chris de la rosa

Fry Dry! Small ocean fish marinated in a classic Caribbean marinade, then fried until crisp. Such a simple dish, but deep in tradition (our family’s recipe goes back about 150 yrs) . Just about every Caribbean household got their own version of making this dish.. today I’ll share my grandma’s take on it.

You”ll Need…

2 lbs herrings (cleaned)
1/2 lemon (juice)
1 teaspoon curry powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
I tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon pepper sauce (hot sauce)
1 clove garlic (crushed)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Clean (or ask your fish monger to do it) and wash the herrings with lemon juice and cool water. Drain and season with salt, black pepper, curry powder, garlic, Caribbean Green Seasoning and peppersauce (or your fav hot suace). Mix well (be gentle as you don’t want to break-up the fish) to coat evenly and marinate for about 1 hour. Try to get some of the seasoning
into the belly cavity of the fish. For additional flavor you may grate in a small onion too!

Set up your frying station. Flour (on a plate), Seasoned fish, frying pan and a plate lined with paper towels.

Heat oil on medium heat, dust each fish in the flour (not heavy) and pan fry the fish until they are crisp. Takes between 3-4 minutes on each side. The goal is to have fried (crisp) dry fish.

Fry in batches to not crowd the pan and place on paper towels to drain off excess oil.

Quick, simple and very tasty. I recall days when my grandmother would have boiled rice, split peas dhal and this fry dry herring (sardines and smelts will work great too) . Yea, fire roasted coconut chutney would be the spicy condiment of choice back then.

Spicy Mango Kuchela.

May 28, 2025May 5, 2020Leave a Comment

Mango Kuchela… as young fella on the islands I had NO love for this spicy pickle / condiment. However, it’s now one of my go-to sides when I have curry dishes, soups and Pelau, as an adult. My new found love probably got something to do with the fact that getting good green mangoes to make it in Canada is not as easy as when our home was surrounding by mango trees in the Ccaribbean.

You’ll Need…

6-8 green mangoes (depending on how large they are)
3/4 tablespoon salt (adjust)
1 teaspoon brown sugar (optional)
1 1/2 cups veg oil
6-8 cloves garlic
as much hot peppers as you can handle
2-3 tablespoon cilantro
2 1/2 tablespoon Anchar Massala

Note! 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 requirements. I used 3 Habanero peppers, but you can use any variety hot pepper you have on hand as as much as you can handle. Remember to wash your hands with soap and water immediately after handling such hot peppers.

Wash, peel (use a pairing knife or potato peeler) and grate the mango – be mindful of the seeds as you grate . A box grater works best.

Then using a cheese cloth (or dish towel), wrap and twist (wring) the mango to remove the natural liquid of the mango. The goal is to make it
as dry as we can, so later on it will absorb all the flavors we’ll be adding.

Set on paper-towel lined baking trays and allow to air dry at least 4 hours – I went overnight. Traditionally this is placed in the direct sun in the Caribbean. The paper towels will also help to absorb some of the natural liquid.

Pour the anchar masala onto the dried grated mango (large bowl), along with the salt and brown sugar (sugar is not traditional to the recipe, but it helps IMHO) and mix WELL!

You can source the Anchar Masala at most Caribbean grocers and lately I’m seeing it in the spice section of bigger Asian markets. Puree your garlic, cilantro and peppers. The cilantro I added is not traditional to the recipe – Shado beni is used (sometimes) instead. If you don’t have a blender, you can chop everything finely.

Heat the oil in a heavy pot on a medium heat and as it comes up to temperature add the pepper/garlic mixture and cook for 2-3 minutes. The goal is to flavor the oil with the garlic and give it a kick with the pepper (I used the seeds of the peppers as well).

Then go in with the mango and stir well. Yes, we used a lot of oil, but you’ll notice how it will be absorbed by the dried mango. The goal at the end is to use the oil as a preservative… so it keeps the finished kuchela fresh and not develop any mold etc.

Cook it for about 10 minutes, then into a glass jar. Be sure to stir it well, so all the flavors combine.

NOTE! Certain mango varieties makes better Kuchela (I know my mom prefers Starch Mango and my grandmother’s fav was Long Mango) but I used whats available to me. Just make sure they are GREEN and TART!

Meat & Poultry

Incredible Comforting Lamb Stew.

May 28, 2025May 4, 20201 Comment

While there’s nothing “Caribbean” about this recipe, it’s something I make on the regular as I enjoy stews and soups. It’s one of those comforting one-pot dishes the entire family will enjoy and often-times, there’s leftovers to freeze. My reason for posting the recipe here is simple – there were a lot of requests for it when I teased cooking it on Instagram.

You’ll Need…

3-4 lbs lamb (any cut lamb will work)
2-3 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 lb bacon (cut into 1 inch pieces)
1/4 cup flour (all purpose)
1 large onion (cubed)
1 shallot (diced)
6 cloves garlic (smashed)
3 stalks celery (sliced)
5 sprigs thyme
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoon tomato paste (concentrated puree)
1 1/2 cup red wine
8-10 mushrooms (cut in half)
3/4 tablespoon salt (adjust)
2 carrots (1/4 inch wheels)
10-14 small potatoes
2 bay leaves
4-5 cups chicken stock
1 bird’s eye pepper (optional)
4 tablespoon parsley (divided)

NOTE! I used “blade” chops as they were on sale and to be honest, I much prefer using meat with bones. IMHO you get a much better flavor.

Put a tablespoon olive oil in your heavy stew pot on a medium heat and add bacon and brown. Remove (about 5 minutes) after you have crispy bacon bits and set aside.

Add 1-2 tablespoon olive oil – brown the lightly flour dusted lamb chops. Don’t crowd the pan, so you may need to do it in 2-3 batches. Set aside. It will take 5-7 minutes.

Remove the chops, lower heat to low and add onion, shallot, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add the celery, garlic, thyme and black pepper.

A minute later add the tomato puree and stir well to help the natural sugars of the tomato to shine through. Then it’s time to add wine and stir well.. scrape the bottom of the pot. Raise the heat to medium.. bring to a boil. Add mushrooms, carrots, salt and potatoes. Followed by two bay leaves. Stir

Heat to medium high, add stock and add the browned pieces of lamb and bring to a boil Top with the bacon and 1/2 the parsley and birds eye pepper. Lid on and into your oven – middle rack.

1 1/2 hr later, stir, remove the lid to burn off the excess liquid and thicken up. The flour we dusted the lamb chops with, will help to thicken the gravy now. 2 hours later, remove from the oven, taste for salt and adjust. Top with the remaining parsley and serve.

An absolute stunning one pot dish you’ll thoroughly enjoy on those cold winter nights or.. any night yea. Freeze the remaining stew and thaw on those days you really don’t feel like fussing in the kitchen.

Gluten Free Vegetarian

Oven Roasted Tomato Choka #MeatFree

May 5, 2020May 3, 20201 Comment

CHOKA! That heavenly, spicy vegan dish.. packed with roasted tomatoes, garlic and thinly sliced onions! If you’ve had it, you’d know what I mean. I guess this would be like a Caribbean version of Salsa? While ‘baigan’ (eggplant) choka is still the love of my heart, I’m a HUGE fan of tomato choka and since tomatoes are usually cheaper in the grocery, it’s made very often in my kitchen. Without a doubt, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more delicious vegetarian dish.. just the simplicity of it!

You’ll Need…

8-10 ripe tomatoes
4 cloves garlic
1-3 scotch bonnet peppers
1 tablespoon sea salt (divided)
3 tablespoon olive oil (divided)
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
1/2 red onion (any onion will work)

Note : I used 3 green scotch bonnet peppers.. the green (less mature) will have a ton of flavor, but without the raw heat. That said, be smart and use the variety and amount of pepper you have/can tolerate. Remember to wash your hands with soap and water immediately after handling such hot peppers.

Remove the stems, wash and core (remove the tough area where the stems were with a pairing knife) off the tomatoes. Dry them with paper towels, then onto a lined baking tray, along with the peppers. Drizzle on 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and sprinkle on 1/2 the salt. Toss to coat everything.

Into a 525 F oven on the middle rack. After 5 minutes, remove the peppers and into the mortar. Allow to cool for 1-2 minutes, then remove the stems of the peppers, add the remaining salt along with the garlic.

Crush until you have a somewhat smooth paste.

After 25 minutes the tomatoes will be roasted and ready for use. You may remove the skins or keep them for that lovely smoky flavor. I kept the skins on 1/2 the tomatoes and tossed out the rest.

Add them individually into the mortar and crush. Please be mindful that they may “pop” when you first start crushing and hot juices may go flying at you. Crush until smooth, but with a bit of tiny chunks. Continue with the rest of them. If theres juices accumulated in the roasting tray, pour that into the mix too.

Give everything a good mix, then top with THINLY sliced onion. I used a red onion, but any onion you have on hand will work. Thinly sliced though.

Heat the remaining olive oil in a frying pan (until you see whispers of smoke), then pour directly onto the onions. This step is what we refer to as “Chunkay”. By pouring the hot oil over the onions, you’ll get a lovely flavor and it will slightly cook the onions and take away some of it’s pungency.

Top with the chopped parsley and stir well to combine everything. Hopefully you have some hot Sada Roti and a couple slices of ripe avocado to enjoy the perfect meal. Remember you can use this as a dip or salsa with your fav toasted bread or corn chips.

Gluten Free Seafood

Oven Roasted Yellow Tail Snapper.

April 28, 2020April 5, 20204 Comments

I’ll be honest, I grew up eating fish three ways. Fried, Stewed and in a lovely Curry Sauce (mommy’s repertoire). Never grilled, steamed, smoked (well except for the smoked herring we get in the Caribbean), oven roasted or broiled. However that quickly changed when I started traveling through the Caribbean and seeing how we do fish and seafood differently. Sadly, I wish I knew sooner (when I lived on the islands) as getting good fish here in Canada is very expensive. Understandable, but painful to see. I’m not a fan of fresh-water (lakes and rivers) fish.. only ocean fish please.

You’ll Need…

1 Snapper (about 2 lbs)
1 tablespoon salt (divided)
1 1/2 tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning
4-5 tablespoon olive oil (divided)
2 scallions (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 cloves garlic (smashed)
8-10 Brussels Sprout (optional)
8-10 cherry tomato
8-10 olives
4 sprigs thyme
1/2 tablespoon parsley (chopped)
1 teaspoon lemon juice (to finish)
*juice of a lime or lemon (to wash the fish)

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 the fish, then cut slits across the thickest part of the back/belly – to help cook faster and to allow for absorption of the marinade.

Salt (1/2 of it) the fish, especially in the cuts and belly of the fish. Then in a small bowl mix the Caribbean Green Seasoning and 2 tablespoon of Olive oil and paste it all over the fish, including the belly cavity.

Then in your roasting dish (oven proof) go in with the 1 tablespoon olive oil and place the fish on it. Add the Olives, Brussels Sprouts, Scallions, Garlic (smashed) and Thyme and pour any remaining marinade over everything. The Brussels Sprouts is optional as I found some in my fridge and tossed them in there… great addition yea.

Top with black pepper and the remaining salt. Drizzle on the remaining olive oil. This will help develop some color during roasting. You may need to go in with you hands and make sure everything is coated. Try to marinate for about 30 minutes.

Now into a 400 F oven uncovered on the middle rack. 25 minutes.. then 5 minutes on broil (525 F) But be mindful it can burn easily at this high temperature.

As it comes out of the oven, drizzle with the lemon juice and top with the chopped parsley. This will brighten the finished dish a bit. I didn’t add any Caribbean Sunshine (Scotch Bonnet) nor anything spicy, but you can certainly add your fave heat source if you wish.

Today moms got a ton of fish recipes in her arsenal, including a to-die-for baked salmon. Maybe I’ll convince her to share that recipe soon. If you can, please support. And should you have questions about this recipe or anything food related, be sure to Ask Chris.

Meat & Poultry

The Ultimate Jerk Pork Bites.

May 27, 2025March 31, 2020Leave a Comment

While I’m an ISLAND boy at heart, my luv for grilled meats, means no snow can prevent me from satisfying my craving. Even when it’s – 27 C outside and the wind charges up your jacket. However, when it’s comes to jerk pork, that’s another story. I need it low and slow for a couple hours and there’s NO way you’d catch me out there that long. So I give my Ultimate Jerk Pork Bites – in the oven!

You’ll Need….

5-6 lbs pork
1 large onion (diced)
5 sprigs thyme
2 scallions (chopped)
1 cup orange juice
1 cup apple cider
1 cup prepared jerk marinade
1 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon grated ginger
8 wiri wiri peppers (optional)
1 lime or lemon (juice) to wash the cut pork

Cube the pork, wash with juice of a lime and cool water and drain dry. I used a cheap piece of pork with some fatty marbling. Anything lean will give you somewhat dry and bland tasting jerk bites.

Prep the ingredients.

Season the pork (I seasoned it directly in the same roasting pan I’ll be using in the oven). Basically add everything to the pork and mix well. I used store -bought Jerk Marinade, so feel free to use your favorite or make your own. I’ve got a couple recipes on here showing how to make from-scratch Jamaican Jerk Marinade. I used Wiri Wiri peppers (what I had in my garden) and left them whole. But you can use any peppers you like or can handle. Don’t break the peppers if you don’t want it overly spicy.

Marinate in the fridge for at least one hour. 4 hours will give you the best results. You’ll notice that I didn’t add any salt as I’m trying my best to cut back on my sodium intake. You may want to add a teaspoon of salt. The jerk marinade I used, along with Soy Sauce did an ok job, as far as salt goes for me.

Then into a 380 F degree preheated oven, but give it another mix before going onto the middle rack. Uncovered! Be sure to stir it every 20 minutes or so. After One hour, this is what it will look like.

I left it in for a total of 2 hours and 40 minutes as I wanted to be sure the pork was fork tender and packed with those wonder jerk flavors. The final 230 minutes, I put the heat up to 400 F to help develop the golden color. Be sure to stir for even coloring.

Top with some freshly parsley if you wish. You may now remove the Wiri Wiri peppers or leave them for the people who like it spicy. If you wanted to add a few drops of liquid smoke, you’re free to do so during the marination process. I’m no fan of the liquid stuff. If you want to do this on a tray over your outdoor grill, do your thing. I’m sure any added smoke (especially from Pimento, Apple, Cherry or Hickory) would kiss this is a nice way.

If you can, please support. And should you have questions about this recipe or anything food related, be sure to Ask Chris.