Gluten Free Vegan

A Vegetarian’s Delight, Caribbean Comfort Food.

Ever since making and sharing the recipe for the Stuffed Grilled Snapper, I knew this recipe would be a hit with vegans, vegetarians and those who follow an Ital food path. A quick and tasty stew made with pumpkin, spinach, Jamaican callaloo (Chorai bhagi) and okra.

1 1/2 tablespoon veg oil
1/2 medium onion (sliced)
6-8 cloves garlic (smashed)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 sprigs thyme (leaves only)
1 teaspoon garlic /herb blend (seasoning powder)
2 Pimento peppers (aka seasoning peppers – sliced)
1/2 lb pumpkin (diced)
12-15 okra (stems removed, chopped)
1 lb Jamaican Callaloo (chorai bhagi)
2 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon salt (adjust)
hot peppers (see note below)
1/2 lb baby spinach (chopped)

Notes! May I recommend you follow along with the video below as much more about the recipe is explained there. Including what is Jamaican Callaloo, how to prep it and alternatives to use if you cannot source it. If making this recipe gluten free, please go through the full list of ingredients to ensure they meet your gluten free dietary requirements.

Prep all of the ingredients in advance (see the video where I explain everything). Heat the oil on a medium flame in a wide pan, then add the onion, garlic, black pepper, garlic/herb blend, pimento peppers and thyme leaves. Turn the heat to low and gently cook for 3 minutes.

Add the diced pumpkin (or squash) and cook with the lid on for 2-3 minutes.

At this point you may add the chopped Okra and salt, stir well.

Add the washed, trimmed and chopped Jamaican callaloo and two tablespoons of water. Turn the heat to medium/low, cover the pot and cook for 5-6 minutes. Stir every couple minutes to ensure nothing sticks.

I added 4 Wiri Wiri and 1 bird’s eye pepper WHOLE to the pot and kept them WHOLE during the entire cooking process. This way you don’t get the raw heat of the peppers, but flavor from the oil on the skin of the peppers. Later on you may fish them out and discard, or leave them for people who enjoy heat to crush them as they eat. Which is what I did with my Sada Roti.

Remove the lid, add the washed/chopped spinach and mix well. Cook uncovered for 4-5 minutes.

At this point you’ll check and adjust the salt to your liking. Burn off any liquid at the bottom of the pot and turn off the stove.

Should you want to add a bit of coconut milk to the festivities, you’d skip the water I added and add 1/2 cup of coconut milk. Ginger, turmeric and/or roasted cumin (geera) would make great additions as well.

As mentioned above I tucked in with Sada Roti, but steamed rice, boiled dumplings, ground provisions or even simply boiled potatoes would be excellent with this. If all fails, toast some bread and enjoy yea.

Gluten Free Vegetarian

Caribbean Ratatouille (ital vegetable stew).

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Last fall I did one of my favorite ways to put vegetables from my garden (and fridge) to use, in what I like to refer to as being a Caribbean take on Ratatouille… and I documented it to share with you. Very much like the outstanding Ital food I remember eating as kid at the Ital restaurant in San Fernando Trinidad (Pleasantville / Mon Repos area). While I’m very much a carnivore, this vegan dish is absolutely delicious and something I look forward to making/eating. 

You’ll Need..

4- 6 cups eggplant (cubed)
2 stalks celery (chopped)
2 sweet bell peppers (1/2 of each, diced)
1/2 scotch bonnet pepper (green one)
4 medium tomato (diced)
5 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs basil
1 medium red onion (diced)
2 spring onion (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/4 tablespoon salt (divided)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 tablespoon olive oil
5-8 okra (sliced)
2-3 cups Swiss chard (chopped)
2 cups Jamaican callaloo (chopped)
4 cloves garlic (smashed)
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 medium Christophene (cho cho)
2 tablespoon parsley (chopped)

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.

Wash and prep all the vegetables. I used the stems of the Swiss Chard, but not the Jamaican Callaloo (choria bhagi) as I find that they can be a bit too tough. The eggplant were cut into 1/2 inch cubes, then placed in a drainer and topped with 1/2 tablespoon salt. Then allowed to sit on the counter for about 30 minutes. This will help remove some of the moisture from the eggplant and in doing so, some of the bitterness. You’ll notice that I did keep the skin on them. Please watch the video below to see how I prepared all the vegetables.

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Then rinse the eggplant with cool water and pat dry with paper towels to remove the salt. In a deep oven-proof pan, heat the oil on a medium flame and fry-off the eggplant. You may need to do this in 3 batches as to not crowd the pan. It will take about 5-7 minutes to get golden edges each time. Set aside the eggplant after you’ve fried them. As the eggplant cooks, feel free to prep the other ingredients.

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With the Christophene you’ll need to peel and remove the core, then dice. There should still be some oil in the bottom of the pot (if not add a teaspoon or so) and go in with the tougher vegetables… heat on low. Start with the Christophene, followed 2 minutes later by the bell peppers, then 2 minutes later you can add the Swiss Chard stems (cut thin), the spring onion (bulb cut in 1/4) and the red onion. Mix well.

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Now add the remaining salt and the celery and cook for about 5 minutes. After which you’ll add the garlic, green tops of the spring onion, tomato paste and black pepper. Mix well and add the rest of ingredients.. Jamaican Callaloo, green part of the Swiss Chard, Okra, chunks of tomato and thyme.

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It’s finally time to add back the pre-cooked Eggplant and mix well. Here’s where you can add the Scotch Bonnet pepper if you want the dish to have a bit of a kick. Top with the parsley and coconut milk and give it a good stir to combine everything.

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Place the pan/pot into a preheated 400 F oven, on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes.

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After it comes out, taste for salt (adjust accordingly) and top with the Basil. You’re done! A delicious one pot vegan dish, which is guaranteed to impress your family and friends. In my case a lot of the ingredients came directly from my garden.

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