Читать книгу The Healthy Teen Cookbook - Remmi Smith - Страница 22

Haiti

On our next journey we hop across the Windward Passage just south of Cuba to Haiti, which is part of the island of Hispaniola. Haiti is the most mountainous nation in the Caribbean; its primary export crop is coffee. The Haitian currency is called “gourdes” from the name of the gourd vegetable. Hayti is the Indian name for the country; it translates to “land of the mountains.” Haiti’s mountain peaks exceed 8,000 feet in height! The only public university in Haiti is the University of Haiti in Port-au-Prince, founded in 1944.

Unsurprisingly, given the region, the national dish is rice served with beans. The cuisine is a fusion between Creole and French cooking styles. The story behind Soup Joumou is so interesting and important to the Haitian culture, I picked this great dish to make. Haiti was under French rule from 1625 until January 1st,1804. Under French rule, Haitian slaves and the lower classes were forbidden to drink this soup. On January 1st,1804 and every January 1st since, all Haitians, no matter where they are in the world, eat this dish in remembrance of their independence.