Living in Canada means that it’s almost a ‘treat’ when breadfruit hits our dinner table. Unlike when I lived in the Caribbean as a boy where we had a massive breadfruit tree in our back yard, laden with prime breadfruits. Not only are they expensive in the grocery (when we can actually get them) here, but I find that they are harvested too soon for export, so you never get that true essence of the breadfruit when you prepare a dish. Here’s my take on roasting a breadfruit in your typical kitchen oven, unlike the outdoor fire/coals method we all grew up using in the Caribbean.
Steps!
– preheat your oven to 450 F
– give the breadfruit a shallow cut (like a cross) on the bottom to allow for steam to escape as it roast
– place it directly on the middle rack of your oven. No pan needed as we want the hot air to circulate and cook the breadfruit evenly
– it will take about one hour and 30 minutes to full cook (longer depending on the size)
– it will be HOT, so use oven gloves to remove
– allow to cool completely
– using a pairing knife remove the outer skin (discard)
– slice into wedges, then remove the core and discard
It’s that simple! Now you have a fully roasted breadfruit you can use in any dish you like. Check my YouTube Channel (CaribbeanPot) for a delicious recipe using such oven roasted breadfruit.
While I did plan to share this recipe a while back, it was only after I received a request via Instagram did I actually get in the kitchen with chicken wings and camera in hand. The person who made the request was looking for a chicken wing idea to prepare for her Super Bowl party.. but she wasn’t a fan of the typical “Buffalo Wings”. With that in mind, I decided to give her and her guests a true taste of the Caribbean by using a tamarind glaze with a slight kick, to finish off the wings.
You’ll Need…
3- 5 lbs chicken wings + veg oil for frying
Brine:
– 1/4 cup salt
– 1/4 cup brown sugar
– 3 cups water
– 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
– 1 scallion
– 2 slices ginger
– 4-6 allspice berries
– 4 sprigs thyme
Tamarind Glaze
– 1 cup tamarind pulp
– 3 cloves garlic
– 4-5 cups water
– 2 slice ginger
– 2 scallions
– 1 cup brown sugar
– 1/4 cup tomato ketchup
– juice of 2 oranges
– 1 scotch bonnet pepper
– 1/4 teaspoon salt
– 1 tablespoon olive oil
– 2 tablespoon honey
Note: While I used 3 lbs of wings, this recipe will work for 3-5 lbs of chicken wings.
Cut your wings into 2 parts (if they came attached) and trim off any extra skin and fat. Then place all the ingredients for making the brine in a pot and bring to boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and let it go for 2-3 minutes. Put the brine in the fridge (I placed it on my porch as it’s wintertime here). You can put some ice cubes in the brine to chill it faster, but I didn’t as I didn’t want it to be diluted. The brine MUST be chilled before you pour it over the chicken wings. Place the wings in the brine in the fridge for 1 hour. Do NOT go beyond the 1 hour or they could turn out to be salty.
As the wings brine, it’s time to get started on the glaze. Place the tamarind pulp (you can get it at Asian, Latino, West Indian and many everyday supermarkets) in the water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a gentle boil and using a spoon, break it up to get the pulp to release the tamarind goodness. As it simmers, add the slices of ginger and smashed garlic cloves. After about 5-7 minutes, you should have a smooth consistency (except for the seeds of the tamarind). Take it off the stove and strain.
In a saucepan heat the olive oil on a medium flame, then add the chopped scallions.. turn the heat down to low and cook for 2 minutes. Now it’s time to add the diced scotch bonnet pepper (use as much as you can handle, NO seeds unless you want that raw heat and be sure to wash your hands with soap and water after handling the pepper) and stir well.
Add the strained tamarind liquid and all of the other ingredients for the glaze. turn up the heat and bring to a boil.. then reduce to a simmer.
After about 7 minutes you can take out about 3/4 cup and set aside as a dip. Continue reducing (stir well.. the sugars will cause it to want to stick and burn) until you have a thick glaze. Takes about 15 minutes in total. Remove off the fire and set aside. You’re looking for a glaze which is tangy, relatively sweet and a bit spicy from the scotch bonnet pepper. Do adjust the sugar to your liking.
I forgot to mention that you should remove the wings out of the fridge to bring it up to room temperature before frying. Drain the brine and rise with cool water. Try to rise well so we get rid of most of the salty brine. Drain and pat-dry with paper towels.
Heat your veg oil on a med/high flame (to about 375 F) in a pot with high sides, so you don’t splash and dirty your stove. I used about 3 cups of veg oil. You’re free to bake the wings off or grill them. Gently place the dry wings into the heated oil and cook for about 15 minutes or until golden and fully cooked. I did mine in two batches so the pot wasn’t crowded – yes you can use a deep fryer. Once fried, place on paper towels to soak up any extra oil.
You now have two options, you can place the wings in a large bowl and pour the glaze over them – toss! Or you can do as I did.. I placed the pan with the glaze back on a low flame and tossed the wings directly in the pan. This gives me more of a glazed/sticky texture to the wings.
Top with some chopped scallions, cilantro or sesame seeds and serve warm. These wings will excite your taste-buds and I guarantee you that your friends will be begging you for the recipe. it’s ok to fib and say it’s a family secret (smile).
With my love for peppersauce (hot sauce) I’m always challenging myself to find different flavors to compliment the scorching heat of our beloved Scotch Bonnet Peppers, to add balance, depth and a unique finish. While this peppersauce is fiery, the fruity undertones of the passion fruit makes it very tasty and bearable for those of you who are not into pure heat! My mom like many from her generation, will argue that when making a ‘good’ peppersauce there’s no room for fruit. However with the success I’ve had with the 10 + fruity pepper sauces I’ve shared on here, that mindset can be challenged.
You’ll Need…
1 cup passion fruit puree
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
12-14 scotch bonnet
* feel free to add a couple cloves of garlic and some chopped cilantro if you’d like to play around with the flavors a bit. Some fresh lime or lemon juice would be ideal as well.
Wash the peppers and remove the stems, then give them a rough chop to help your blender or food processor make this easy work. IMPORTANT! Be sure to wear gloves and wash your hands immediately after with soap and water. I used the seeds of the pepper, but if you’d like to tame the heat down a bit you can remove and discard them.
If you’re wondering, you can get the passion fruit puree in the frozen section of West Indian, Asian and Latino grocery stores. I found the batch I used at a local Asian supermarket.
Basically all you have to do now is place all the ingredients in your blender and blend until smooth.
You can always tailor this pepper sauce to your own liking, by leaving it chunky or by adding other fruits you like (mango, berries etc) and if you need, you can also add a bit more vinegar should you need it (if it’s too thick).
I wanted to maintain both the heat level and fresh fruity undertones of the passion fruit so I left it raw. However you can always cook it for 10 minutes on a low simmer, then bottle. As is, it can last about a month of your kitchen counter, but for a much longer shelf life, store in the fridge. Just give it a shake before using. Definitely not my mom’s peppersauce, but it’s SO good! If you cannot source Scotch Bonnet peppers, an excellent replacement would be Habanero peppers.
NO! Mommy didn’t make this for us as kids on the islands and to be quite honest, this was the first time my taste-buds were treated to such a colorful delight. Yes, the colors will play tricks on your mind, since the finished rice will look more like a holiday candy than fried rice. However I can assure you that this was very delicious and quite attractive served-up on a platter. For this recipe we’re joined by my friend Marc, who’s been rocking this recipe for a while now.
You’ll Need…
1 cup rice (leave plain white)
1 1/2 cup “red” rice
1 1/2 cup ‘green’ rice
5 teaspoon green food coloring
5 teaspoon red food coloring
1/2 teaspoon salt each (x 3) for cooking the rice
4 cups water (divided – for cooking the rice)
2 scallions (chopped)
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion (diced)
1/2 red bell pepper (diced)
1/2 green bell pepper (diced)
2 cloves garlic (diced fine)
2 tablespoon light soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Note: The rice amounts mentioned above are uncooked. When cooked it will yield more.
IMPORTANT! Please go through the entire list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your gluten free and vegan dietary needs. Especially the soy sauce and food coloring.
For cooking the rice – place the rice in a pot with water (after you’ve washed it). Leave one plain white and the others add the food coloring. We did a 1-1 ratio of rice to water when cooking the rice. Basically place the rice, coloring and salt in a pot (with a lid), bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and allow to cook for 15-20 minutes (until tender and the water is absorbed). Then spread the rice onto a sheet pan to cool and air-dry.. to remove the moisture from the rice so you’ll have a grainy fried rice. Please watch the video below if you’re confused at any point.
It will take about 30 minutes or so for the rice to be ready (air dry), so during this time we can prep our vegetables.
Heat about 2 tablespoon of the olive oil on a med/high heat in a wok or wide non-stick pan. Then go in with the diced onions and sweet peppers. Toss and cook for about 1-2 minutes.
Toss in the salt and keep stirring. Add the black pepper and here’s where you’ll also add the garlic. Add the rest of the olive oil so you wont have the rice stick to the bottom of the pot when you add it shortly. By this time your onions and peppers will start to take on caramelized edges. Add the rice and stir well. Try to break up any clumps you may have.
Mix the rice well, (heat still on med/high), mix in the soy sauce and continue cooking until everything is mixed properly and heated through. Top with the diced scallions, turn off the stove and enjoy!
If you wanted to add some frozen peas, beans , corn or any of you fav vegetables, you can most certainly do so. Be sure to have all your ingredients prepped before you start, chilled or ‘old’ rice will work best and the higher the heat you can work with.. will all give you great results while ensuring the fried rice is fast!
Special thanks to Marc for sharing this somewhat unique rendition of a festive Christmas Fried Rice… which will certainly keep your guests guess what it is when they see it on the dinner table.
After posting this recipe on FaceBook someone commented “Sorrel only make for drinking” and while when I was a kid on the islands I would have agreed, seeing what creative cooks/chefs are now doing with sorrel, I know better. I’ve had sorrel cake, cheese cake, relish, ice cream, pudding.. even a sangria or two, just to name a few of the exciting ways sorrel is being put to use. Since sorrel plays such a huge role in the culinary Christmas landscape in the Caribbean, I though I’d rock a sorrel glazed ham this year.
You’ll Need…
1 Ham (I used an 8 lb hickory smoked ham)
1 pineapple (cut into spears)
20-40 cloves
Sorrel Base
2 cups dried sorrel
4-6 cloves
4 cups water
1 orange (sliced)
4 thin slices of ginger
1 cinnamon stick
Sorrel Glaze
Sorrel juice (from above)
1 packed cup brown sugar (I used golden brown)
1/4 honey
1 tablespoon orange zest
juice 1/2 orange
Note: Cooked ham – cook 10 mins / lb. From raw, cook 20 mins/lb. I did use the pineapple and some of the re-hydrated sorrel petals to make a chutney. However I did not include the recipe here, but you can follow along in the video down below.
I gave the ham a cross pattern cut, about 1-2 mm deep as to make the glaze absorb into it later on and for the fat to render down a bit. Plus it looks gud when it’s done baking. In each square (or diamond) pierce in a clove (watch the video below). Preheat your oven to 350F. Place the ham on a tin-foil lined baking tray and surround it with the pineapple spears (wedges). Cover with tin-foil loosely and go into the now hot oven on the lower rack.
It’s now time to start the sorrel glaze. Place all the ingredients listed above for the Sorrel Base in a deep pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes. Then turn off the stove and allow this to steep for about 30 minutes.
It’s now time to strain the base into a smaller pot, bring to a boil and add the ingredients listed for the Sorrel Glaze.
Keep it on a rolling boil as we want this to reduce by at least half.. closer to 2/3. So we have a thick and sticky sorrel glaze for the ham. Speaking about the ham, after 50 minutes, remove the tin foil and cook for another 30 minutes (see above comment about how long to cook your ham above).
After which it’s time to crank-up the oven to 400F (remove the pineapple pieces to make your chutney.. or roast further on the high heat for an amazing treat) and brush on your first coat of sorrel glaze.
Continue glazing every 5-7 minutes, until you have something looking gorgeous. I did it about 5 times in total (I think). Any leftover glaze can be used when serving the ham or to put on top of ham slices if you’ intend on enjoying some sandwiches with the leftovers.
YES! A wicked way to put such and iconic Caribbean Christmas ingredient to use! BTW, this same glaze can be poured (when cooled) on a basic cheese cake or on your fav vanilla ice cream with delicious results.
If you’re looking for a bit of luck in the new year while enjoying a delightful dish, I got you. It’s said that by cooking/enjoying black eye peas on the first day of the new year, brings a wealth of good luck the entire year. So I thought I’d put my leftover ham bone to use and share the recipe with you. Typically I’d do a traditional Caribbean soup with my ham bone, but I thought it would be an excellent way to add additional flavor to the somewhat bland black eye peas. Did you know that black eye peas is really a bean?
You’ll Need…
2 cups black eye peas (dry)
6 cups water (for soaking the peas)
6 cups water (cooking the peas)
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
1 ham bone
1-2 cups diced ham
1 1/2 cup coconut milk
4-6 allspice berries
4-6 sprigs thyme
1 whole scotch bonnet pepper (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt (adjust)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 bay leaf
2 large carrots
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon parsley (topping for the end)
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.
Pick though the black eye peas to make sure there’s no debris and give it a wash. Then place then in a deep bowl with 6 cups of water to soak overnight or for at least 4 hours. This will allow the peas to cook faster and to help with digestion when it’s cooked.
Heat the oil in a deep pot on medium heat, then add the onion and garlic – turn the heat down to low and allow it to cook gently for 3-5 minutes. After which you can go in with the thyme, black pepper, allspice and diced pieces of ham. Continue cooking on low for another 3-4 minutes. The goal is to render out any fat in the ham pieces to give the dish a ton of flavor. You can now go in with the ham bone and stir well.
Add the diced carrots and stir well. Turn you heat up to high and go in with all the other ingredients (except the scotch bonnet pepper and parsley) and bring to a boil.
As it comes to a boil skim off any froth at the top and discard. Reduce to a gentle simmer and add the whole scotch bonnet pepper. Do NOT break the pepper or you will release the beast (heat). Place the lid slightly ajar on the pot and allow it to cook for about 1 hour and 40 minutes or so.
If you don’t have a ham bone, you can always use smoked turkey, bacon, pancetta, ham hocks, salted pig tails / salted beef.. or you can do this fully vegetarian by leaving out the meat element and doing a half and half split with the water and more coconut milk. Remember if you’re using salted pigtails or beef you’ll need to boilit bit first to help tenderize and remove most of the salt it was cured in.
By now the peas should be tender. If not, cook for a big longer (add more liquid if needed). Taste for salt and adjust accordingly – I didn’t go heavy on salt as I knew the ham I used was a bit salty already. So if using a ham bone or any salty meat, don’t adjust until near the end.
Remember to fish out the whole allspice berries, bay leaf and sprigs from the thyme before serving and after 45 minutes you can remove the scotch bonnet pepper so you don’t risk breaking it.
If you find it’s a bit too runny you can always use the back of your spoon to crush some of the black eye peas, but do keep in mind that this will thicken considerably as it cools. Top with the chopped parsley for a bit of color and added freshness as you turn off the stove.
Will this black eye peas dish bring you luck? That I can’t confirm, but I do know it’s a lovely dish to serve and enjoy with your family and friends as we start 2017. If you want you can also add some flour dumplings the last 10 minutes (spinners) and make this a more ‘complete’ meal.
