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Once November hits and turkey decorations start to flood the shelves of your local pharmacy it can only mean one thing: it’s time for Thanksgiving. As the only holiday that is somewhat officially centered around food, it’s a day for families to come together over a home-cooked meal to appreciate the blessings in their lives.
But for Ghetto Gastro, connecting with others over delicious food is a daily occurrence. The Bronx-based kitchen was founded in 2012, and ever since, they’ve continued their mission to bring together communities to share their culture through cooking—developing new recipes that combine elements of art, music, and even fine dining. “Taking that time to put love, thought, and care into a dish that you’re going to put in front of someone that will nourish them and give them life is special.,” Pierre Serrao, chef and co-founder of Ghetto Gastro, tells Vogue. “There’s a huge transfer of energy that happens when you serve somebody food.”
Unsurprisingly, when celebrating the classic American holiday, the team at Ghetto Gastro like to prepare a slightly more updated version of the traditional Thanksgiving meal to enjoy with their loved ones. “With all the food that we create, we’re really reclaiming the narrative around food and sharing the stories around them,” Serrao told Vogue. "We’re really just tapping into our ancestral knowledge with all these offerings.”
As not all of us are lucky enough to have professional chefs in the family, Pierre Serrao sat down with Vogue to share some of his favorite holiday traditions and the Thanksgiving dishes he will be serving up this year from the Ghetto Gastro cookbook, Ghetto Gastro Presents Black Power Kitchen.
**Vogue: **How are you planning to celebrate Thanksgiving this year?
Pierre Serrao: For Thanksgiving this year, I’m actually taking a trip to Barbados with my family and we’re going to celebrate down there. This time of year is all about making time for my family, convening, and making a community around food. Thanksgiving isn’t on my radar in a traditional sense since it’s genocidal in origin, but reflecting on the year and giving thanks for all of the things that we have—and using this time of year to speak and manifest for the things that we want for the next year—is how I celebrate during the holiday season.
Do you have any specific holiday season traditions with your family?
I always like to go somewhere warm. Traditionally, I always go to Barbados mainly because that’s where my family is from and we’re doing a lot of work on the island right now. All of our families are kind of spread out a little bit, so throughout the holiday season from Thanksgiving onwards, we like to go to visit a different family member wherever they are every other weekend.
How does food factor into the way you celebrate the holiday season?
Oh, food is number one for me during the holiday season. You’ve gotta go wherever the best plates are. I move around according to that, so if I don’t show up to your house for the holidays that means I don’t really trust your cooking and I want to go somewhere where the plates are sturdy. [Laughs.] So, I’m definitely making sure to go see my elderly family members because they have the most seasoning in the house, and then we just move locations based on the feedback of the food. If I hear from somebody that the food over here at Auntie Val’s was hitting, and it was better than the one at Auntie Tina’s then I’m going to Auntie Val’s first and then I’ll make my way to Auntie Tina’s last to round it out with some sweet potato pie.
I think that’s one of the things that I love most about this time of year is that everybody is bringing some food, and you get to see what people have been working on—who’s really working in the kitchen, versus who’s just going to order something. I think it says a lot about a person when they put time into making some food even if they’re not the best cook. This time of year is really important just to eat good, bless each other, and bless those who are less fortunate than us.
Are there any interesting backstories behind some of the dishes you shared for this story?
The Triple C is our quintessential Ghetto Gastro dish, and we’ve had the pleasure to serve it all over the world and it proves to be a hit every time. The cornbread taps into the history of collaboration between indigenous Americans and enslaved Africans. For the State Greens, we use raw collard greens, inspired by the greens as a symbol of wealth in the Black community. The key to that recipe is using good ingredients, especially the olive oil. We just came out with our first very own olive oil in collaboration with Gustiamo, called Pressure. While the Sweet Potato Waffles are our answer to the pumpkin spice phenomenon, and it s definitely the season for spice and everything nice. The waffle with a little of our Spicy Maple—get that on your kitchen table and make it a staple.
Do you have a favorite non-traditional holiday dish you like to serve on Thanksgiving?
I’ve been working on this new recipe for a candied plantain gratin, kind of a spin on the traditional candied yam dish. But honestly, I love making pies—my name is Pierre so you can’t spell Pierre without pie. I’m probably pulling up with a smoked apple crumble with ginger, something like that.
What’s your favorite part of cooking for the holidays? Concocting the menu? Recipe testing? Finally getting to eat?
It’s definitely all about getting to eat. Everything else is whatever, sitting down and bussing down a plate of food with your loved ones is the best part by far. Also, that little “walk” that all the cousins go on before, you know to get that appetite right, then putting away that plate. It’s all jubilations and joy, the drinks are flowing, full of laughter and love—that’s what I love most.
Triple Cs
Triple Cs is quintessential Ghetto Gastro, so it deserves to stand on its own. It features seared cornbread, crab salad, and caviar.
Cornbread
Native Americans, Africans, and ancient Mesoamericans made cornmeal and its many iterations a core food. We can look to johnnycakes, corn pone, spoon bread, and cornbread as the expression of Indigenous and enslaved peoples. Somehow, the cultures that put in the work and sacrifice, ultimately building global economies, are the ones that get exploited. Native American, Black, and brown communities are among the most food insecure in the United States. Even still, our innumerable contributions are the foundation of global wealth.
Crab salad
When our political representatives take actions that divest resources from our communities, we’re told it’s like crabs in a barrel. The metaphor suggests that if we’re all going down, no one can get out. But that analogy is insufficient because crabs belong in and around water. And maybe the crab isn’t trying to block the other one’s freedom. Maybe they’re all trying to link up and help each other get out.
Caviar
Caviar—black gold—is thought of as the pinnacle of European luxury. But caviar originates in the Middle East and Asia, an example of how incomplete histories can alter our view about who gets to enjoy what.
Serves 12
For the cornbread
- 14 ounces (3½ sticks/400 g) unsalted butter,
- plus more for greasing
- 2 cups (240 g) tipo “00” flour or all--purpose flour,
- plus more for dusting
- 5½ cups (900 g) frozen corn kernels
- 1 cup (250 g) unsweetened oat milk
- 3 large (150 g) eggs
- 1 cup (160 g) cornmeal
- 1 cup (200 g) organic cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1⅛ teaspoons (5 g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (3 g) baking soda
For the crab salad
- 1 pound (455 g) peekytoe crabmeat, cleaned
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
- 3 tablespoons crème fraîche
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 9 ounces (255 g) beluga caviar or osetra caviar (the amount is your preference)
Make the cornbread
- Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Grease two 9 x 5 inch (23 x 13 cm) loaf pans with butter and dust them with flour, tapping out any excess.
- In a heavy-bottomed pot, melt the butter over high heat. Add the frozen corn and cook until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a blender, add the oat milk, and blend on high until smooth. Add the eggs and blend again until smooth. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix well. Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 40 minutes, until the cornbread turns golden and the top begins to crack. Remove from the oven. Set the pans on trivets or a wire rack and let cool completely.
- When the cornbread has cooled, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Turn the loaves out of the pans and set them right--side up on a cutting board or flat surface. Using a serrated knife, cut the loaves into equal slices about ½ inch (1 cm) thick.
- Working in batches, place the cornbread slices into the heated dry skillet, leaving space between the slices. Sear each slice until golden brown on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes per side. As they finish, set aside on a rack.
Make the crab salad
- In a large bowl, combine the crabmeat, chives, crème fraîche, and lemon zest. Stir gently to combine. Use immediately, or cover and chill for up to 2 days.
- To plate your Triple Cs, divide the crab salad evenly among the cornbread slices and spread it evenly over the surface. Top each slice with a dollop of caviar and enjoy immediately.
State Greens
The food options generally made available in jail and prison are dismal. High in sugar, carbs, and sodium, and often composed of expired or rotten ingredients, the makings of a prison meal are among the clearest examples of food apartheid in our nation.
Fresh fruits and vegetables are usually nonexistent. Diabetes and heart disease diagnoses are rampant, especially for an aging population with no opportunity for parole due to exaggerated prison terms that mostly affect Black and brown folks sentenced during the racist War on Drugs.
It’s the rare institution that creates educational opportunities for incarcerated people to garden and learn about food science and nutrition, or have access to healthy vegetables in meal prep. When these programs and policies are in place, less food ends up in the garbage, composted food can help reduce spending, and more importantly, people are more emotionally and psychologically stable because they are eating as they should. This creates a safer environment for everyone, including staff. And for those leaving prison one day, as most incarcerated people will do, they can potentially return to their communities with increased knowledge and skill. The idea that healthy food is only a reward for people with higher incomes is pervasive in our society, and the opposite end of the spectrum is no more obvious than behind bars.
If food can be a love language, it’s hard to beat a simmering pot of collard greens. But we make a raw take that comes pretty close. We call this collard green salad State Greens, in rejection of the nutrient-deficient foods that end up on the prison plate. This recipe allows you to enjoy the greens’ deep natural flavor, a basic joy any living being deserves to experience. Don’t skimp on the massage step. That’s where you’ll gently break down the fibrous leaf to create a texture that goes down real easy.
Serves 4
- 11⁄2 pounds (680 g) collard greens, leaves stemmed and thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
- 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon manuka honey
- 1 teaspoon diced shallot
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 11⁄2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1⁄3 cup (30 g) thinly sliced yellow bell pepper Flaky sea salt
- SOIL (page 291), for garnish
- Place the greens in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl or glass measuring cup, combine the liquid aminos, sesame oil, honey, shallot, garlic, ginger, and scallion whites. Mix until well combined. Pour the marinade over the collard greens, then drizzle the olive oil over the greens mixture.
- Using clean hands, gently massage the collards for 2 to 3 minutes. The greens will soften and begin to feel almost wilted. Give the greens and marinade a good stir, then cover and place in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.
- Remove from the refrigerator and fold in the bell peppers and scallion greens. Season with salt to taste. Place the salad in a bowl and garnish with SOIL. Serve immediately.
