We’ve discussed how as a child on the islands, I (and my siblings) gave mom ‘hell’ when she tried to get us to eat fish. Now I’m thousands of kms away from the ocean (I only like ocean fish) and it’s now that I crave fish and seafood on my plate. Poor woman tried her best back then, but we were just stubborn kids I guess. I’ll give mommy a big hug and apologize when I visit her next week… hopefully she won’t mind making her famous Curry King Fish for me.

You’ll Need…

2 lane snapper (about 2-3 lbs total)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 shallot (sliced thin)
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
1 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger (grated)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
6 chive tops
baby bell peppers
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 lemon (juice)

Important: If doing this recipe gluten free, please go through the list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs. Especially the Soy Sauce, which you will need to replace with a gluten free version like Tamari.

Have your fish monger clean, gut and trim the fish if you don’t know how to do so. Wash with cool water and some lemon juice and pat dry… set aside as we make the marinade.

Combine the olive oil, salt, black pepper, ginger, shallot, garlic, soy sauce and lemon juice in a bowl and whisk well.

With my fish clean, I cut two slices down the thickest parts of the belly (both sides) to help the marinade penetrate the flesh of the fish. Then in the same baking dish I would use to roast the fish off in the oven, I poured the marinade over the fish. Then using my hands I worked the marinade into the cavity of the fish as well as into the cuts I made. TIP! Line your baking dish with parchment paper for easy clean-up after. Marinate for 10 minutes. Nothing more or you risk having the lemon juice cook the fish.

I found some baby bell peppers in the fridge so I went in with a few and to help perfume the dish as it roast in the oven, I tucked the chive stems/glowers between the fish. You may top the peppers etc with a tiny bit more salt and black pepper if you wish. (I did)

Into a preheated 400F oven on the middle rack. It will take between 18-24 minutes to cook fully, depending on the size of the snapper you use. BTW just about any fish will work with this recipe. There’s no need to cover the baking dish as you want to help develop a lovely golden color on the fish and peppers. Plus if you were to cover with foil, it may cause the dish to go soup-like and we don’t want that.

Feel free to drizzle on some extra virgin olive oil as you take it out of the oven.. or maybe some fresh lemon juice? With Easter around the corner, I’m sure your family will appreciate this fish dish come Good Friday.

Do you own a copy of my cookbook ?- The Vibrant Caribbean Pot 100 Traditional And Fusion recipes Vol 2

Gluten Free Side Dishes Vegetarian

Strawberry Chow (Spicy pickle / salad) Recipe.

May 27, 2025April 1, 20192 Comments

If you grew up in the Caribbean, especially the Southern Caribbean, “Chow” would have been a key part of your childhood experience. A spicy pickle loaded with Garlic and Citrus juice, along with Scotch Bonnet Peppers. Usually half-ripe mango is the key ingredient, but we use just about any fruit we can find and when all fails, we even use cucumber. With a good batch of fresh strawberries from my garden (watch the video) and since they were a bit tart, I thought I’d rock a quick chow.

You’ll Need…

– 2 lbs strawberries (green and red mix)
– 1 clove garlic
– 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
– 1/2 orange (juice)
– 1/2 medium red onion (sliced thin)
– 1 scotch bonnet pepper (crush or sliced thin)
– 2 tablespoon cilantro
– 1/2 lime (juice)

Important: If doing this recipe Gluten Free, please go through the entire list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs. Be sure to wash your hands immediately after handling such hot peppers as Scotch Bonnets. I added some tomato to the chow (yellow cherry) but that is totally optional.

Since this is a pretty basic recipe I didn’t take the usual step by step pics you normally get. However there is the video below you can follow along with.

Wash and trim your strawberries. If they are large you can cut them in 1/2 if you wish and if you prefer to remove the stems, by all means do so.

Crush the garlic with the salt and juice of the orange.

It’s now time to assemble. Place the prepared strawberries into a large bow, top with the garlic puree, then add the thinly sliced onion, followed by thinly sliced Scotch Bonnet Peppers. Remember you can leave out the seeds if you’re overly concerned about the raw heat and you may also crush the scotch bonnet along with the garlic if you wish. I like leaving it sliced thinly as one can identify the pepper and avoid if necessary.

Add the cilantro (we’d normally use Shado Beni on the islands) along with the lime juice and give it all a good mix. Place in the fridge to marinate for 30 minutes, then enjoy. Best enjoyed with adult beverages (Smile). Feel free to add some freshly ground black pepper if you wanted.

Do you own a copy of my cookbook ?- The Vibrant Caribbean Pot 100 Traditional And Fusion recipes Vol 2

Gluten Free Vegetarian

Caribbean Ratatouille (ital vegetable stew).

May 26, 2019March 31, 2019Leave a Comment

Last fall I did one of my favorite ways to put vegetables from my garden (and fridge) to use, in what I like to refer to as being a Caribbean take on Ratatouille… and I documented it to share with you. Very much like the outstanding Ital food I remember eating as kid at the Ital restaurant in San Fernando Trinidad (Pleasantville / Mon Repos area). While I’m very much a carnivore, this vegan dish is absolutely delicious and something I look forward to making/eating.

You’ll Need..

4- 6 cups eggplant (cubed)
2 stalks celery (chopped)
2 sweet bell peppers (1/2 of each, diced)
1/2 scotch bonnet pepper (green one)
4 medium tomato (diced)
5 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs basil
1 medium red onion (diced)
2 spring onion (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/4 tablespoon salt (divided)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 tablespoon olive oil
5-8 okra (sliced)
2-3 cups Swiss chard (chopped)
2 cups Jamaican callaloo (chopped)
4 cloves garlic (smashed)
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 medium Christophene (cho cho)
2 tablespoon parsley (chopped)

Important: if doing this recipe gluten free, please go through the entire list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs.

Wash and prep all the vegetables. I used the stems of the Swiss Chard, but not the Jamaican Callaloo (choria bhagi) as I find that they can be a bit too tough. The eggplant were cut into 1/2 inch cubes, then placed in a drainer and topped with 1/2 tablespoon salt. Then allowed to sit on the counter for about 30 minutes. This will help remove some of the moisture from the eggplant and in doing so, some of the bitterness. You’ll notice that I did keep the skin on them. Please watch the video below to see how I prepared all the vegetables.

Then rinse the eggplant with cool water and pat dry with paper towels to remove the salt. In a deep oven-proof pan, heat the oil on a medium flame and fry-off the eggplant. You may need to do this in 3 batches as to not crowd the pan. It will take about 5-7 minutes to get golden edges each time. Set aside the eggplant after you’ve fried them. As the eggplant cooks, feel free to prep the other ingredients.

With the Christophene you’ll need to peel and remove the core, then dice. There should still be some oil in the bottom of the pot (if not add a teaspoon or so) and go in with the tougher vegetables… heat on low. Start with the Christophene, followed 2 minutes later by the bell peppers, then 2 minutes later you can add the Swiss Chard stems (cut thin), the spring onion (bulb cut in 1/4) and the red onion. Mix well.

Now add the remaining salt and the celery and cook for about 5 minutes. After which you’ll add the garlic, green tops of the spring onion, tomato paste and black pepper. Mix well and add the rest of ingredients.. Jamaican Callaloo, green part of the Swiss Chard, Okra, chunks of tomato and thyme.

It’s finally time to add back the pre-cooked Eggplant and mix well. Here’s where you can add the Scotch Bonnet pepper if you want the dish to have a bit of a kick. Top with the parsley and coconut milk and give it a good stir to combine everything.

Place the pan/pot into a preheated 400 F oven, on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes.

After it comes out, taste for salt (adjust accordingly) and top with the Basil. You’re done! A delicious one pot vegan dish, which is guaranteed to impress your family and friends. In my case a lot of the ingredients came directly from my garden.

Do you own a copy of my cookbook ?- The Vibrant Caribbean Pot 100 Traditional And Fusion recipes Vol 2

Gluten Free Meat & Poultry

Jamaican Callaloo With Turkey.

May 29, 2025March 14, 2019Leave a Comment

With an abundance of fresh Callaloo (aka spinach or chorai bhagi) in my garden last summer and with the many requests for a version of the classic Jamaican Callaloo With Saltfish (salted cod) without the saltifsh, I’ve been playing around with a few variations. I’m a HUGE fan of salted cod and NOT a fan of turkey, but I had to admit that this recipe was simply delicious. You may also use ground beef, chicken or pork if you so desire.. with similar results.

You’ll Need…

Jamaican callaloo
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 lb ground turkey
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cloves garlic (diced or crushed)
1 small onion
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper (sliced)
1 tablespoon parsley (chopped)
4 sprigs thyme
1/3 teaspoon ground allspice
3/4 teaspoon salt
6 grape tomato
juice 1/2 lemon (I used red wine vinegar)

Important! If doing this recipe gluten free, please go through the entire list of ingredients to ensure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs.

Prep the Jamaican Callaloo and set aside. Basically I only used the leaves and not the stems as I would normally do. I washed them thoroughly, then rolled into a sort of cigar shape and sliced about 1 centimeter thick ribbons (watch the video below). I must stress that you wash the leaves really well and it won’t hurt to give the chopped leaves a second wash. Do drain.

Since ground turkey is very lean, I add the oil to a heavy pan and tossed in the turkey on a low/medium flame. The idea is to break it up (I used a wooden spoon) as it’s cooks through. It would be near impossible to give this any color. Took about 10-15 minutes to get it fully cooked and broken up into tiny pieces.

I then turned the heat down to low and added the onion, garlic, black pepper, scotch bonnet (no seeds and do remember to wash your hands with soap and water after handling such peppers), parsley, thyme and allspice. Mix well and cook on low for 3-5 minutes.

It’s now time to start adding the prepared Jamaican Callaloo (Chorai bhagi) to the pot. As you do, try to mix well. It may seem like too much for the pot but it will wilt as it cooks down. BTW the heat should be back up to medium at this point. Top with the salt and cover to sort of steam cook.

Remember to stir it every 4-5 minutes.. it will spring its own natural juices. After about 25 minutes it will be fully cooked. Remove the lid to burn off any remaining liquid (I didn’t have any) and adjust the salt to your own liking. Now top with the tomato, give it a stir and cover the pot – turn off the stove. Allow the residual heat to soften the tomato. At this point is also where I’d normally go in with some fresh lemon or lime juice. I didn’t have any so red wine vinegar went in instead. This helps to prevent any sort of itch one can get at the back of the tongue with Callaloo at times.

If you wanted to add a bit of creamed coconut or coconut milk while it steamed cooked, that will add a lovely flavor to the entire dish. So there you go, Jamaican Callaloo with Turkey.. yea traditionalists will be shaking their heads at this point – until they give it a try.

Do you own a copy of my cookbook ?- The Vibrant Caribbean Pot 100 Traditional And Fusion recipes Vol 2

Gluten Free Seafood Vegan Vegetarian

Stewed Honey Nut Squash Recipe.

May 28, 2025March 13, 2019Leave a Comment

Yea, Honey Nut Squash is new to me too! I had never seen nor heard of it until I was at a local market and the name caught my attention. And even when I posted a clip of me cooking this on Instagram, I had a ton pf people correcting me “it’s butternut squash” so I knew it was kinda unique to many. Like any spinach (greens) type leafy vegetable, I’m also a HUGE fan of all squash and pumpkin, so they came home with me.

You’ll Need…

3 small honey nut squash (peel | cubed)
1/2 medium onion (diced)
2 cloves garlic (diced)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon Caribbean green seasoning
3/4 cup prepared salted cod
1/4 teaspoon salt

Note: I did this recipe with salted Cod, but if you wanted to leave that ingredient out and have this fully vegan or vegetarian, you can certainly do so. Additionally, if doing this recipe gluten free, please go through the entire list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs.

Peel (the skin will be tough), core and dice the squash, then place it in a bowl covered with cool water. This will prevent it from going discolored.

Place a heavy pot (one with a lid) on a medium flame and heat the olive oil, then turn down the heat and add the diced onion and garlic, along with the black pepper. Cook on low for 2-3 minutes. Then add the Prepare Salted Cod to the pot and stir well. Followed by the Caribbean Green Seasoning and stir.. heat still on low.

It’s now time to crank-up the heat to med-high and start adding the cubed squash pieces to the pot. be sure to stir well to combine all the flavors we started with.

Heat at medium now, add the brown sugar and cover the pot.

After about 3-5 mins (watch the video below) you’ll notice that the Honey Nut Squash got a lot of it’s own natural liquid… add the salt, turn the heat down to low and cover the pot. Cook for about 20 – 24 mins, stirring occasionally.

It should be fully cooked at this point and falling apart. Here’s where you can personalize things a bit. Check for salt and adjust. I used a little salt as I know the remaining salt in the salted cod would help season things nicely. I then turned the heat up to med/high to burn off the liquid (I like a dry squash wen cooked.. you may like it a bit runny) and I used the back of my spoon to crush any solid pieces. It took another 5-7 minutes to get to the consistency and texture I like.

If salted cod is not your thing, you can add some seasoned shrimp the final 5 minutes of cooking.. you can thank me later. I usually eat this as a typical vegetable side or on days when I want to be taken back to the islands.. I get some hot roti.

Do you own a copy of my cookbook ?- The Vibrant Caribbean Pot 100 Traditional And Fusion recipes Vol 2

Gluten Free Meat & Poultry

The Ultimate Outdoor Curry Duck Recipe.

May 27, 2025February 16, 20194 Comments

I’ll be honest and say I was not a fan of curry duck nor goat, growing up on the islands. While I do eat curry goat occasionally now, I did develop a weakness for spicy curry duck in my adult years. Especially when it’s summertime and I can use my outdoor wood-burning stove, as we’re doing in today’s recipe. Nothing beats the deep flavor you get cooking over a wood fire.. the spices which makes up a good curry powder seems to take on a totally different flavor profile, compared to when cooked indoors or even on a propane flame outside.

You’ll Need…

8-10 lbs Duck
1 tablespoon salt (adjust)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2-3 tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning
1 teaspoon Roasted Geera (Cumin powder)
1 tablespoon Amchar Masalla
8 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 scallions (chopped)
1 small onion (diced)
1 medium tomato (diced)
1/2 small onion (diced)
5 sprigs thyme
1 big leaf thyme (podina aka Spanish thyme)
2-3 scotch bonnet peppers
2-3 cups water.
4 tablespoon curry powder
3-4 tablespoon veg oil
3/4 cup chopped cilantro
2-3 cups water

Important! If doing this recipe gluten free, please go through the entire list of ingredients to ensure that they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs. Especially the curry powder you use as some may contain flour as a filler.

Have your butcher use his band-saw to cut the duck into 1 – 2 inch pieces as the bones can be rather tough and brittle as well. Additionally, if you source your duck (Muscovy) at a Caribbean store, ask them to fire roast it (outer skin) if they can. This will help burn off any baby feathers. I’m not a huge fan of the skin and fat (duck can be very fatty) so I trimmed off as much as I could, then I washed the now trimmed pieces of duck with the juice of a lemon and cool water. Drain and get ready to season.

In a large bowl, place the duck, tomato, salt, black pepper, 2 scotch bonnet pepper (be mindful that this is supposed to be a spicy dish but you can tailor it to your own liking) , thyme, Caribbean Green Seasoning, Geera, Amchar Masalla, the small onion, scallion and big leaf thyme (crushed of chopped finely -optional). Give this a good mix and allow to marinate for at least a couple hours, but overnight in the fridge is probably best.

I had a good bed of coals and a couple logs in my fire, so on went a heavy iron pot over the heat, along with the vegetable oil. This was followed by the diced 1/2 onion, which cooked for 2 minutes (try to have a low heat if you can), then I went in with the garlic. After 30 seconds I added my curry powder and cooked until it got fragrant and darker. This step allows us to cook off any raw curry taste which could happen at the end and allow the spices which makes up the curry powder to fully bloom.

It’s now time to start adding the seasoned duck to the pot and try your best to stir well, so every piece of duck is coated in the lovely curry base we created. If you can, turn up your heat (I can adjust the heat by how much oxygen I allow into my wood burning stove) and allow the pieces of duck to sear a bit. Then reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and allow to cook for about 10 minutes. Be sure to stir it a couple times.

It’s now time to burn off all the liquid which will naturally spring-up. This step is to give the duck that rich curry flavor and color. Do NOT skip this step please. So basically all I did was add a bit more fire, removed the lid off the pot and got things back to the oil we started off with. Be sure to stir well, so it doesn’t burn during this step. This may take between 5-10 minutes to burn off.

Put the water in the same bowl you marinated the duck in, to pick up any marinade which may have been left back. Then pour it into the now ‘dry’ duck meat in the pot. Give it a good stir and bring back to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook with the pot closed for about 40 minutes. Be sure to stir every 5-8 minutes or so and if you find that it’s drying up too fast, do add a bit more water. NO.. do NOT add any type of stock to the pot. Add some coconut milk if you want to add a different flavor to the curry.

Here’s where you’ll now personalize things. Taste for salt and adjust, see if the meat is tender enough for you (depending on the age of the duck, it can take a bit longer to get tender).. if not cook a bit longer, and adjust the gravy to the consistency you like. Finally add the chopped cilantro (shado beni will be the typical choice in Trinidad and Tobago) and I like adding another finely diced scotch bonnet at this point as well.

Remove the pot off the heat source and allow the residual heat to warm the diced pepper and cilantro. Get ready to enjoy the best ever curry duck you’ve ever made/had. You may thank me by sharing this recipe with your friends. (smile)

Couple things.. be sure to wash your hands with soap and water immediately after handling the Scotch Bonnet peppers and you can control the amount of heat in this dish by how many peppers you choose to use as well as by using the seeds of the peppers or not. The seeds and white membrane surrounding the seeds is where the raw heat will be.

Do you own a copy of my cookbook ?- The Vibrant Caribbean Pot 100 Traditional And Fusion recipes Vol 2

Gluten Free

Ginger Chive Roasted Snapper Recipe.

Strawberry Chow (Spicy pickle / salad) Recipe.

Caribbean Ratatouille (ital vegetable stew).

Jamaican Callaloo With Turkey.

Recipe Card

Jamaican Callaloo with Ground Turkey

Description

Ingredients

Instructions

Stewed Honey Nut Squash Recipe.

The Ultimate Outdoor Curry Duck Recipe.

Hi, I'm Chris.

Log In