Salsa is not a “Caribbean” type dish! Really? How easily we forget the Spanish speaking Caribbean, like Dominican Republic, Cuba and Puerto Rico. I started making this take on salsa for my girls after I read the label of the pre-packaged stuff they were buying at the grocery stores. Called salsa, but lacked any real flavor and loaded with sodium and preservatives. You’ll notice that I’ve taken the technique we use in Trinidad and Tobago for making Tomato Choka and applied it in making this salsa.. for what I believe is the best salsa you’ll ever have/enjoy! Ask my daughters and their friends.

You’ll Need…

3 Roma tomatoes
3 scallions
1 green scotch bonnet pepper
3 cloves garlic
1/2 med avocado (ripe)
1/2 green scotch bonnet pepper
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 heaping tablespoon chopped cilantro
1/2 lemon (juice)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

I’d much prefer to use my outdoor grill to fire-roast the scallions, pepper and tomatoes, but with it being sill cold outside (long winter) and since I know many people don’t have access to open flame grilling, I thought I’d use my cast iron pan on the stove top. Simply drizzle some vegetable oil on the pan (or use a non stick pan) and have it on a medium flame. Char the scotch bonnet pepper and scallion and set aside, then add the Roma tomatoes (I like using those as they are more meaty and less acidic) and grill on all sides till cooked all the way through – about 10 mins.

Dice the cherry tomato (raw) or you can use another couple Roma tomatoes.. I used cherry as I like the sweetness of them and add to a large bowl along with the chopped grilled scallions.

Using a mortar and pestle add the charred scotch bonnet (don’t add any seeds if you’re concerned about the raw heat and do wear gloves when handling them), the sea salt and garlic. Crush to a paste. By now the tomatoes should be fully roasted. you can remove the skin or leave them for a wicked kick of roasted flavor in the finished salsa. Crush the tomatoes as well.. to a chunky paste.

Add this crushed mixture to the bowl and mix well. It’s now time to bring everything together.. dice the avocado and add it along with the lemon juice, cilantro, black pepper and olive oil. Fold gently as not to over-crush the avocado. The goal is to have some texture from the avocado and diced tomato to balance the sort of thick sauce from the crushed roasted tomatoes. The slight kick from the scotch bonnet, the onion and garlic flavors and the roasted tomatoes will truly excite your taste buds. Not to be outdone, the herbal note from the cilantro will definitely have you and your guests wanting more.. so double up on the recipe as a precaution!

Serve fresh for best results, but you can make this in advance.. store in the fridge. I notice that the odd time it does not devoured immediately by my girls, it breaks down after three days in the fridge (discolor). Instead of lemon juice, lime would give it a lovely hint of citrus as well.

Gluten Free Side Dishes Vegetarian

Avocado Grapefruit Salad

May 28, 2025April 30, 2015Leave a Comment

This vibrant Avocado Grapefruit Salad is a light and refreshing dish that perfectly balances creamy, tart, and spicy Caribbean flavors. Inspired by the abundance of fruit trees in island backyards, this simple recipe brings together ripe avocados, juicy grapefruit, and a subtle kick from bird’s eye pepper. It’s an easy, no-cook option ideal for warm-weather meals or quick lunches, and it’s naturally vegan, gluten-free, and packed with nourishing ingredients. Whether you’re embracing a healthier lifestyle or just looking for something bright and satisfying, this Caribbean-inspired salad is a flavorful way to enjoy the freshness of local produce.

Avocado and grapefruit salad on a plate ready to serve

Ingredient Guide

Avocado: Choose ripe avocados for a creamy texture that balances the tartness of grapefruit.
Red Onion: Adds a mild sharpness and crunch to the salad.
Cilantro: Provides a fresh, herbal note that complements the citrus flavors.
Grapefruit: Offers a juicy, tangy sweetness that pairs well with avocado.
Sea Salt: Enhances the natural flavors of the ingredients.
Black Pepper: Adds a subtle heat and depth to the salad.
Bird’s Eye Pepper: Introduces a spicy kick; adjust to taste.

Shopping Made Easy

Avocados: Look for avocados that yield slightly to gentle pressure, indicating ripeness.
Red Onions: Available in the produce section; choose firm bulbs with dry, papery skins.
Cilantro: Look for fresh cilantro in the herb section, selecting vibrant green leaves that are not wilted.
Grapefruits: Choose heavy fruits with smooth, firm skins for juiciness.
Bird’s Eye Peppers: Available at Caribbean or international markets; can substitute with chili flakes if unavailable.

Cooking Notes from the Kitchen

Preventing Avocado Browning: If not serving immediately, drizzle sliced avocado with lemon juice to prevent discoloration.
Segmenting Grapefruit: Use a sharp knife to remove the peel and white pith, then cut between the membranes to release segments.
Adjusting Heat: Adjust the amount of bird’s eye pepper to suit your preferred spice level.

What makes this salad uniquely Caribbean?

The combination of fresh, tropical ingredients, like avocado and grapefruit, along with the use of bird’s eye pepper, reflects the vibrant flavors typical of Caribbean cuisine.

Can I prepare this salad in advance?

It’s best enjoyed fresh, but you can prepare the components separately and assemble just before serving to maintain freshness and texture.

Are there any substitutions for bird’s eye pepper?

If bird’s eye peppers are unavailable, you can use a small amount of finely chopped chili or a pinch of red pepper flakes as a substitute.

Print Recipe

Avocado Grapefruit Salad

Cuisine: Fusion Recipe Keys: Gluten Free Quick Meals

Difficulty: Beginner Prep Time 12 mins Total Time 12 mins

Servings: 2

Diet:

G Gluten-Free V Vegan V Vegetarian

Description

A quick, vegan, gluten-free salad featuring creamy avocado, tangy grapefruit, crisp onion, and a hint of Caribbean heat, accented by the heat of bird’s eye pepper, perfect for a quick, healthy meal.

Ingredients

2 ripe avocados
¹⁄₄ red onion
1 tablespoon cilantro (chopped)
1 grapefruit (segmented)
1 pinch sea salt
1 pinch black pepper
1 Bird’s Eye pepper (seeded)

Instructions

Video

Slice the avocados into wedges. If not serving immediately, drizzle with lemon juice to prevent them from browning.
Thinly slice the red onion and finely chop the cilantro.
Segment the grapefruit, removing all peel and pith, and separate the segments.
On a serving plate, arrange the avocado slices, grapefruit segments, and red onion.
Sprinkle the chopped cilantro and bird’s eye pepper over the salad.
Season with sea salt and black pepper to taste. Serve immediately and enjoy this refreshing Caribbean-inspired salad.

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Gluten Free Vegetarian

Simple Sofrito Recipe.

April 20, 2015April 20, 20152 Comments

As we have Caribbean Green Seasoning as the base of many dishes in most of the Southern Caribbean, in the Spanish speaking Caribbean you’ll find Sofrito. An aromatic blend of herbs, garlic and seasoning peppers. A few years back while in old San Juan (Puerto Rico) I had a delightful rice dish at a small roadside vendor and she told me that the secret was all in the sofrito she started with. You will definitely find variations in the way sofrito is made as you make your way through Cuba, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic, as everyone tend to have their own specific recipe. This recipe I’m about to share is as basic as sofrito comes and a great starting point.

You’ll Need…

2 Cubanelle peppers (or bell peppers)
1 large onion
12-16 cloves garlic
1 cup chopped cilantro (coriander)
1/2 cup chopped culantro (recao | shado beni | Chadon Beni)
1/4 cup olive oil

Important – Typically a sort of seasoning pepper along with bell peppers are used in making traditional sofrito. Since I could not source the seasoning peppers I opted for the Cubanelle peppers as they do have a wonderful flavor about them and would give me the same texture of the bell peppers.

Give everything a rough chop and place in a food processor. You may find that some people use a blender and go with the puree setting. That is a personal choice. I much prefer my finished sofrito to have some texture to it, so I use a food processor and go a sort of pulse action. The olive oil is to help everything come together.

You will find that as you pulse it, it will tend to clump to the sides. Stop the machine and push down with a wooden spoon and pulse until everything comes together to a sort of coarse consistency. However, you can add a bit more olive oil and puree if you wish.

I usually store the finished sofrito in a jar in the fridge, but depending on how often you plan on using it you can freeze it in ice tray, then remove and place the frozen blocks in a freezer bag. Then when it’s time to use, simply take out as many blocks as you need and thaw/cook.

Here’s an amazing chicken dish I did using this sofrito as a marinade, Click To Watch: Sofrito Pan Roasted Chicken Recipe. Hopefully I’ll have time in the coming weeks to upload the written version, so you can print it off, should you wish to do so.

Gluten Free Vegetarian

Quick And Tasty Stewed Beans Recipe (For Students & Busy Individuals)

April 11, 2015April 11, 20153 Comments

Our mom is an expert at making Caribbean style stewed red beans and I’m still to find someone who can match the way she balances flavor, tenderness and the perfect consistency to the gravy. A recipe which calls for soaking dried beans and slowly cooking then for a relatively long time. Time is something we never seem to have much of lately, so I’ve come up with a recipe which will cut the cooking time tremendously and give you the same sort of feel-good vibe as if you were eating traditional Caribbean stewed beans – stuff your mom or grandma would make for you.

You’ll Need…

1 can red beans (19 oz)
2 scallions
1 small onion
2 sprigs thyme
1 tablespoon parsley
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium tomato (I used a few grape tomatoes)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper (optional)
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon Caribbean Browning
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup bell pepper

Optional ingredients are grated ginger, sesame oil, Worcestershire sauce and Golden Ray salted butter. If doing this recipe gluten free do go through the entire list of ingredients to ensure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs (especially the Worcestershire sauce).

Chop (scotch bonnet, onion, scallion, parsley), dice (tomato, bell pepper), crush (garlic) and remove the thyme leaves off the springs. Do remember to wear gloves when handling the scotch bonnet and wash you hands immediately after with soap and water.

Heat the oil on a med flame in a deep saucepan, then add the garlic, onion, bell pepper, black pepper, scallion, thyme and parsley. Lower the heat to as low as it can go and let it go for about 4-5 mins… here’s where we’ll get an infusion of wicked flavors.

This is the one and only time you’ll ever get me to recommend that you open the can of beans and NOT rinse with cool water. Keep everything.

Now add all the other ingredients, except the browning, water and the beans. Put the lid on the pan (still on low heat) and cook for another 2-3 minutes). Then raise the heat to med/high, add the beans, water and the browning. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 7-10 minutes.

Quick Comment – You’ll need to go to a Caribbean grocers to get the Caribbean style browning and be mindful that you must use a little as it can be very overpowering (taste and color). You will notice that I did not add any salt to this dish as I find that the sodium content in canned beans is quite high, but do taste and adjust accordingly. At this point you can do two things if the gravy is too thin.. remove the lid and turn up the heat or use the back of your spoon and crush some of the beans.

If you’re a student, a busy individual or someone who just don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen, you’ll appreciate this stewed beans recipe. You can always add some coconut milk instead of the water and if you want to add a bit more body, you can go in with some flour dumplings for a one pot dish.

Gluten Free Sauces & Condiments Vegetarian

Apple Kuchela Recipe.

May 28, 2025March 30, 20155 Comments

Kuchela is one of those spicy condiments traditionally made with green mangoes and a must-have topping for ‘doubles’, saheena and pholourie (street food in Trinidad and Tobago). Being that I call Canada home and green mango is not something I can go in my back yard and pick off the trees as I did for my mom when I was a young fella on the islands, Granny Smith apples are my new choice. Though sweet, the slight tartness and sturdy texture of these green apples makes an ideal kuchela when you can’t source mangoes.

You’ll Need…

5 green apples (Granny Smith)
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 cloves garlic
3-4 tablespoons amchar masala
3/4 cup veg oil
2 scotch bonnet peppers

Notes: You can purchase the amchar masala at most West Indian markets and there are times you can get it on Amazon.com. Grate with the skin on for additional texture, but be sure to get apples which are not covered in wax as they are sometimes.

Please remember to wear gloves and wash your hands with soap and water immediately after handling scotch bonnet peppers. Dice the peppers finely, including the seeds for more heat. You have the option of dicing or crushing the garlic. Then using the sort of shred side of your grater, grate the apples until the core.

You now have two option, you can squeeze off all the liquid from the grated apples, but if you want a more saucy kuchela you can remove about half the liquid. It may take a bit of work to squeeze off the liquid with your hands, or you can use a towel and wring the liquid out.

When making traditional mango kuchela, we try to get all the moisture out of the grated mango and it’s then spread onto a kitchen towel and placed in the open sun for a couple hrs to dry off. This process makes it easy to infuse the grated mango with the Kuchela flavors. In this recipe we’ll cook everything on the stove top for a few minutes to replicate that sort of infusion we need for this to be a great kuchela.

In a wide saucepan on a LOW heat, heat the vegetable oil, then go in with the diced pepper and garlic. Let that gently cook for about 3-5 minutes. Be sure to turn the fan above your stove on or at least open your kitchen windows. The cooked peppers will give off a strong (choking) scent.

Now add the amchar masala, cook for a minute, then add the grated apple and salt. Mix well, cook for 2-3 minutes and you’re done!

Traditionalists will be able to identify the natural sweetness of the apples, but I assure you that this apple kuchela is just as exciting as any I’ve had on the islands and that sweetness adds a lovely overall roundness to the kuchela as it ages for a few days. You can store these in sterilized glass containers on your kitchen counter for a couple weeks, then store in the fridge.

Gluten Free Grilling Sauces & Condiments Vegetarian

Baigan Choka (eggplant dip) Recipe In The Oven.

June 2, 2025March 12, 20154 Comments

The key to making traditional baigan (eggplant) choka (dip) is roasting the eggplant over an open flame and if you really want to excite the taste buds with even more flavor, you would place the eggplant on hot coals. On so many levels this is not always possible, especially if you live in temperate climates where having that fire in the middle of winter is not possible. Yes, you can always use the flame on your stove top, but if you’ve ever had to clean up that stove after – you’d never do it again. This baigan choka recipe is specifically for people who want the same sort of flavors, but with an easier method of achieving this. Students, you can even do this is a toaster oven.

You’ll Need…

2 med eggplant (about 2-3 lbs)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon veg oil
2 cloves garlic (divided)
1 scotch bonnet pepper
1 small onion

* If you didn’t already know, baigan is just another name for eggplant. This dish is both vegetarian and gluten free. Be sure to go through the entire list of ingredients to ensure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary requirements.

Set your oven to the broil setting (525 F) and as it gets to temp, lets prepare the eggplant. Trim off the stem area, make some slits in the eggplant and for maximum flavor.. slice one of the cloves of garlic thinly and place them into the slits in the eggplant.

Line a sturdy baking tray with tin foil so you won’t have a mess to clean up after. Place the eggplant and WHOLE scotch bonnet pepper and drizzle with the vegetable oil on the eggplant. Using your hands rub the oil around the eggplant and place it in the oven.

After 5 minutes, remove the scotch bonnet – it should be slightly charred now. In a heavy bowl (or mortar and pestle) place the scotch bonnet (remove the stem), remaining clove of garlic and salt and pound to a smooth paste. Remember to wash your hands with soap and water after handling such hot peppers. TIP – I used a slightly mature scotch bonnet so I get a tamed heat. Remember you can control the heat level by how much scotch bonnet you choose to use.

After 25-30 mins at 525 F your eggplant should be perfectly cooked. Remove from the oven and slice down the center and using a table spoon, scoop out all that goodness and place in the same bowl we have the crushed pepper / garlic / salt.

Now crush the eggplant you scooped out until it’s somewhat smooth (you can do all of this with your mortar and pestle – I used a traditional “ponga”). Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan just until you start seeing smoke. In the meantime thinly slice the onion and place it on top of the eggplant mixture (do not mix it yet). Now pour the heat oil onto the onion (this is called chunka). By doing so we do two things. We get the rawness out of the sliced onion and we also pull some flavor out of the onion. Mix well and serve.

This is a dish I love eating with hot sada roti and it’s something my mom makes daily for me when I visit home (Trinidad and Tobago), but you can use any flat bread or use as a dip for any of your favorite potato or corn chips. I hope you give it a try as it’s so simple to do in the oven and I know if you’re old school you’ll miss the smoky flavor of the fire roasted, but the high heat we roast it at in the oven will give it a unique taste.

Recipe Card

Baigan Choka (Eggplant Dip) in an orange serving bowl

Print Recipe

Baigan Choka (Oven-Roasted Eggplant Dip)

Cuisine: Trinidadian Recipe Keys: Dairy Free Gluten Free Quick Meals Spicy Vegetarian

Difficulty: Beginner Prep Time 5 mins Cook Time 30 mins Total Time 35 mins

Servings: 4

Diet:

G Gluten-Free V Vegan V Vegetarian

Description

A classic Trinidadian dish, baigan choka is traditionally made by roasting eggplant over an open flame. This oven-broiled version captures the essence of the original, delivering that smoky flavor with less mess, perfect for those in cooler climates or without access to a grill.

Ingredients

2 medium eggplants (about 2-3 lbs)
¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic (divided)
1 pepper scotch bonnet pepper (seeds removed)
1 small onion

Instructions

Video

Set your oven to the broil setting 525 degrees F (275 degrees C).
Prepare the Eggplant (2). Trim off the stem area, make some slits in the eggplant for maximum flavor.
Slice one of the Garlic (2 clove) thinly and place them into the slits in the eggplant.
Line a sturdy baking tray with tin foil.
Place the eggplant and Scotch Bonnet Pepper (1) and drizzle Vegetable Oil (1 teaspoon) on eggplants. Using your hands rub the oil around the eggplant and place it in the oven for 25 minutes.
After 5 minutes, remove the scotch bonnet – it should be slightly charred now.
In a heavy bowl (or mortar and pestle) place the scotch bonnet (stem removed), remaining clove of garlic and Salt (1/4 teaspoon) and pound to a smooth paste.
After 25-30 minutes, your eggplant should be perfectly cooked. Remove from the oven and slice down the center and using a table spoon, scoop out all that goodness and place in the same bowl as garlic-pepper mixture.
Now crush the eggplant you scooped out until it’s somewhat smooth.
Heat the Olive Oil (2 tablespoon) in a small frying pan just until it starts to smoke.
Meanwhile, thinly slice the Onion (1) and place it on top of the eggplant mixture (do not mix it yet). Now pour the heated oil onto the onion.
Mix well and serve.

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Vegetarian

The Ultimate Salsa Recipe [Caribbean Style].

Avocado Grapefruit Salad

Ingredient Guide

Shopping Made Easy

Cooking Notes from the Kitchen

What makes this salad uniquely Caribbean?

Can I prepare this salad in advance?

Are there any substitutions for bird’s eye pepper?

Avocado Grapefruit Salad

Description

Ingredients

Instructions

Simple Sofrito Recipe.

Quick And Tasty Stewed Beans Recipe (For Students & Busy Individuals)

Apple Kuchela Recipe.

Baigan Choka (eggplant dip) Recipe In The Oven.

Recipe Card

Baigan Choka (Oven-Roasted Eggplant Dip)

Description

Ingredients

Instructions

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