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Ingredients
Appears in
By Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page
Published 1996
- Plantains. Plantains were the first fruit I had in Key West that caused me to marvel at this cuisine and to feel trust that there were all-new avenues for me to experience.
- Mangoes. When they’re the right kind, and at their juiciest, they’re the most perfect fruit I’ve ever experienced in their lusciousness.
- Black beans.
- Coconut. All of the ingredients I’m mentioning are part of such a welcomeness I felt when I first got here. It made my cooking accelerate and become distinguished from cooking from anywhere else in America.
- Salt cod, or bacalao. It’s such a part of the Caribbean tradition, probably because it’s the absolute opposite of the fresh fish it would be so impossible to choose among.
- Ginger.
- Chiles. I’d want the pungency and bite that ginger and chiles would provide. And there’s such a broad range of flavors in chiles. One of the most common chiles that we would use here [at Norman’s] would be Scotch bonnets or habeñeros, which are definitely distinct from jalapeños or serranos, in that the florality and incredible aroma they have is so much different from the other chiles. Ginger and chiles work together as well as resonate with each other in a very clear way. The flavors bounce quickly back and forth between each other. They’re sort of standing on the side like a little chorus that provides a synergistic opportunity to “rock the boat” or the dish.
- Citrus—limes. One of the key things that creates the opportunity for a sauce or a dish to work is the ability of acidity to provide relief from the meaty richness of the dominant protein or the softening foundation of the starch. The benefit of citrus on the island is that I could also drink it. I’d have a hard time drinking balsamic vinegar.
- Conch. Those born in Key West, like my son was, are called conches. When I first got here, I asked, “What is this stuff?” But because of its abundance, it got used in everything. To this day, one of the most popular dishes on my menu is a conch chowder. It’s become emblematic of my cooking. (See Norman Van Aken’s recipe for Conch Chowder.)
- Pig. James Beard said that pork was his favorite animal of all. I guess that’s because you can use so many different parts of it. My favorite part is somewhere between bacon and ribs and pork tenderloin.
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