Franklin Roosevelt's Favorite Southern Chicken Dish Deserves A Revival

Bettmann/Getty Images

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

How did a Southern dish known as "Country Captain" become a favorite of a New York governor who became president? When Franklin D. Roosevelt was governor of the Northern state, he bought a second home in the South where he could visit a natural spring for treatment of polio. The Georgia retreat became known as the Little White House when he was president. Luckily his Southern cook Daisy Bonner kept the recipe, so Country Captain can get the revival it deserves.

Country Captain is a chicken stew that gained popularity with sailors overseas before reaching the U.S. around the 18th or 19th century. It became a staple in the Southern coastal towns like Savannah and Charleston. Flavored with a healthy dose of curry, it also boasts tomatoes, onions, garlic, and peppers and is sometimes garnished with nuts and raisins. The stew was likely inspired by dishes that British seagoers encountered in India. In the States, it remained popular in Southern cookbooks until the 1980s. You don't hear about it a lot these days, possibly because more traditional Indian food (which is now more accessible) has been satisfying our craving for curry.

It's a great time for a Country Captain revival, as families work hard to make their grocery budget stretch. It's an economical comfort food, and you can alter the recipe with vegetables you have on hand. Plus, this Southern stew is great recipe for the crock pot, saving home cooks money and time in the kitchen.

Sergii Koval/Shutterstock

Daisy Bonner cooked Franklin Roosevelt's meals at the Little White House for 20 years, so she knew just how to put the right spin on this go-to chicken dish. More than that, Bonner understood that a simple hearty stew would go over well with FDR. The Roosevelts were known for being frugal with their food, setting an example for the country as the Depression ended and World War II began. The Country Captain recipe follows the standard of using inexpensive ingredients, but it comes together with the curry flavor that packs a punch and feels fancy.

If you want to make it the way that FDR liked it, you're in luck. The recipe appears in the National Press Club's 1955 cookbook, "Who Says We Can't Cook?" While the dish is adaptable, we recommend that you don't forget the raisins. The sweet, chewy ingredient seemed to be a favorite of the Roosevelts, as they are also traditionally used in hasty pudding, Eleanor Roosevelt's favorite dessert.