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Gluten Free Sauces & Condiments Vegetarian

Zesty Garlic Avocado Yogurt Dip

1 Comment on Zesty Garlic Avocado Yogurt Dip

avocado dip (7)

As I’ve indicated in the past, I’m addicted to avocados or zabouca and/or pear, as it’s also known in the Caribbean. However, the variety of avocados grown in the Caribbean is much different than the ones you’d get from California, Mexico, and other Central American countries. Ours are much bigger, have a different texture (less creamy and more cheese-like), and can be stringy at times.

For this recipe I’ll be using a Hass avocado as I love the rich and creamy texture of it.. plus it’s what I have available. I’ve also included this recipe under the Gluten Free category, but do go through each ingredient to ensure it meets with your dietary guidelines if you’re following a gluten-free diet.

You’ll Need…

1 – 1.5 cups Greek yogurt (plain – or your fav yogurt)
1 avocado (ripe)
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 lemon (juice)
pinch sea salt
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper diced finely
fresh ground black pepper
pinch sugar (or honey)

Note: While many natural dairy products are gluten-free, some types of Greek yogurt may have gluten-containing additives. You’ll have to carefully read labels and perhaps even contact the manufacturers to determine which types of Greek yogurt are gluten-free. Your best bet is plain, whole-milk Greek yogurt.

avocado dip (1)

Deseed and remove the outer skin off the avocado and give it a rough dice. Finely dice the scotch bonnet pepper and try your best to not include any seeds as that’s where the raw heat will be. Remember to wash your hands with soap and water immediately after handling such hot peppers. Give the cilantro and garlic a rough chop as well.

avocado dip (2)

Place all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and pulse until you have a smooth creamy consistency. The lemon juice will not only give it a lovey citrus finish it will help it maintain it’s lovely colour.  Avocado is notorious for going discolored very fast.

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Store in a glass container and cover with plastic wrap if storing in the fridge. It’s one of those dips which must be eaten asap, but can be made about 2-4 hrs in advance before serving.

In my case ,I had this dip with the fried chicken wings I shared a while back. Note that the crispy chicken wing recipe in NOT gluten free as I used flour as a dusting before frying.

avocado dip in the middle of a pile of chicken wings
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Zesty Garlic Avocado Yogurt Dip

Recipe Keys: Dairy Spicy Vegetarian
Difficulty: Beginner Prep Time 10 mins Total Time 10 mins
Servings: 2

Description

This creamy dip combines ripe avocado, Greek yogurt, fresh herbs, and a hint of Caribbean heat. Ideal with chips, wings, or as a fresh sandwich spread.

Ingredients

Steps

Video
  1. Slice the avocado in half, remove the seed, and scoop out the flesh. Roughly dice it.
  2. Finely dice the garlic and scotch bonnet pepper. Roughly chop the cilantro.

  3. Place avocado, yogurt, garlic, scotch bonnet, cilantro, lemon juice, salt, sugar, and black pepper into a food processor or blender.

  4. Pulse until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides as needed to ensure full incorporation.

  1. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking. Serve chilled.
    Transfer to a glass container. If storing, cover it with plastic wrap and press it directly onto the dip to prevent oxidation.
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Sauces & Condiments Vegetarian

The World’s Hottest Pepper Sauce Using Trinidad Moruga Scorpion and Ghost Peppers (Bhut Jolikia).

13 Comments on The World’s Hottest Pepper Sauce Using Trinidad Moruga Scorpion and Ghost Peppers (Bhut Jolikia).

At the time of putting this recipe together the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion was the hottest pepper in the world and in all honesty it was indeed pure fyah! I had never tasted anything as hot and some may think I’m nuts for using them in a pepper sauce. However there’s news coming out of the US that the Carolina Reaper and the Chocolate Bhutla peppers now holds the record for the world’s hottest pepper.

Every summer I do the best with the little area of free space in our back yard and do a little gardening. This year I was fortunate to get an assortment of very hot pepper plants from a local nursery and the crop at the end of the summer was quite plentiful. Along with the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion I planted the Bhut Jolikia, Chocolate Bhut Jolikia, Chocolate Scotch Bonnet, Scotch Bonnet, Habanero and the Seven Pod pepper.

So here’s my take on the worlds hottest peppersauce…

 

You’ll Need…

25-30 HOT peppers *
1/2 cup cilantro chopped
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup vinegar
10 cloves garlic
1/2 lemon

Notes. This recipe works great with any type of hot pepper, but I used a combination of Trinidad Moruga Scorpion,  Bhut Jolikia, Chocolate Bhut Jolikia, Chocolate Scotch Bonnet, Scotch Bonnet, Habanero and the Seven Pod pepper. You may need a bit more than the 1 cup of vinegar, depending on the consistency you like your pepper sauce. Also note that this is a raw pepper sauce, but you can certainly cook it after you’ve blended it together.

I went for heat and didn’t concentrate too much on added flavor, so you’ll notice I kept things basic, with the use of garlic, cilantro (wish I had shado beni) and 1/2 of a lemon.

Basically all you have to do is give everything a rough chop to make it easier for your blender or food processor to work it into the consistency you like. Remove the seeds from the lemon and cut it into pieces, including the skin. IMPORTANT Be sure to wear gloves, open your kitchen window for ventilation and DO wash your hands with soap and water immediately after handling such lethal peppers.

Place all the ingredients in the blender and pulse, then liquefy to a somewhat thick but smooth consistency.

For maximum HEAT, do include the pepper seeds.

* Liking the old school blender?

As mentioned above you may need a bit more vinegar and depending on your tolerance for salt you may need to adjust this as well. Store in a glass container (sterilize first) in your kitchen cupboard or in the fridge where it could easily last upwards of 6 months.

 

If you’re looking for some tips on handling such hot peppers, check out: Trinidad Scorpion Moruga The World’s Hottest Pepper.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. oh yea! leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.

Gluten Free Sauces & Condiments Vegetarian

Traditional Coconut Chutney

6 Comments on Traditional Coconut Chutney

With mom and dad visiting this past summer I had the help I needed to put together one of the most requested recipes, coconut chutney. A spicy condiment which is an excellent topping for many of the street foods you’d find being sold in Trinidad and Tobago, especially ‘doubles’. Traditionally a mortar and pestle or ‘seal’ (a flat stone with a rounded one for grinding) would be used in making coconut chutney. With this in mind you’ll notice that we did encounter some problems getting the right texture, but we found a good medium in using the box grater along with a food blender.

 

You’ll Need…

1 dried coconut
3 cloves garlic
1 scotch bonnet pepper
teaspoon salt
4 leaves of Chadon Beni (culantro)

 

Notes. If you can’t source shado beni, you can also use twice the amount of cilantro. If you wondering why I needed help in making something so simple.. I hate grating, so I got dad to jump in with the box grater. Grated my fingers as a kid and the memory is still fresh. If doing this recipe gluten free please go through the ingredient list to ensure it meets with your specific gluten free dietary needs. 

When buying a dried coconut be aware of the following. Give it a shake and ensure you can hear liquid moving around inside. The dried coconut may be wrapped in a plastic wrap (especially in North America), this helps to keep them fresh and quite normal.

Using the back (NOT THE BLADE) of a cleaver or a large chef’s knife (a hammer works well also) , tap on the hard shell, to crack open. Do this over your sink so the water inside will pour out without having a mess on your counter. It will take a few hard taps to crack open. With care, use a pairing or butter knife (whatever you feel comfortable using), separate the white flesh from the hard shell. Basically putting the blade between the shell and flesh with a prying motion.

Discard the hard shell part and place the flesh (no need to remove the sort of brown skin on the exterior) on an open flame. I used my grill, but you can use your stove top (it will make a mess) or place on a foil lined tray in a high oven. Let it roast on the open flame, flip often and try to get it a bit charred. Will take a few minutes. It will take much longer if you’re using an oven.

It will go charred.. doh fret! This is exactly what we’re looking for. Allow it to cool a bit so you can safely handle it. Now scrape of any excessively charred bits and give it a good rinse with cool water. It’s now time to grate or you can cut into small pieces and place directly into a blender or food processor. Only after grating did we notice that the texture was not as traditional coconut chutney. So we then placed the grated coconut in a blender, along with the salt, shado beni, scotch bonnet pepper (add more or less according to how spicy you like it) and garlic. Blend!

If using a blender as we did, you’ll need to add a little water to allow it to work. Adding water is not traditional but it didn’t affect the taste at all. You’re looking for a somewhat smooth paste, but with a texture close to grains of sand.

This coconut chutney is meant to be very spicy, but you can control the heat by how much scotch bonnet pepper you add. Do remember that if you’re concerned about raw heat, don’t use any of the seeds of the pepper and do wash your hands with soap and water immediately after handling such lethal peppers. Store in the fridge for a few days, but it’s best when used fresh.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. oh yea! leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.

Recipe Card

Coconut Chutney in a orange bowl
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Coconut Chutney

Cuisine:

Description

With mom and dad visiting this past summer I had the help I needed to put together one of the most requested recipes, coconut chutney. A spicy condiment which is an excellent topping for many of the street foods you’d find being sold in Trinidad and Tobago, especially ‘doubles’. Traditionally a mortar and pestle or ‘seal’ (a flat stone with a rounded one for grinding) would be used in making coconut chutney. With this in mind you’ll notice that we did encounter some problems getting the right texture, but we found a good medium in using the box grater along with a food blender.

Ingredients

Instructions

Video
  1. Discard the hard shell part of the Coconut (1).
  2. Place the flesh of the coconut on an open flame.
  3. Let the coconut roast on the open flame, flip often and try to get it a bit charred.
  4. Allow it to cool a bit so you can safely handle it. Now scrape of any excessively charred bits and give it a good rinse with cool water.
  5. Grate the coconut or you can cut into small pieces and place directly into a blender or food processor.
  6. Place the grated coconut in a blender, along with the Salt (1 teaspoon), Culantro Leaves (4), Scotch Bonnet Pepper (1), and Garlic (3 clove), then blend.
  7. Store in the fridge for a few days, but it’s best when served fresh.
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Gluten Free Sauces & Condiments

Chunky Garlic Pepper Sauce.

19 Comments on Chunky Garlic Pepper Sauce.

No condiment is more loved in the Caribbean than pepper sauce, the secrets of which are guarded by those who perfect the art of balancing the right heat level with flavor. The key to a good pepper sauce is not so much how hot it is, but the impact it makes when combined with whatever dish you’re having… something which ‘opens’ the appetite and encourages you to EAT!

Over the years I’ve shared various recipes for all sorts of pepper sauces and other spicy condiments with you, so it being summertime and many of you are probably reaping peppers in your home garden.. there’s no better time to share a new recipe! This is my take on the chunky hot sauce served at Thai and Vietnamese restaurants.

 

You’ll Need…

18-25 bird peppers (birds eye)
5 scotch bonnet peppers
6 cloves garlic
2 tablespoon chopped parsely
1 scallion
1 cup vinegar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white sugar
2 leaves shado beni (or 3 tablespoon chopped clantro)
1 lemon (or lime)
1 shallot

* Remember to wear gloves when handling such hot peppers and do remember to wash your hands immediately after with soap and water.

Basically all you have to do is give the required ingredients a rough chop, then place everything in a food processor or blender and “pulse”. Do not puree as it will change the overall texture and you will not get the sort of chunky character we’re hoping to achieve.

The vinegar and lime juice will act as a preservative for this pepper sauce, so it’s ok to store it in a clean glass jar on your kitchen counter. But for a longer shelf-life, you can store it in the fridge. As I’ve mentioned before, storing in the fridge (not sure why) takes away some of the heat of the sauce the longer it stays in there.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. oh yea! leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.

Sauces & Condiments

French Caribbean Creole Sauce For Fish And Grilled Meats.

15 Comments on French Caribbean Creole Sauce For Fish And Grilled Meats.

This Creole sauce is turning out to be one of the most controversial recipes I’ve shared to date. After posting the recipe video on the  Cooking Channel, there’s been a lot of comments about it not being authentic. Here’s the thing about cooking and recipes, it’s usually how you’ve learned to make the dish or how you like it. So when you see me add an ingredient like tomato paste to the sauce, rest assured that’s the way I like it. I use the traditional way (in most cases) of doing a dish as the base and try to add my own little touch. That said, there are some recipes where I will not alter the traditional format of preparing it as I don’t want to disrespect centuries of tradition.

You’ll Need…

1 medium Onion
3/4 cup celery
3/4 cup green pepper
3 cloves garlic
1 large tomato
1.5 cups chicken stock
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper
2 scallion
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs thyme
tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped parsley.
2 tablespoon olive oil

Start off by chopping/dicing the scallions, green pepper, onion, tomato, garlic (finely), celery, parsley and scotch bonnet pepper. Then heat the olive oil on a medium heat and add the diced celery, onion and green pepper. Turn the heat down to low and let that gently cook for about 8-10 minutes.

Everything will be soft and tender now and you’ll have a wonderful base for this delicious creole sauce. Turn up the heat to med/high and add all the other ingredients, except the chopped parsley.

Stir well, bring to a boil, then turn the heat down so you have a gentle simmer going. Cook for about 25 minutes, with the lid ajar on the sauce pan.

Now remove the lid and let it cook on medium heat to thicken up a bit. Remember to fish out the bay leaf and if you did as I did.. remove the thyme stems and discard. It should only take a few minutes to thicken up. Finish off with the chopped parsley.

This creole sauce is excellent on fish (fried, baked, poached, grilled) and other grilled meats. You can certainly make this in advance and keep it in a sealed container in the fridge for at least a week. Just heat and serve when you’re ready to add a classic French Caribbean flavor to your dishes.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. Oh yea! leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.

Sauces & Condiments

Chadon Beni (shado beni, culantro) Garlic Sauce.

13 Comments on Chadon Beni (shado beni, culantro) Garlic Sauce.

I assume our love affair with garlic sauce (like garlic aioli) is influenced by the food immigrants from the Middle East brought with them to our shores many moons ago. Did you know…

“The last group of immigrants to venture to colonial Trinidad originated in the region previously known as Greater Syria, which comprises of present day Iraq, Syria, Palestine and Lebanon. Many of the Lebanese hailed from the villages of Buhandoun and Amyoun while the Syrians came from villages in the ‘Valley of the Christians.’ These Arabs emigrated to the Caribbean from as early as 1904 in an attempt to escape religious persecution and economic hardship in their native countries.”

Over the years it’s evolved into a true Caribbean style sauce, with the addition of Shado Beni (aka culantro) and at times a little scotch bonnet (not today though). As a topping for grilled meats, fresh cut fries and a touch on your hamburger and you’ll be blown away at the delightful difference it makes. This garlic sauce its quickly making it’s way into the culinary framework throughout the Caribbean and versions can be found on just about every island.

 

You’ll Need…

10 cloves garlic
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey (optional)
3 1/2 teaspoons sugar (white granulated)
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chadon beni (aka shado beni , culantro)

* Taste for salt and add more sugar if necessary (you’re looking for a creamy garlic finish with a sort of sweet undertone).

Place the garlic, vinegar, sugar, honey and salt into a blender or food processor and puree on high for a minute. Then with the blender on, drizzle in the olive oil so it starts going creamy and start taking on the basic consistency of a runny mayo.

Then give the shado beni a rough chop and add to the blender. Give it a few pulses as you want to be able to see tiny specks of the shado beni and not have it fully pureed.

Place in a sealed container and store in the fridge. Be sure to give it a good shake before serving and if you want a little kick, don’t hesitate in add a bit of chopped scotch bonnet to the blender as well.

This Chadon Beni (Shado Beni) garlic sauce is excellent drizzled onto fresh cut fries, as well as grilled meats and the general idea is to use it as you would used mayonnaise (sandwiches and wraps).

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. oh yea! leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.