Labor Day meals often center around grilled meats and traditional sides like creamy coleslaw and deviled eggs. Chef Michele Tompkins of Roots & Culture Craft Kitchen has suggestions for a veggie-forward menu that updates those classics with a look to fall and cooler-season produce.
Credit: Aaliyah Man
Credit: Aaliyah Man
The name, Roots & Culture, was the result of a conversation with her barber, who hypothesized that roots and culture determine how people behave. She thought, “That’s it!” because “roots and culture” represented the cuisine she wanted to prepare. Tompkins blends elements from different cultures with the food of her roots. (Her paternal family is from St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands and her maternal family is from the Bahamas.)
Tompkins incorporates traditional African American foods like sweet potatoes, collards and black-eyed peas into much of her cooking. “I like to show people that you don’t have to eat these in the way I grew up eating them, prepared as braised collard greens or sweet potato casserole.”
For Labor Day, she created a menu that incorporates vegetables in unexpected ways. Sweet potatoes add sweetness and a creamy texture to deviled eggs. Collards provide a dark green color to slaw. Black-eyed peas substitute for kidney beans in chili that tops grilled carrot “hot dogs”.
Credit: Aaliyah Man
Credit: Aaliyah Man
To meet Tompkins, head to Chow a la Carte‘s storefront in Uptown Atlanta on Tuesdays. That’s when she is the pop-up chef and offers a rotating menu with dishes infused with elements from different cultures, such as a jerk turkey smash burger.
RECIPES
Chef Michele Tompkins of Roots & Culture Craft Kitchen offers recipes for a vegetable-forward Labor Day menu. “And if you want to augment the menu, maybe serve roasted or grilled asparagus, grilled corn on the cob and brownies or chocolate chip cookies,” Tompkins said.
Credit: Aaliyah Man
Credit: Aaliyah Man
Sweet Potato Deviled Eggs with Candied Bacon Chips
To serve the deviled eggs cold, follow the recipe as written through step 8, then refrigerate the filling and egg white halves separately for up to 2 days. Tompkins refrigerates the egg whites in ice water to make it easier to remove any yolk that clings to them. Fill the eggs and garnish just before serving.
- 1 large sweet potato (about 3/4 pound)
- 12 refrigerator-cold eggs
- 1/2 cup full-fat sour cream
- 3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 3/4 teaspoon Frank’s hot sauce, or to taste
- Heaping 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic, plus more to taste
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt, to taste
- Ground black pepper, to taste
- Candied Bacon Chips, optional (see recipe)
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Wash sweet potato and place on a pie plate or sheet pan. Bake until fork tender, about 45 minutes.
- While sweet potato bakes, hard-boil the eggs: Bring a large saucepan of water to boil over high heat. Place a bowl of ice water next to the cooktop. Use a slotted spoon to carefully lower eggs into boiling water and cook 10 minutes.
- Use slotted spoon to transfer eggs to ice water and set aside until cool enough to handle. Peel eggs and cut in half lengthwise.
- Arrange whites on a baking sheet lined with paper towels or a kitchen towel. Set yolks aside in a small bowl.
- When sweet potato is tender, remove from oven and allow to sit until cool enough to handle.
- Peel the sweet potato and put flesh into the bowl of a food processor fitted with an S-blade. Discard peel. Process until it is a smooth puree, about 10 seconds, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Measure out 2 cups and reserve any remaining sweet potato puree for another use.
- Return 2 cups puree to food processor and add hard-boiled yolks, sour cream, Dijon mustard, hot sauce and granulated garlic. Process mixture until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Taste and add salt, pepper and additional hot sauce, if desired.
- Transfer sweet potato mixture to a piping bag and fill each egg white with about 2 tablespoons of filling. Transfer deviled eggs to a serving platter, garnish each with a candied bacon chip if desired and serve immediately.
Makes 24.
Per deviled egg, using 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, without bacon chips: 51 calories (percent of calories from fat, 53), 3 grams protein, 3 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram total sugars, trace fiber, 3 grams total fat (1 gram saturated), 95 milligrams cholesterol, 76 milligrams sodium.
Candied Bacon Chips
You can prepare these chips up to an hour before serving. After an hour they will lose their crunch.
- 6 tablespoons light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 2 tablespoons jerk spice mix
- 6 slices thick-cut bacon (about 1/2 pound)
- Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper. Place a wire rack on top of parchment paper. Line a second sheet pan with paper towels.
- In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar and jerk spice mix.
- Lay bacon strips on wire rack so strips are adjacent but not overlapping. Evenly coat the tops of bacon strips with sugar-spice mixture.
- Bake until bacon is golden brown, about 10 minutes, watching carefully and transferring thinner strips to paper towel-lined sheet pan as needed.
- Allow bacon to cool to room temperature. Break each slice into four pieces (chips).
Makes 24 chips.
Per chip: 51 calories (percent of calories from fat, 57), 3 grams protein, 2 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams total sugars, no fiber, 3 grams total fat (1 gram saturated), 9 milligrams cholesterol, 416 milligrams sodium.
Credit: Aaliyah Man
Credit: Aaliyah Man
Loaded Carrot “Hot Dogs”
Look for long carrots with a relatively even thickness. Peel and trim them to about 6 inches long, the size of traditional hot dogs.
If you don’t have pickled jalapenos in your refrigerator, omit the juice from the marinade and increase the red pepper flakes for more heat.
- 8 carrots of even thickness, peeled and trimmed (see note)
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons liquid smoke
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
- 2 teaspoons juice from jarred pickled jalapenos
- 1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
- Vegetable oil to oil grill grates
- Toasted potato or brioche hot dog buns, Cabbage Collard Green Slaw, Black Eyed Pea Chili and Pickled Red Onion (see recipes), for serving
- Fill a Dutch oven with cold water and add carrots. Bring water to a boil over high heat and cook carrots until you are just able to pierce them with the point of a knife, 15 to 20 minutes depending on thickness. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking liquid, then drain carrots into a colander and let cool to room temperature.
- Make marinade: In a medium bowl, combine vinegar, soy sauce, maple syrup, liquid smoke, onion powder, yellow mustard, garlic, juice from jarred pickled jalapenos and red pepper flakes. Add reserved 1/2 cup carrot cooking liquid. Pour marinade into a food-grade plastic bag.
- When carrots have cooled, add to marinade. Seal bag and refrigerate overnight or up to 3 days. The longer they marinate, the sharper their flavor.
- When ready to serve, heat grill to 350 degrees and lightly oil grates.
- Remove carrots from marinade and pat dry. Arrange on grill and heat until the carrots have char marks, rotating every minute, for about 5 minutes. Discard marinade.
- Serve with toasted buns and bowls of toppings on the side.
Makes 8.
Per “hot dog,” without bun, slaw, chili or pickled onion: 70 calories (percent of calories from fat, 3), 2 grams protein, 15 grams carbohydrates, 9 grams total sugars, 2 grams fiber, trace total fat (trace saturated fat), no cholesterol, 607 milligrams sodium.
Cabbage Collard Green Slaw
- 2 1/2 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
- 1 cup thinly sliced collard greens
- 3/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
- 1/4 cup matchstick-cut carrots
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- Juice of one lime
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt, to taste
- Ground black pepper, to taste
- In a large bowl, combine cabbage, collards, onion and carrots. Toss with oil and lime juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately after dressing.
Makes 4 1/4 cups.
Per 1/2 cup, with 1/2 teaspoon salt: 79 calories (percent of calories from fat, 80), 1 gram protein, 3 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram total sugars, 1 gram fiber, 7 grams total fat (1 gram saturated), no cholesterol, 78 milligrams sodium.
Black-Eyed Pea Chili
When Tompkins prepares this chili for her clients, she starts with fresh black-eyed peas. She said that readers may prefer canned black-eyed peas for convenience.
- 1 (15.5-ounce) can black-eyed peas, drained
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can roasted diced tomatoes with liquid
- 1/2 cup 1/8-inch diced white onion
- 1/4 cup 1/8-inch diced poblano pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon chile powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ancho chile powder
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt, to taste
- Ground black pepper, to taste
- In a medium saucepan, combine black-eyed peas, tomatoes, onion, poblano, cumin, coriander, garlic, chile powder and ancho chile powder. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low and let mixture simmer 45 minutes or until thickened.
- Remove from heat and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm. Can be prepared up to 3 days in advance and warmed before serving.
Makes 4 cups.
Per 1/2 cup, without additional salt: 65 calories (percent of calories from fat, 14), 3 grams protein, 11 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams total sugars, 3 grams fiber, 1 gram total fat (trace saturated fat), no cholesterol, 266 milligrams sodium.
Pickled Red Onions
- 1 1/4 cups apple cider vinegar
- 3 1/2 tablespoons light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3 black peppercorns
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 large red onion (about 3/4 pound), thinly sliced
- In a medium saucepan, combine vinegar, brown sugar, salt, thyme, peppercorns and red pepper flakes. Turn heat to high and bring mixture to a boil. Immediately remove from heat.
- Add onion to mixture in saucepan. Allow to come to room temperature.
- Marinate at least one hour, or transfer mixture to a glass container cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Makes 1 1/2 cups pickled onions.
Per 1/4 cup: 42 calories (percent of calories from fat, 1), trace protein, 10 grams carbohydrates, 8 grams total sugars, 1 gram fiber, trace total fat (trace saturated fat), no cholesterol, 429 milligrams sodium.
Credit: Aaliyah Man
Credit: Aaliyah Man
Two Bean Baked Beans
When Tompkins prepares baked beans for her clients, she cooks dried beans and makes her own barbecue sauce. To streamline preparation, readers can use canned beans and a sweet, smoky bottled barbecue sauce.
- 3 cups sweet barbecue sauce, such as Sweet Baby Ray’s
- 1 (15.5-ounce) can great northern beans, drained
- 1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, drained
- 1/2 cup low-sodium ketchup
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, lightly packed, divided
- 1/2 cup 1/8-inch diced yellow onion
- 1/4 cup 1/8-inch diced green bell pepper
- 1/4 cup 1/8-inch diced red bell pepper
- 1 tablespoon bourbon
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, mix barbecue sauce, great northern beans, black beans, ketchup, 1/2 cup brown sugar, onion, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, bourbon, liquid smoke and mustard. Pour into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
- Bake 45 minutes or until liquid has thickened and is bubbling around the edges of the baking dish. Remove baking dish from oven.
- Raise heat to 400 degrees. Sprinkle beans with remaining 2 tablespoons brown sugar. Return to oven and bake until the sugar forms a crust, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and serve hot.
Makes 6 cups.
Per 1/2 cup: 229 calories (percent of calories from fat, 3), 5 grams protein, 51 grams carbohydrates, 33 grams total sugars, 4 grams fiber, 1 gram total fat (trace saturated fat), no cholesterol, 771 milligrams sodium.
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