According to culinary historian Michael Twitty, cymlings “have a special place in early African American history as they were one of the few squash commonly grown and consumed by the enslaved community.” And certainly this recipe hails from a plantation where that fact is relevant.
“The Plains” (also known as Ophan’s Gift, demolished in 1958) in St. Mary’s County had an interesting story. As you may know, Maryland was (legally) a slave state for nearly a year longer than the southern states that seceded from the Union. Nonetheless, the Union Army allowed for the recruitment of enslaved people as soldiers, and Lt. Eben White visited The Plains in 1863 to do just that.
Lt. Eben White
What actually transpired is unclear but an altercation took place and plantation owner Mr. (Colonel) John Henry Sothoron shot and killed Lt. White. The estate was then seized by the United States under the Confiscation Act, which allowed for the confiscation of property and the freeing of people enslaved by anyone who assisted the rebellion or who were “disloyal citizens.”
“Elizabeth (Somervell) Sothoron, the wife of Col. John Sothoron, and their children were placed under house arrest. On November 22, President Lincoln wrote a letter to Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War stating, in part, “It is represented that the family [Sothoron] are substantially imprisoned in their house by our soldiers and are on starvation. I submit that perhaps some attention better be given to the case”.” – Linda Reno, Leonardtown
Mrs. Sothoron and children left the plantation to live off of the charity of others for several years until the estate was returned to her posession. The family was finally able to return to the estate in spring of 1866. Col. Sothoron, who had fled to Canada after Lincoln was assassinated, was found not-guilty in the fall. The impartiality of this trial remains dubious.
The Plains, Southwest View (Maryland Historical Trust)
I admit to being put off of this recipe at first due to the fact that it seems like a waste.
I love cutting cymlings (aka pattypans) horizontally and grilling or roasting them. They have such a beautiful shape.
However
I had some that were slightly past their peak crispness and so I gave
this treatment a try. (This was in defiance of the recipe which called
for tender young cymlings.)
The cymling dish made a nice dinner
side. I used shallot, and the dish doesn’t cook long, so the onion
flavor was very strong. Straining the squash through a colander proved
to be one of those rare tasks that was more annoying than cleaning out
the food mill, so I ended up tossing it all in there instead.
Recipe:
- tender young cymling (pattypan) squash
- salt
- 1 Tablespoon butter, melted
- 1 Teaspoon chopped onion
- salt
- pepper, black
- 1 Tablespoon flour
- .5 Cup milk
- breadcrumbs
- butter
Cut up cymlings and boil in salted water until soft enough to mash through a sieve. Add tablespoon of butter, teaspoon of chopped onion, salt and pepper to taste plus one tablespoon of flour mixed into a half cup milk. Put in baking dish. Cover with bread crumbs, dot with butter and bake until golden brown.
Recipe adapted from Eat, Drink & Be Merry in Maryland, contributed by Mrs. John H Sothoron, The Plains
