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How To Make Haitian Pikliz (Picklese)

46 Comments on How To Make Haitian Pikliz (Picklese)

The Caribbean is flooded with pepper sauces and condiments of all kinds as it’s simply part of our culinary culture. The textures, heat level, ingredients, ways of preserving and overall vibrancy of them all are unique to the maker and individual island. In Trinidad and Tobago you’ll find a lot of chutneys and amchars, while in Barbados you’ll hear the locals boast about their peppersauce. As someone who consider myself an aficionado of anything hot and spicy, it must be said that Haitian Pikliz is at the top of my list when it comes to spicy condiments.

The slight crunch of the vegetables, the heat from the thinly sliced scotch bonnet peppers and the flavors the vinegar (takes on) which is use to bring it all together is just outstanding (after marinating for about a week or so).

This recipe is dedicated to the beautiful people of Haiti.

You’ll Need…

2 cups shredded cabbage
1 large carrot
1 cup bell pepper (green, orange, red)
1 onion
2 scallions
6 scotch bonnet peppers
4 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon salt
12-14 peppercorns
2 cups vinegar (see note)
1/2 lime juice

* 4 cloves (traditionally used)

Note: Add enough vinegar to cover the ingredients in the storage container. Allow to marinate for about 5 days before use. I was out of cloves, but it’s a traditional ingredient used in making this lovely pickle, so I would recommend using.

 

This is a very simple recipe to put together as it involves a couple steps and some patience (to marinate). Start off by slicing the cabbage very thinly, same for the all the other ingredients. You may be tempted to use a food processor, but I would suggest you don’t. The food processor may overwork the vegetables and you won’t get that unique size/shape pikliz is supposed to have. Grate the carrot and diced the garlic very fine.

Place all the sliced ingredient sin a large bowl .. large enough so you can easily mix everything easily without spilling all over the place. Also mix in the salt, pepper corns and cloves.

Get a fairly large glass bottle and pack in everything, then all you have to do is top with the vinegar, cover and set aside to marinate. You can certainly begin using right away, but if you give it about five days to marinate and really take on the flavors of everything you’ll be rewarded with the best pikliz you’ve ever had.

Since we used vinegar as the base, it will act as a preservative so you don’t have to worry about it going bad if you don’t store it in the fridge. However, if you do store it in the fridge it can last months. But be aware that some the heat will be lost the longer it stays in the fridge. Now if only I had some Griot to accompany this Pikliz!

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. oh yea! leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.

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Haitian Pikliz (Picklese) in a pink dish
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Haitian Pikliz (Picklese)

Cuisine:

Description

The Caribbean is flooded with pepper sauces and condiments of all kinds as it’s simply part of our culinary culture. The textures, heat level, ingredients, ways of preserving and overall vibrancy of them all are unique to the maker and individual island. In Trinidad and Tobago you’ll find a lot of chutneys and amchars, while in Barbados you’ll hear the locals boast about their peppersauce. As someone who consider myself an aficionado of anything hot and spicy, it must be said that Haitian Pikliz is at the top of my list when it comes to spicy condiments.

The slight crunch of the vegetables, the heat from the thinly sliced scotch bonnet peppers and the flavors the vinegar (takes on) which is use to bring it all together is just outstanding (after marinating for about a week or so).

This recipe is dedicated to the beautiful people of Haiti.

Ingredients

Instructions

Video
  1. Place Green Cabbage (2 cup), Scotch Bonnet Pepper (6), Assorted Color Bell Peppers (1 cup), Onion (1), Carrot (1), and Scallion (1 bunch) in the mixing bowl.
  2. Add in the Peppercorns (12), Salt (1 teaspoon), and Garlic (4 clove).
  3. Add some juice from the Lime (1/2) by squeezing over the bowl, then toss everything together.
  4. Get a fairly large glass bottle and pack everything in, then top with Distilled White Vinegar (2 cup). Cover and set aside to marinate. Let sit for 4 to 5 days before using.
  5. This can be served with your favorite meat dish, soup or whatever savory dish you think could use some heat!
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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.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. Oh yea! leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.