Marcus Garvey bean salad
June 8, 2019 6:28 AM Subscribe
I was looking up foods to serve on Juneteenth and this salad was mentioned.
Juneteenth is June 19th, the date in 1865 that slaves in Texas were informed that they had been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation two years earlier. Traditional picnic foods include red foods (barbeque, red beans, red soda, red velvet cake) and also any delicious picnic food. I found references to "Marcus Garvey salad", a side dish made from black beans, red beans, and green beans. Searching the internet, I could find mentions of it, but no actual recipe. Is this really a dish that people make? If so, does anyone know the recipe? This could be a hokey pun based on the colors of the beans, but since Marcus Garvey was from Jamaica, it could also be delicious.
Juneteenth is June 19th, the date in 1865 that slaves in Texas were informed that they had been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation two years earlier. Traditional picnic foods include red foods (barbeque, red beans, red soda, red velvet cake) and also any delicious picnic food. I found references to "Marcus Garvey salad", a side dish made from black beans, red beans, and green beans. Searching the internet, I could find mentions of it, but no actual recipe. Is this really a dish that people make? If so, does anyone know the recipe? This could be a hokey pun based on the colors of the beans, but since Marcus Garvey was from Jamaica, it could also be delicious.
Best answer: From a 1995 Hartford Courant article on Juneteenth
Brittain says some of the food has historical significance. The Marcus Garvey bean salad, named for the black nationalist, mixes green, red and black beans. "When you look at this colorful salad, you see the colors of the African nationalist flag," Brittain explains.
It seems like it is indeed a pun but a pun that results in a nice bean salad. Canned or dried beans are fine for this but make sure to rinse and drain the cooked beans thoroughly so the colors aren't muddled by the cooking liquid. Cut green string beans or green split peas would each do nicely (heck, even both!). A simple vinaigrette dressing will work great here (probably use a light colored vinegar or lemon juice but not balsamic, again as not to muddle the colors). If I were gonna add Jamaican flavors to this as a nod to Garvey, i'd use allspice and fresh thyme in the dressing, and lots of thinly sliced green onion mixed throughout.
one ought not call the dressing "marcus gravy", that's probably pushing it.
posted by Jon_Evil at 8:30 AM on June 8, 2019 [4 favorites]
Brittain says some of the food has historical significance. The Marcus Garvey bean salad, named for the black nationalist, mixes green, red and black beans. "When you look at this colorful salad, you see the colors of the African nationalist flag," Brittain explains.
It seems like it is indeed a pun but a pun that results in a nice bean salad. Canned or dried beans are fine for this but make sure to rinse and drain the cooked beans thoroughly so the colors aren't muddled by the cooking liquid. Cut green string beans or green split peas would each do nicely (heck, even both!). A simple vinaigrette dressing will work great here (probably use a light colored vinegar or lemon juice but not balsamic, again as not to muddle the colors). If I were gonna add Jamaican flavors to this as a nod to Garvey, i'd use allspice and fresh thyme in the dressing, and lots of thinly sliced green onion mixed throughout.
one ought not call the dressing "marcus gravy", that's probably pushing it.
posted by Jon_Evil at 8:30 AM on June 8, 2019 [4 favorites]
Perhaps you could reach out to Malik Hamilton?
"I personally contributed two recipes to this event. The first was an interpretation of Marcus Garvey Bean Salad, an oft mentioned dish in the online remembrances of Juneteenth foods for which no actual recipe could be found, in fact if an article that mentioned the salad actually included a recipe it was generally not something that was discussed in the article itself. I suspect that this salad honoring the great Statesman and the Black National Flag is a recent addition to the Juneteenth tradition....In keeping with the “tradition” of Juneteenth blog posts that mention Marcus Garvey Bean Salad but then do not include a recipe for the dish, I am including a recipe for Strawberry Ginger Ale since the color red is another central aspect to a Juneteenth celebration, though, like Marcus Garvey Bean Salad, no one seems to know why. (More research to come.)"
posted by MonkeyToes at 9:02 AM on June 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
"I personally contributed two recipes to this event. The first was an interpretation of Marcus Garvey Bean Salad, an oft mentioned dish in the online remembrances of Juneteenth foods for which no actual recipe could be found, in fact if an article that mentioned the salad actually included a recipe it was generally not something that was discussed in the article itself. I suspect that this salad honoring the great Statesman and the Black National Flag is a recent addition to the Juneteenth tradition....In keeping with the “tradition” of Juneteenth blog posts that mention Marcus Garvey Bean Salad but then do not include a recipe for the dish, I am including a recipe for Strawberry Ginger Ale since the color red is another central aspect to a Juneteenth celebration, though, like Marcus Garvey Bean Salad, no one seems to know why. (More research to come.)"
posted by MonkeyToes at 9:02 AM on June 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Perhaps the Marcus Garvey bean salad is more of an ideal than an actual thing. The Hartfort Courant article sounds the most plausible, but that Bread Pasta recipe sounds the most delicious!
posted by acrasis at 10:02 AM on June 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by acrasis at 10:02 AM on June 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Postscript: I more or less followed the Bean and Pasta salad, and everyone liked it.
posted by acrasis at 3:08 PM on July 10, 2019
posted by acrasis at 3:08 PM on July 10, 2019
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posted by Carol Anne at 7:57 AM on June 8, 2019