chris de la rosa

Baigan and Aloo (eggplant cooked with potato) was one of my favorite things to eat as a kid growing up on the islands.. except when mom would put saltfish (salted cod) in it. According to her (my adult self agrees 100%) makes it more ‘sweet’ (tasty) and though mom never made this dish with shrimp, it’s now one of my go-to recipes when I’m homesick. Granted it’s not a ‘pretty’ dish, but I assure it you’ll fall in love with it.

You’ll Need…

2 medium eggplant (peeled and cubed)
1 lb shrimp (16-20) * Smaller will work best
1 teaspoon Caribbean Green Seasoning
4 cloves garlic (smashed)
1/2 medium onion (diced)
2 Birds Eye Pepper (optional)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4-6 small potatoes (cubed)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (divided)
1 teaspoon salt (divided)
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1 1/2 cups water
6-8 cherry tomatoes (optional)
1 tablespoon Parsley (chopped)

IMPORTANT! If doing this recipe gluten free, please go though the entire list of ingredients to ensure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs. Especially the curry powder you choose to use as there are some brands which use flour in their curry as a filler. Also note that while we did season the shrimp with a tiny bit of curry powder, technically this is NOT curry baigan wand aloo.

Peel and cube the eggplant and potato and set aside (keep the eggplant/potato in water to prevent it from going discolored) Season the washed (peeled and deveined) shrimp with the curry powder, black pepper, 1/4 of the salt and the Caribbean Green Seasoning.. mix well. Then heat 1 tablespoon of veg oil in a wide saucepan on a medium heat.

Toss in the seasoned shrimp, stir well and cook for 1- 1.5 minutes, then remove and set aside for later. In the same pot add the renaming tablespoon of vegetable oil and go in with the onion. Cook on low for 2-3 minutes, then add the garlic along with the Bird’s Eye pepper and cook on low for a further minute.

Unless you want the dish spicy (like I do) try not to break the peppers or you will release it’s fury. After which it’s time to add the cubed potato followed by the eggplant.

Turn up the heat to medium high, stir well to pick up the shrimp flavor from the start, then go in with the water and bring to a boil. When it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, add the remaining salt and cover the pot. After 20 minutes, crank up the heat to medium and put the lid slightly ajar. We’re trying to burn off most of the liquid while making the potato tender and fully cook the eggplant.

After 5 minutes or so you can now remove the lid completely, add the tomatoes and parsley, stir and taste for salt. Adjust to your liking.. as mentioned in the video, I’m trying to cut back on the amount of salt I use. Finally it’s time to add the precooked shrimp to the pot, stir well and turn off the stove / cover the pot. Let the residual heat finish cooking the shrimp fully. Remove the peppers at the point if you wish.

If you find that you have too much liquid near the end, you can use the back of your spoon to crush a few pieces f the potato. Do keep in mind that this dish will thicken as it cools. I ate mine with hot roti, so I needed a little gravy.. so it may look a bit runny in the picture.

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

Classic Geera Pork (Spicy Cumin Pork).

May 27, 2025January 6, 2018Leave a Comment

The original version of this recipe, along with a Chicken rendition were shared a few years back, but with increased requests from fans on Instagram I thought I’d share a slightly different method of cooking this spicy dish we adore in Trinidad and Tobago. Geera as we’ve discussed in previous recipes is simply the word we use when referring to Cumin.. and to be quite honest, I’m NOT a huge fan of this spice. While this version (like the traditional way) is very spicy, you can certainly cut back on the amount of pepper you use so don’t be scared off.

You’ll Need…

3 1/2 lbs pork (cubed)
juice of 1 lime or lemon to wash the pork
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 heaping tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoon roasted ground geera (cumin)
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon geera seeds (cumin seeds)
2 scallions (chopped)
4 cloves garlic (smashed)
2 tablespoon cilantro (chopped)
1 tablespoon parsley (chopped)
2 pimento peppers (aka seasoning pepper) diced
8 bird pepper (bird’s eye pepper) chopped
1 1/4 cup water

Important! If doing this recipe gluten free, be sure to go through the entire list of ingredients to ensure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs. I used Bird’s Eye Peppers, but you can use any spicy pepper you like and in the amounts you can tolerate. I opted for a fatty piece of pork as I find you get better results than using a more lean piece.

Cut the pork into 3/4 inch pieces and wash with the juice of a lime or lemon and cool water. Drain and season with the salt, black pepper, roasted Geera powder and Caribbean Green Seasoning. Mix well to coat / combine. Usually I’d say to marinate this for at least 2 hours, but with the following process we can get cooking immediately.

Heat the vegetable oil in a wide (heavy pan) on medium heat, then add the geera seeds, turn the heat down and allow them to cook for about 3 minutes. The goal is to create a wonderful base of flavor to aid with replacing having not marinated the pork. Then go in with the scallions, seasoning peppers, bird’s eye peppers, parsley, garlic and cilantro. Were I in the Caribbean I’d be using Shado Beni (culantro) instead of the cilantro.

After about 3 minutes after adding the peppers etc, turn up the heat to medium-high and start adding the pieces of seasoned pork to the pot. Stir well to coat the pieces of pork with that amazing base of flavors we created. Do not cover the pot as we want to sear the pieces of pork.

You will notice that the pork will spring a lot of natural juices, that’s expected (don’t panic). Allow this to cook on medium high until that liquid burns off and you can see the oil we started with at the bottom of the pot. It will take about 8-10 minutes. Then it’s time to add the water, bring to a boil, after-which you must reduce the heat to as low as it can go so the pot is gently simmering. Place the lid on the pot slightly ajar and allow this to cook until the pork is tender.

After 35 minutes the pork should be tender, but there may still be some liquid in the pot so remove the lid and crank up the heat. I like my Geera Pork to be free of gravy, so I usually burn off the liquid as mentioned. You may choose to have a bit of gravy, so taste for salt and adjust according and personalize the gravy situation to your liking. In total I cooked my dish for about 45 minutes after adding the water and the pork was fork-tender.

Just before turning off the stove I tossed in a bit more cilantro and seasoning peppers (diced fine) to add a bit of color to the overall dish. Depending on how ‘fatty’ the pork was that you used, there may be a bit too much oil at the bottom of the pan (as in my case) so I spooned it out on paper towels and tossed it in the garbage. Never pour such fat down your kitchen sink or you’ll need a plumber as a friend.

It was Christmas time when I made this as my friends were coming over to play dominoes and this is one of fav snacks to have when we’re enjoying some adult beverages.

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

Main Dishes

Amazing Coconut Macaroni And Cheese.

May 28, 2025December 23, 2017Leave a Comment

While I grew up enjoying Macaroni Pie as my choice for a dish with pasta and cheese as a kid on the islands and though mom made a killer mac n cheese (with boiled eggs), I only started making the coconut version of this comforting dish a few years ago. Though your family may have a tasty recipe for making your macaroni and cheese… I assure you that with the addition of coconut milk and herbs, you’ll find yourself gravitating to this version once you give it a test-drive.

You’ll Need..

3 cups pasta (uncooked measurements)
4 cups cheddar (white aged)
8 pieces of bacon
1 clove garlic (grated)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2-3 seasoning peppers (aka pimentos)
2 tablespoon parsley (chopped)
3 scallions (chopped)
4-5 sprigs thyme
3 tablespoon coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 1/2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 1/2 – 3 cups coconut milk
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup grated Asiago cheese

Note: For adding a more pronounced coconut flavor (and texture) you can add some shredded coconut to the cheese sauce. You can also add a bit of shredded coconut to the topping (along with bread crumbs) for a more crunchy crust.

Boil your pasta in salted water (cook about 90%), drain and get ready to put everything together.

As the pasta cooks, lets work on the cheese sauce to bring everything together. Heat the coconut oil in a deep pan on a medium heat. Then add the diced pimento peppers, scallion, parsley, black pepper and the thyme leaves. Stir and reduce the heat to low. After 2 minutes grate in the garlic, then add 1/2 of the bacon (fried crisp and chopped into small pieces) and stir well.

With the heat on low, add the flour and stir well. The goal is to combine everything and cook-out the rawness of the flour. Cook on low (stirring) for about 4-5 minutes, then add the coconut milk (cool/chilled) and whisk. Grate in the nutmeg, raise the heat to medium and bring to a gentle simmer. Then go back to a very low heat as it will thicken very fast, but we really need it all to come together slowly.

Cook for 4 minutes (whisk so you don’t have lumps), then turn off the heat and add 3/4 of the grated cheddar (any cheese you like using) and salt. Stir to melt and combine to make a delightful cheese sauce.

Preheat your oven to 400 F. Pour the cheese sauce over the cooked macaroni and stir well. Then place everything into your oven-proof dish and top with the remainder of the cheddar cheese and grate on the Asiago. Sprinkle on the rest of the crispy bacon and if you wanted you can also add a bit more parsley + scallion + seasoning pepper (diced fine) on the top. On the middle rack of your preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Arguably one of the most comforting dishes you’ll ever serve your family or enjoy on those solo days. The herbal elements along with the natural sweetness of the coconut milk, will make this one of the best macaroni and cheese you’ll ever make – guaranteed!

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

Meat & Poultry

Simple Oven Roasted Turkey Breast.

May 27, 2025December 21, 20173 Comments

Since I’m not a huge fan of turkey, the past few years I’ve been focusing more on just the turkey breast when we do Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. My daughters are not huge fans of the bird either but it’s part of their Canadian culture, so rather than doing an entire bird and having too much leftovers to know what to do with.. we usually make a single turkey breast. After posting pics of this on Instagram, I was flooded with requests from people who are in the same situation.

You’ll Need…

– turkey breast – 5-7 lbs
– 3-4 cups water
– 5 sprigs thyme
– 2-3 tablespoon chopped parsley
– 7-10 black peppercorns
– 5-10 allspice berries
– 4 cloves garlic
– 1 tablespoon salt
– 1 tablespoon brown sugar

– 1 tablespoon olive oil
– 1 large carrot
– 2 stalks celery
– 1 head garlic
– 1/2 large onion
– 1 cup water (or chicken stock)
– 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (ground)
– 2 sprigs thyme

To ensure we have a tender and moist turkey breast after roasting in the oven, we need to make a quick brine and have the turkey sit in it over-night for best results (or at least a couple hours). In a large bowl place 1 cup of lukewarm water (to help the sugar and salt dissolve) then add the sugar, salt, garlic (smashed), peppercorns, allspice berries, thyme and parsley and whisk (try to be a bit rough to bruise the herbs so they release their flavors). Then add 3 cups of cold water and mix well. be sure to have the water chilled as we don’t want to add the turkey to a warm brine.

You can now place the turkey breast in a larger zipper bag (or container with a lid) and pour the brine onto it. Seal and place the fridge over-night. I usually place the bag with the turkey on a bowl in case the bag leaks in the fridge. Try to massage the turkey breast in the brine a couple times to make sure it’s brined evenly.

Remove the turkey from the brine, give it a rise under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. As your oven preheats to 375 F, line your roasting tray (I used an oven-proof dish) with the rough chopped celery and carrots. Cut the head of garlic in half and 1/4 the onion and place on the the baking dish as well. Now place the turkey breast on top of the vegetable bed and drizzle on the olive oil to coat the skin and finish off with the black pepper. Finally tuck the sprigs of thyme under the turkey breast and pour in the water (or chicken stock). The final step before going into the middle rack in the oven is to cover with foil.

Roast (covered) for 2 hours, then remove the foil and crank-up the heat to 425 F to develop that lovely golden color. It may take between 30 and 45 minutes, depending on the size of the breast you use. You’ll notice that I didn’t add any salt except for the brine (no need really), but you’re free to sprinkle a little on top of the breast when you add the black pepper before it went into the oven.

Simple and the fact that you’re not stuck with a ton of turkey (as if you did an entire bird), this is definitely a recipe I highly recommend (super juicy too). If you wanted to add a bit of chopped scotch bonnet to the brine for a slightly spicy roasted turkey, you can certainly do so. Remember to allow it to rest a bit before slicing though. Yes, you discard the brine after.

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

Gluten Free Rice & One-Pot Dishes Seafood

Quick And Simple Salmon Fried Rice.

May 28, 2025December 12, 2017Leave a Comment

Here’s a quick and tasty recipe putting leftover rice (which you may already have in the fridge) and a can of salmon to work, for what I assure you is an incredible one-pot dish. While the use of the can (or ‘tin’ as we would normally say in the Caribbean) may seem a little strange if you’ve never tried it… I quickly learned that it truly is a great addition to what could potentially be a boring fried rice. This is one of the many go-to recipes I employ when lunch-time hits and I have some rice in the fridge.

You’ll Need…

2 tablespoon veg oil
1 clove garlic (diced fine)
1 cup bell peppers (colors optional)
5-8 string beans (any beans will work)
2 scallions (chopped)
1 bird’s eye pepper (cut into pieces)
2-3 cups leftover rice (chilled)
1-2 cups cabbage (cut chunky)
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1 can salmon (wild Pacific)
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine

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. Especially the Soy Sauce.. you will need a gluten free version.

Note! This recipe is enough for 2-3 people… use more rice for a bigger party. If you’re using freshly cooked rice, I’d recommend chilling it a bit before using. It will give you a more grainy fried rice.

Prep the ingredients in advance (cut, chop and dice) as this dish will cook in about 5 minutes.

Heat the oil is a wide pan or wok on medium flame and add the garlic.. cook for 10 seconds then add the bell peppers, and string beans. Stir and cook for another 50 seconds to soften a bit. Then add the sesame oil and stir well.

Now add the cabbage, bird’s eye pepper (chopped into pieces) and the Chinese cooking wine. Stir and cook for a minute. Then it’s time to add the salmon (drain out all the liquid it came in the came with) .. please be mindful when stirring now as you don’t want to over-break the salmon pieces.

Here is where you now add the chilled rice along with the soy sauce and stir. The heat should still be on medium high. Please note that my rice was cooked in salted water.

Please try to maintain a high heat and don’t cover the pot/pan and any time. As soon as the rice heats though, the salmon fried rice is done and ready to enjoy.

A quick and tasty way to put leftover rice to use and the added bonus is.. it’s super fast to prepare.

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

Breakfast Gluten Free

The Ultimate Plantain Frittata.

May 28, 2025December 3, 20171 Comment

With all the requests I’ve been getting for more breakfast / brunch type recipes, I thought I’d share a classic Plantain Frittata with you. While not something you’d traditionally see in the Caribbean, I came up with this recipe a few years ago when I had friends visiting for the weekend. The idea behind this frittata was to include 3 things we’re passionate about (ingredients) in the Caribbean… Salted Cod, Fresh Herbs and Ripe Plantains. You can be as creative as you want in your version.

You’ll need…

2 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion (diced)
4 sprigs thyme
2 tablespoon chopped parsley
2 sprigs Oregano (fresh)
1 cup prepared salted cod
5-10 grape tomatoes (cut 1/4)
2 ripe plantains (sliced fried)
3/4 cup grated cheese (med cheddar)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 yellow bell pepper (diced)
1/2 red bell pepper (diced)
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper (diced fine)
7 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
veg oil for frying the ripe plantains.
1 orange (zest)
1-2 tablespoon golden brown sugar

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. When using Scotch Bonnet peppers, be sure to use gloves and wash your hands with soap and water immediately after handling them. Additionally, don’t include any seeds or the white membrane around the seeds if you’re overly concerned about the raw heat.

Prepare the vegetables etc. Then in an oven-proof pan, heat the olive oil on a medium flame. Add the prepared salted cod bits, followed by the onion and back pepper (reserve a tiny bit for the eggs). Turn the heat down to low and gently cook for 2-3 minutes. After which you can then add the diced bell peppers and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

With the heat still on low (remember to give everything a good mix), it’s time to add the parsley, oregano (pick off the individual leaves) and thyme (just the little leaves). Stir and cook for another minute or so.

Your kitchen should have that lovely aroma of the Caribbean by now. It’s time to add the tomatoes (I used grape, feel free to use whatever type you have) and stir well. Preheat your oven to 400 F (forgot to mention this earlier).

Whisk the eggs with the freshly grated nutmeg and black pepper (we reserved at the start). I didn’t add salt to this frittata as I knew the salted cod would have enough salt to season this to my liking. Plus the aged cheddar tends to be a bit salty as well. That said, you may need a pinch of salt in the eggs (not mentioned in the ingredient list). Pour the eggs into the pan (heat still on low), give it a mix and then add the grated cheese. Using a spoon, gently work the cheese throughout the egg mixture in the pan. Cook on the stove for about 5 minutes on low heat until it sets (firm up). Then place the pan on the middle rack of your oven.

In another pan. On a medium flame, fry the sliced plantain coins for about 2-3 minutes on each side. As they go golden in color, remove and continue frying the rest.

Zest the orange and add it to the brown sugar (mix well) and set aside.

After about 10 minutes in the oven, remove the pan and top it with the fried sliced plantain pieces. Top the plantain pieces with the brown sugar / orange zest mixture. The final step is to caramelize the top, so crank the heat up in your oven to “broil” (about 500 F) and place the pan back in for 2-3 minutes.

Please keep an eye on things at this point as we don’t want it to burn.

I guarantee you.. serve this and your family and friends will praise you. However, it may mean you’ll have to make this for them every weekend. The natural sweetness from the plantain, subtle hint of orange, base of herbs and salted cod.. that’s all I have to say. Serve warm!

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