One Kitchen, Many Cultures

haiti recipes

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Gluten Free Meat & Poultry

Haitian Influenced Epis Chicken.

1 Comment on Haitian Influenced Epis Chicken.

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After making a fresh batch of Epis (zepis) I decided to put it to use on some boneless chicken breast I had thawing in the sink for dinner. If you’ve ever struggled with dry and bland chicken breast (say chicken chest in the Caribbean) you’ll definitely want to give this recipe a try. Moist, tender and packed with flavors of that Haitian Epis. I’m not sure if there’s an actual Epis Chicken recipe in Haiti, but I was thoroughly impressed with this one.

You’ll Need…

3 skinless/boneless chicken breast
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt (add more to your liking)
1 tablespoon Haitian Epis
2 tablespoon coconut oil

Important! If making this dish gluten free, be sure to go through the entire list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs.

Season the cleaned chicken breasts with the salt, black pepper and Epis. Mix well and allow to marinate for 2 hours.

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haitian epis chicken (2)

In a wide pan (one with a lid) heat the coconut oil (or use your fav oil) on a medium flame, then add the seasoned chicken breasts to the pot. Yes, it’s ok if the marinade goes in too. Immediately turn the heat down to low and cook for 2-3 minutes, then flip.

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Now place the lid on the pot and cook on LOW for about 10-12 minutes. Depending on the thickness of your chicken breast, they should be near cooked. Remove the lid and cook on medium/high for another 5-8 minutes to burn off any excess liquid which would form naturally and to give the chicken a golden color.

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Do remember to flip to brown and cook evenly. I then removed them from the pan and allowed it to rest for about 4 minutes before I sliced though. In the meantime I made a quick pan gravy in the same pan I pan roasted the chicken.

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By seasoning and slow cooking you’re guaranteed to get tasty and moist chicken, without any fuss.

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Sauces & Condiments

French Caribbean Creole Sauce For Fish And Grilled Meats.

15 Comments on French Caribbean Creole Sauce For Fish And Grilled Meats.

This Creole sauce is turning out to be one of the most controversial recipes I’ve shared to date. After posting the recipe video on the  Cooking Channel, there’s been a lot of comments about it not being authentic. Here’s the thing about cooking and recipes, it’s usually how you’ve learned to make the dish or how you like it. So when you see me add an ingredient like tomato paste to the sauce, rest assured that’s the way I like it. I use the traditional way (in most cases) of doing a dish as the base and try to add my own little touch. That said, there are some recipes where I will not alter the traditional format of preparing it as I don’t want to disrespect centuries of tradition.

You’ll Need…

1 medium Onion
3/4 cup celery
3/4 cup green pepper
3 cloves garlic
1 large tomato
1.5 cups chicken stock
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper
2 scallion
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs thyme
tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped parsley.
2 tablespoon olive oil

Start off by chopping/dicing the scallions, green pepper, onion, tomato, garlic (finely), celery, parsley and scotch bonnet pepper. Then heat the olive oil on a medium heat and add the diced celery, onion and green pepper. Turn the heat down to low and let that gently cook for about 8-10 minutes.

Everything will be soft and tender now and you’ll have a wonderful base for this delicious creole sauce. Turn up the heat to med/high and add all the other ingredients, except the chopped parsley.

Stir well, bring to a boil, then turn the heat down so you have a gentle simmer going. Cook for about 25 minutes, with the lid ajar on the sauce pan.

Now remove the lid and let it cook on medium heat to thicken up a bit. Remember to fish out the bay leaf and if you did as I did.. remove the thyme stems and discard. It should only take a few minutes to thicken up. Finish off with the chopped parsley.

This creole sauce is excellent on fish (fried, baked, poached, grilled) and other grilled meats. You can certainly make this in advance and keep it in a sealed container in the fridge for at least a week. Just heat and serve when you’re ready to add a classic French Caribbean flavor to your dishes.

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