowls.
Ingredients for the Cook’s Pepper
Johnstone provides a recipe for this spice mix in the same book. Although she doesn’t suggest its use specifically it does ramp up the seasoning rather nicely. By all means use regular pepper if you prefer, although you may want to use slightly less than suggested above.
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground black pepper
½ tsp ground allspice (also known as Jamaica pepper)
½ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground cloves
1 tsp fine sea salt
Combine the spices and store in a small screw top jar. Use it to season sauces and stews.
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A huge thank you to Thomas Ntinas of The Delicious Legacy for doing the sound mixing on this season of the podcast.