How Chef Thia Finds Joy During a Pandemic
During the pandemic, Island and Spice will be publishing traditional and easy Caribbean-inspired recipes as part of our special Stay-at-Home Issue.
We launch with a Haitian tomato and avocado salad by Cynthia Verna, a personal chef in West Palm Beach, Florida. Her recipe is featured in Taste the Islands: Culinary Adventures in a Caribbean Kitchen, a cookbook that was released in April during the peak of the pandemic. The recipe is also here.
We caught up with Ms. Verna, a Haitian-born chef and author who goes by Chef Thia, to see how she is finding peace during the pandemic and to learn the story behind her salad.
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Cynthia Verna loves avocados. The chef said that in Haiti people eat them like mangoes. For her, the only thing better than tasting the fresh fruit is eating her grandmother’s tomato and avocado salad by the spoonful.
The recipe consists of only a few ingredients: avocado, cherry tomatoes, red onions, parsley, lemon juice, salt and pepper. The secret to the flavor is in how the salad is built, she said. The avocado acts as the base with the acids layered on top.
Cynthia Verna’s recipe for tomato and avocado salad includes finely chopped red onion, cherry tomatoes, parsley, lemon juice, salt and pepper. PHOTOGRAPH OF VERNA, TOP, BY RICHARD LECOIN; FOOD PHOTOGRAPH BY ISLAND AND SPICE MAGAZINE.
The firm fat of the avocado balances the tart bite of the raw red onions. The acidity of the lemon juice and cherry tomatoes mellows the sharp peaks and valleys of the ingredients, resulting in a refreshing and filling dish her grandmother served on Sundays. The salad has taken on a new significance during the pandemic because it also reminds her of a simpler time.
“I can see myself eating under a coconut tree, in a hammock, drinking some coconut water,” she said from her Florida home as she tried to describe how this Haitian-style salad makes her feel.
Her backyard garden has become her oasis. There, among the thyme, sage, parsley and peppers of both sweet and spicy varieties, she also finds bursts of creativity.
“Pulled pork rosemary,” she said with a smile and a yelp of joy. It’s a menu item she came up with while eyeing the rosemary bush. She looks forward to a time when the pandemic passes and she can once again begin cooking for customers.
She stays calm and finds joy in the sort of way that must be generated from within. When she tires of the garden, there’s always her grandmother’s salad. It’s a sort of getaway in a bowl. “That’s all I need. That avocado salad.”
