It’s one of those soups you really have to try before passing judgement. Like so many traditional dishes from the Caribbean (and globally), you’ll find people will be cautious and at times have negative comments, even though they fail to give it a try. You’ll notice that in the Caribbean we tend to use most of the animal with great success. Feet/trotters, tails, snout.. yea, not all that appetizing or so you’d think.

After a few years of not having chicken foot soup, I must admit that I had to coax myself to come to terms about eating ‘feet”. But one spoonful and it took me back to my days on the islands where this would be a big part of “Soup Saturdays”.

You’ll Need…

1 lb chicken feet (cleaned and trimmed)
2 chicken stock cubes
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 green cooking bananas
5 small eddoes
2 medium sweet potatoes
2 potatoes
water
1 tablespoon veg oil
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic
1 scallion
4 sprigs thyme
1 scallion
2 cups diced pumpkin
salt (taste and adjust accordingly)
1 scotch bonnet pepper
2 medium carrots

* You can add flour dumplings, yams, cassava, dasheen and other ingredients to personalize this chicken foot soup. If you’re making this gluten free, do pay attention to the ingredients listed, especially if you’re adding dumplings.

We need to prep all the ingredients.. make sure your butcher clean and trim the chicken feet (remove the yellow skin and cut off the sort of toes) and prepare the vegetables. Peel, cut into big pieces (same size if possible) and wash. Set the prepared vegetables (and ground provisions) in a bowl covered with water to prevent them from going discolored.

Heat the oil on a medium flame in a soup pot and go in with the chopped scallion, onion, garlic and thyme. Turn the heat down to low and let that gently cook for about 4-5 minutes. Then add the washed (and trimmed) chicken feet to the pot. Turn up the heat to med-high.

Add about 4-6 cups of hot water to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a rolling boil and let that go (partly covered) for about 25-30 minutes.

Now add all the other ingredients, bring back to a boil and let cook for another 25 minutes or so (add more water if necessary so everything is covered). You’ll notice that I didn’t give a specific amount of salt as the stock cubes will be heavy in sodium. Taste for salt and adjust according near the end of cooking. During the cooking process you may need to skim off any sort of residue you see at the top of the soup.

The goal is to have the chicken feet very tender and the vegetables/ground provisions must also be tender to the point where they’re starting to dissolve. This will also thicken the soup nicely.. as with traditional Caribbean type soups.

I had the scotch bonnet pepper in the soup ‘whole’ and I tried not to break it. We want the flavor of the pepper and not the raw heat.. well, unless you love that raw Caribbean sunshine! This must be served HOT and (you will) if you have leftovers, you can freeze it for dinner another day. Simply thaw (on your counter) and heat on the stove top on a very low heat. I rather this method than in the microwave.

Gluten Free Seafood

Jamaican Callaloo With Shrimp.

May 26, 2025September 12, 20143 Comments

As I’ve discussed in my Cookbook, there’s much debate in the Caribbean when it comes to callaloo. In the southern Caribbean it’s a delicious soup-like dish made with young dasheen bush leaves, flavored with crabs (for the most part) and simmered in coconut milk. However in Jamaica, callaloo is the bush or plant (amaranth) which is prepared in several different ways, but most popular is Jamaican Callaloo With Saltfish.

In this version of cooking Jamaican callaloo ((amaranth, chorai bhagi), we’ll bypass the salted fish and go with some precooked shrimp. However you can certainly use fresh shrimp for even more flavor.

You’ll Need…

2 lbs Jamaican Callaloo
1 tablespoon Coconut Oil (or olive)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt (your fav salt)
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper
1 cup small shrimp (pre cooked)
1/2 cup water
1 medium tomato diced
1 scallion
2 sprigs thyme

Wash, trim and chop the callaloo into ribbons. If using some of the stem, do try to use the tender ones and try to scrape of some of the outer skin. Thinly slice the garlic, chop the onion, scallion and tomato and finely dice the scotch bonnet pepper.

Heat the oil in a wide pan on a medium flame, then go in with the onion, garlic, black pepper and scallion. Drop the heat to low and let that go for about 3-4 minutes.

It’s now time to add the shrimp (if using frozen-precooked shrimp, wash and squeeze to remove most of the water) , stir well and cook for another 3 minutes. Yes the shrimp is already precooked, so you can easily add them near the end, but I quite like adding them now to enhance the flavor of the dish. If using fresh shrimp, cook for about 3 minutes, then remove them from the pan and set aside. Add back the last 3-4 minutes of cooking.

Turn the heat up to medium high and go in with all the other ingredients (not the water or lemon juice yet) and stir well. It may seem at first that your pot is not large enough, but the callaloo will wilt down. After a couple minutes, add the water and cook until tender.

After about 10-12 minutes, taste for salt and adjust accordingly. Here is where you’ll personalize this dish by checking to see if you like the current texture of it. Some people like their Callaloo very tender, while other like a slight bit of texture to it. In my case it was close to where I like it, so I went in with the lemon juice and turned up the heat to burn off the remaining liquid in the pan.

The lemon juice will help balance the flavors of this dish and quite honestly elevate it. This dish (please review all the ingredients) can be considered gluten free and if you want to add a bit more flavor you can use coconut milk as a replacement for the water. Not the classic Jamaican callaloo with Saltfish or Chorai bhagi with saltfish as we would call it in Trinidad and Tobago, but I assure you… you’ll love this take on cooking Jamaican callaloo.

Gluten Free Vegetarian

Vegetarian Cauliflower With Chickpeas Curry Recipe.

November 17, 2014August 24, 201411 Comments

If you’re looking for a way to add a wicked punch of flavor to boring cauliflower, look no further. Along with the wonderful flavors of a good Caribbean style curry, this recipe is also vegetarian and can be done gluten free (check your curry powder to ensure there’s no gluten-flour additive in it). Based on the technique of cooking curry in Trinidad and Tobago, we’ll toast curry to build a lovely base of flavors to give this curry dish the “wicked” factor I speak about.

You’ll Need…
1 Cauliflower (about 1.5 lbs)
1 can chick peas (drained \ rinsed)
1 heaping tablespoon curry powder
3 cloves garlic
1 small onion
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon veg oil
1/2 teaspoon Caribbean Green Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Garam Massala
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper (optional)
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 tomato (seeded and diced)

Note: As mentioned above, do ensure that the curry powder and massala you’re using is indeed gluten free and please go through the list of ingredients to also verify that it meets with your gluten free diet restrictions.

Drain and rinse the canned chickpeas, dice the garlic, scotch bonnet and onion. Remember to wear gloves when handling such hot peppers and wash your hands with soap and water immediately after.

Heat the oil on a medium flame then go in with the diced onion and garlic. Reduce the heat to low and cook gently for about 3-4 minutes as we normally do when making curry dishes. With the heat still on low, add the curry powder (your fav) and Garam Massala and toast for 3-4 minutes. This will awaken the spices of which makes up the blends. It will go darker and grainy – that’s normal. Cut the cauliflower into 1/2 – 1 inch pieces (wash and drain).

Turn the heat up to med high and go in with the cauliflower and mix well, then top with the chickpeas, salt, diced scotch bonnet, Caribbean Green Seasoning and black pepper. Pour in the water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook through with the lid on.

Here’s where you get to personalize the dish a bit. Check for salt and adjust accordingly. I cooked this for 12 minutes, removing the lid off the pot the last 4 minutes so any liquid would burn off, but it’s up to you to cook longer or less depending on how you like the texture of your cauliflower. After turning off the heat I added the diced tomato and cilantro.. cover the pot and let the residual heat do it’s thing with the tomato and cilantro.

I do hope you give this recipe a try and not be fooled with the vegetarian and gluten free tags I associated with this recipe. It’s very tasty and a lovely way to add flavor to boring cauliflower.

Gluten Free Seafood

Taro With Stewed Saltfish Caribbean Comfort Food.

May 26, 2025August 12, 20142 Comments

After seeing the price of dasheen at the market, I opted for the much cheaper taro as I had a craving for what we call ground provisions, in the Caribbean. Dasheen, yams, eddoes, sweet potato and cassava all fall under the ‘ground provisions’ umbrella – also known as ‘food’ in Jamaica. The taro is very similar to our beloved dasheen, the main difference being it’s white in color (when peeled) and a bit milder in taste.

You’ll Need…

2-3 lbs taro (dasheen)
1/4 teaspoon salt
water for boiling the taro
2 medium tomatoes
3 scallions
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper
2 cloves garlic
3 sprigs thyme
3-5 tablespoon olive oil
pinch black pepper
1 onion
1 cup shredded saltfish (salted cod)

To learn how to prepare the salted cod (any dry salted fish) watch this video (click): How To Prepare Saltfish.

Do wear gloves or coat your hands with some vegetable oil as the sap/starch from peeling the taro can cause some irritation to your hands/fingers. Using a sharp knife or potato peeler, remove the other skin off the taro (discard). Also remove any blemishes and cut off any previously cut areas (like the stem area) to expose the fresh interior. Cut into 2 to 3 inch pieces and place in a pot covered with water on a high flame. As it comes to a boil add the salt , turn down to a rolling boil and cook until tender. Taro cooks faster than dasheen, so in about 10-15 minutes it will be fully cooked. Pierce with a sharp knife and if there’s no resistance you know it’s fully cooked.

Drain and set aside as we get to the next step of the recipe..stewing the saltfish!

Prepare the salted fish by boiling in water, drain, rinse with cool water and shred (watch the video mentioned above). Then slice the onion, garlic, scallions and scotch bonnet pepper. Remember you can use more or less scotch bonnet pepper and do wear gloves when handling them (wash your hands with soap and water immediately after).

Heat the olive oil on a medium flame (large sauce pan) and go in with the shredded salted fish. Let that cook for about 3 minutes (low heat) before adding the onion, garlic and black pepper. Cook for another 3 minutes, then add the thyme.

After 2 minutes add the tomato, scallions and cooked taro. Stir well and cook for another 3-5 minutes to infuse the taro pieces with the stewed salted fish.

We didn’t add any salt to the stewing of the salted cod as the residual salt from the curing process will be enough to season this dish. If you want you can also add some bell peppers for extra flavor and vibrancy (with the colours). Besides being very delicious, this dish can be considered gluten free as well.

Do serve warm.. btw this is a one-pot dish!

Desserts Gluten Free

How To Make Rum And Raisin Ice Cream

May 26, 2025July 22, 201430 Comments

Whenever we would have relatives come over for the classic Caribbean Sunday lunch, our dad would always dust out his old crank-ice cream pail and all US kids knew we were in for a delightful treat. I’m yet to find an ice cream which even comes close to Joe’s creamy coconut ice cream. Funny how we made ice cream with many of the tropical fruits of the Caribbean, but when it came to rum and raisin, we always went for the plastic containers at the grocery store! My weakness for rum and raisin ice cream is REAL!.. at one point I would cross the boarder into the US just to get the Häagen dazs rum and raisin which were only sold in the US!

You’ll Need…

4 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup fine sugar
1/2 cup raisin soaked in rum
pinch salt
1 tablespoon vanilla

Soak the raisins in rum overnight or as in my case I had it soaking a few days in a covered container so the rum does not evaporate. If you’re in a rush you can place 1 cup of rum in a deep saucepan (high sides) with the raisin and place it on a low flame (be careful as it can be flammable). As it heats the raisins will be infused with the rum.. PLUS it will remove the raw rum from it so kids can enjoy the ice cream.

Put the sugar and egg yolks in a bowl and whisk until creamy/smooth. It will go from the brilliant yellow to a very pale color.. that’s normal. At the same time place the milk and cream in a saucepan and let it warm through (almost to a gentle simmer).

Before we add the sugar/egg mixture to the pot, it’s important that we add a little of the warm milk to the bowl with the egg and whisk. Do that a couple times so the egg mixture warms up. If we added it directly to the pot we risk having scrambled eggs. Now add all the egg mixture to the pot and whisk. Go in with the pinch of salt and vanilla.

When your custard is somewhat thick … dip a spoon into it and run your finger along the back of the spoon.. it should coat the back of the spoon and leave a clean line where you passed your finger. Now it’s time to pour it into a bowl and chill for at least 2 hours. This chilling will help your ice cream maker make less work of making the actual ice cream.

You have two options.. you can add the marinated raisins into the mixture now (as I did) or you can pour the mixture into your ice cream maker (when chilled) and then add the rum infused raisins.

After the custard is properly chilled, work it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.

You can serve this immediately. But I much prefer firm ice cream and not necessarily soft sever, so I usually remove it out of the maker and into a plastic container, which I then place in the freezer to firm up for an hour or two.

You can make the base of the ice cream the day before and have it chill in the fridge until you’re ready to make the ice cream. You can certainly customize this ice cream by adding chopped pineapple, cubed mango.. even play around with some spices? BTW.. you can make frozen treats with the base custard we made. Get Popsicle molds or do as our mom did.. pour into ice cube trays and freeze. We called those ‘ice blocks”!

Recipe Card

Print Recipe

Homemade Rum Raisin Ice Cream

Cuisine: Jamaican, Trinidadian Recipe Keys: Cold Dairy Gluten Free Sweets

Difficulty: Beginner Prep Time 15 mins Cook Time 20 mins Marinate Time 2 hrs Total Time 2 hrs 35 mins

Diet:

G Gluten-Free

Description

A luscious custard-style ice cream rich with rum‑soaked raisins and vanilla, a Caribbean twist on a classic favorite.

Ingredients

4 egg yolks
1 ¹⁄₂ cups milk
2 ¹⁄₂ cups heavy cream
³⁄₄ cup fine sugar
¹⁄₂ cup raisins (soaked in rum overnight or warmed)
Pinch salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Video

Soak raisins in rum overnight, or warm with 1 cup rum over low heat until plump. Cool before use.
Whisk sugar and egg yolks until pale and creamy.
Heat milk and cream until just below simmering.
Temper yolk mixture by whisking in warm milk a little at a time, then return all to the pot. Add salt and vanilla.
Cook custard until it coats the back of a spoon.
Strain into a bowl and chill for at least 2 hours.
Add custard to ice cream maker per machine instructions and churn, adding soaked raisins near the end.

+2 photos
Serve soft-serve, or transfer to a container and freeze 1–2 hours for firmer scoops.

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Gluten Free Meat & Poultry

The Simplest Oven Roasted Chicken Ever (recipe)!

May 27, 2025June 27, 20147 Comments

Oven roasted chicken (baked chicken as it’s sometimes called in the Caribbean) is infamous for being dry and somewhat bland. However in this recipe I’ll not only show you how simple it is to a make a moist oven roasted chicken, we’ll apply some Caribbean seasonings (herbs) which will definitely excite your taste buds. This recipe is based on the method of seasoning chicken as it’s normally done in the Caribbean for stews, curries and grilling.

You’ll Need…

1 4 lb chicken
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon Caribbean green seasoning
2 tablespoon olive oil

*Notes: To add a little kick to things, you can add some finely diced scotch bonnet pepper or a little peppersauce (hot sauce) to the marinade. Click on the following link for a recipe video on how to make Caribbean Green Seasoning: http://youtu.be/g7znPCJvhnU BTW, this is also a wonderful gluten free recipe idea.

If you’ve never spatchcock a chicken before , it’s very simple. Using kitchen scissors (or knife), place the whole bird on it’s breast (we sometimes say chest in the Caribbean) then using the scissors, remove the backbone off the chicken by cutting along each side of the middle main bone (see image below). Then turn over and gently press down on the breast to fatten the chicken. This method (spatchcock) will enable us to cook the chicken quicker and more evenly. Discard the back bone or save for soups and making stock.

Wash and pat the chicken dry, then in a bowl combine all the ingredients and give it a good mix.

Rub the entire chicken with this lovely Caribbean marinade and set in the fridge to marinate for a couple hours (cover with plastic wrap). Then place in a baking pan with a rack (if you don’t have a rack you can place on top some cut carrots, celery and onion) the idea is to allow heat to circulate around the chicken as it roasts. In my case I like adding about 1 cup of water to my pan as I find that it helps to keep the chicken moist as it roasts in the oven.

Heat your oven to 400 F and roast on the middle rack for about 50 minutes. Half way through roasting, turn your pan so it browns evenly. If you’re using my tip for adding water in the pan, you may need to add some more after about 30 minutes.

Allow the chicken to rest about 6-8 minutes (covered) before slicing through. I like placing the use lemon pieces in the roasting tray as it adds a lovely aroma as the chicken does it’s thing.

Without a doubt this will be one of the simplest roasted chickens you’ve ever made and quite honestly.. the tastiest. The marinade will add a lot of flavor to this chicken and I know your family and friends will be complimenting you on a job well done.

gluten free

Traditional Caribbean Chicken Foot Soup Recipe.

Jamaican Callaloo With Shrimp.

Recipe Card

Jamaican Callaloo With Shrimp

Description

Ingredients

Instructions

Vegetarian Cauliflower With Chickpeas Curry Recipe.

Taro With Stewed Saltfish Caribbean Comfort Food.

Recipe Card

Stewed Saltfish with Taro (Dasheen)

Description

Ingredients

Optional

Instructions

How To Make Rum And Raisin Ice Cream

Recipe Card

Homemade Rum Raisin Ice Cream

Description

Ingredients

Instructions

The Simplest Oven Roasted Chicken Ever (recipe)!

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