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Spicy Caribbean Cuisine

© Judy Howle

Summertime, tropical sands, cool breezes and HOT, SPICY food. That just about sums it up for Caribbean cooking. Most all of the Caribbean cuisines, including those of Jamaica, Trinidad, Cuba, Grenada, Aruba, and other islands utilize a lot of chile peppers, including Scotch bonnet, Congo, and Habanero. Tropical fruit and local vegeteables and many spices are also typical of Caribbean cooking. Here are some recipes and some links to more recipes.

CARIBBEAN CURRY SAUCE

Ingredients:

• 5 tbsp. vegetable oil (canola or sunflower)
• 4 tbsp. tamari
• 3 tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 tbsp. tomato sauce
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp. dried parsley or finely chopped fresh parsely
• 1 tbsp. coriander
• 1 tbsp. cumin
• 1 tbsp. Jamaican pimento (allspice)
• 1 tbsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. tabasco sauce or other hot sauce
• 1 tsp. very finely chopped jalpeo or habanero pepper
• salt to taste
• black pepper to taste
• crushed red chiles to taste

Procedure:
Simply, mix everything together!

Note:
This is a wonderful cooking sauce. You can marinate chicken or meat in it before saute-ing, grilling, broiling or baking. Dribbled over stir-fried vegetables, it makes a great dish to eat over rice.

CURRIED CHICKEN

Yield: 6 Servings

• 2 medium-sized frying chickens -cut up & boned
• 3 tbsp. Vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 ea scallions, chopped
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1 ts allspice
• 1 Inch piece ginger -peeled & finely chopped
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 2 lg potatoes, peeled and diced
• 8 cups steamed rice
• Mango chutney, garnish
• Coconut milk, garnish

In a stew pot, heat the vegetable oil. Add the garlic, scallions, pepper, curry, allspice, and ginger and cook for a few minutes. Add the chicken and simmer, covered on low heat about 10 minutes. Add the coconut milk and potatoes and continue to cook for 30 to 40 minutes. Serve over hot steamed rice with a selection of condiments such as mango chutney, coconut milk & yogurt.

STUFFED CARIBBEAN PORK ROAST

Yield: 6 Servings

• 3 lb Center-cut loin pork roast
• 1 tb Jerk seasoning
• 1/2 c Finely chopped celery
• 2 Green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 Clove garlic, minced
• 1 ts Margarine
• 2 c Cooked rice
• 1 8 oz can, crushed pineapple,
• -drained
• 1 Large, ripe banana, chopped
• 1 ts Lime zest
• 2 tb Fresh lime juice
• 2 tb Dark rum
• 2 tb Pineapple juice
• 1/4 ts Ginger

JERK SEASONING

• 4 Green onions, chopped
• 1 Garlic clove
• 1 Hot chili pepper, such as jalapeno or Scotch bonnet, -seeded
• 1 tb Ground allspice
• 1 ts Dried thyme leaves
• 1/2 ts Ground nutmeg
• 1/2 ts Cayenne pepper
• 2 tb Fresh lime juice

TO PREPARE JERK SEASONING:
Combine green onions, garlic, chili pepper, allspice, thyme, nutmeg, cayenne, and lime juice in a blender; puree the mixture. Store in a covered glass container in the refrigerator.