Grenads Oil Down Recipe

Grenada Oil Down Recipe

Cook 45 mins

This is the national dish of Grenada. Yummy comfort food. Very filling. I'm told that the Grenadian oil down uses saffron and callaloo leaves.

Ingredients                    

• 2 lbs salted meat (beef, pig snout, pig tails, etc, you can also use salted ham or salted cod fish)
• 1 (2 -3 lb) breadfruit
• 4 cups coconut milk
• ¹⁄₂ cup sliced celery
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• ¹⁄₂ cup chopped chives
• ¹⁄₂ cup pimento pepper (seeded and chopped)
• 1 whole congo hot pepper or 1 whole habanero pepper
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove
• salt

                                             

Directions

1. Put salted meat into a pot with water. Bring to a boil and drain, repeat three times to remove preserving salt. Cook until almost tender. Drain.
2. Wash and peel the breadfruit, cut into eight sections, remove the center lengthwise of each section, cut into 1/2" slices.
3. Sauté onions and garlic in hot oil until onions are translucent. Add chive thyme and salted meat, hot pepper and 3 cups coconut milk.
4. Cover pot and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat and simmer for about 45 minutes until breadfruit is cooked and tender; add more coconut milk if necessary and put salt to taste. (Salt may not be necessary since the salted meat flavours the dish).
6. When cooked liquid should be absorbed and breadfruit mixture will look mushy.
7. Remove Pepper before serving.

Recipe adapted from: http://www.food.com/recipe/breadfruit-oil-down-grenada-193002?photo=94045

Pictures adapted from: http://www.meatlovessalt.com/2014/02/grenadas-national-dish-oil-down/

Recipe adapted from: http://www.food.com/recipe/breadfruit-oil-down-grenada-193002?photo=94045

Pictures adapted from: http://www.meatlovessalt.com/2014/02/grenadas-national-dish-oil-down/








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Pastelles: A Caribbean Christmas Tradition

Pastelles:  A Caribbean Christmas Tradition

You’ll Need…

For the filling
1.5 lb mixed ground meat (pork | beef | veal)
2 onions, chopped
2 scallions
2 tablespoon thyme
1/2 habanero or scotch bonnet pepper
2 pimento peppers
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup ketchup
1 tsp Worcester sauce
3 tbsp capers (optional)
2 tbsp olives, chopped
½ cup raisins (I didn’t have any so I had to do without this time)

For the cornmeal outer layer

2 cups cornmeal (I see my note below)
3 cups lukewarm water
4 tbsp cooking oil
1 ¼ tsp salt
Banana leaves for wrapping and about 2 tablespoon veg oil for brushing the leaves.

Note: The traditional way is to use beef or pork and maybe chicken and it’s not common to mix the meats. Most people stick to one type of meat.

The first thing we’ll do is to prepare the filling since we must allow it to cool before we can proceed with actually making the pastelles.  In a large sauce pan (no oil needed) add the ground meats and proceed to brown on a medium heat. Please use a wooden spoon (I find this works best) to continuously break up the meat as it cooks. We don’t want any large lumps.

As the meat cooks, lets prepare the other ingredients for adding to the filling mix. Chop the onion, garlic, peppers and scallion…  give the olives and capers a rough chop as well.

 The ground meat should be fully cooked by now. I used lean ground meats so there’s residual fat in the pan. If you find that you have oil at the bottom of the pan, try to spoon it out. Now add the diced onion, garlic, peppers and scallion to the pan and on a low/med heat allow to cook until soft (about 3-4 minutes). Next up, add the capers and olives give it a good stir. Finally add the black pepper, ketchup, Worcester sauce and salt. If you have raisins, add them now as well. Allow this to cook for a couple minutes, then turn off the stove and allow to cool.

 Basically all you’re doing is in a large bowl, mix the water, corn meal flour, oil and salt to make a dough.

Make 12 equal balls with the dough, but as you make them.. be sure to cover with plastic wrap pr a damp tea towel or they will dry up.

Let’s prepare the green banana leaves for wrapping these packets of heaven. If you’re using fresh cut leaves you’ll have to pass them over an open flame to make them easier to work with. If not, they will not fold and will burst/crack on you. Cut them into 8 to 10 inch squares, wipe with a wet towel to clean off any residue and get ready to assemble.

I had a small bowl with vegetable oil and a brush handy. Brush some oil in the middle of each leaf, then place a ball of dough and worked it till I got a fairly large circle (make sure you have even thickness). If you have a tortilla press, it will make this step very easy for you. Now grab a heaping tablespoon (or more) of the cooled filling and place in the center. Using the sides of the leaf, fold until you get a small package (see video below). Now tie with some string and repeat for the rest of them.

You’ll find that some people choose to boil or steam these. Steam for about 20-25 minutes and they should be fully cooked.

Recipe adapted from: http://caribbeanpot.com/pastelles-a-caribbean-christmas-tradition/

Trinidad Black Cake

Trinidad Black Cake

Ingredients:

1 lb prunes, seeded and chopped
1 lb raisins
1 lb currants
1 lb sultans...
1/4 lb mixed peels
1/2 lb cherries chopped in half
1 1/2 cups cherry brandy
2 cups rum
2 cups or 1 lb butter
2 cups or 1 lb sugar
( brown or granulated)
10 large eggs
2 tsp.grated lime peel
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 lb or 4 cups flour
4 tsp. Baking powder
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup browning or more
1 cup mixture of rum and cherry brandy

Method:

1. The day before of some days before baking I boil the fruits ( prunes, raisins, currants, sultans, mixed peels and cherries) in rum and cherry brandy. It's optional some people might prefer soaking the fruits. Blend some fruits.

 2. Line cake pans with double layers of wax paper.

 3. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

 4. Beat eggs one at a time. I prefer blending the eggs in the blender. Pour in eggs into the batter and add lime peel and vanilla.
5. Combine flour baking powder and cinnamon, fold into creamed mixture gradually.
6. Add fruits and enough browning to give desired colour. Stir well. I always put a Guinness when mixing the batter. U can always add a little more rum to your desired taste.

 7. Put in lined baking pans and bake in a preheated oven at 250°F for first hour, reduce heat to 200°F- 225°F for the remaining 1 1/2 hours or until tester comes out clean.

 8. Prick hot cakes and soak with a mixture of rum and cherry brandy. Cover and set aside to cool.
Enjoy.

Recipe adapted from: True Trini Food and Recipes

Pholourie Recipe - Trinidad

 Pholourie Recipe  - Trinidad    

You’ll need…

1 cup ground split peas
1 teaspoon crushed garlic (about 2 cloves)
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 hot pepper (crushed) – optional but it does add a nice kick to things.
1 1/3 cups water
oil for deep frying

I started off by placing the 2 cloves of garlic, salt and the piece of hot pepper (I used habanero) into my mortar and using the pestle I created a smooth paste. You’ll notice I placed the salt in this, rather than directly into the batter. the roughness of the salt works great to help crush the pepper and garlic into the required paste.

Let’s now prepare the batter. In a large bowl place the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, split peas powder and turmeric) and whisk together. I like doing this so I can incorporate everything before we add the water. After whisking, I then add the crushed garlic/salt/pepper mixture and water. Mix thoroughly to form a lump-free batter and allow to sit for about 30 minutes (feel free to use immediately if you’re in a rush).

In a fairly deep frying pan put enough oil to deep fry (about 4 cups or more)  and heat on med to high. TIP! While the oil heats get a basket or bowl and line with a couple paper towels to place the cooked pholourie to absorb the excess oil from frying. Also get a long handle tongs to help avoid getting burned from any splatter.

When the oil is hot, using 2 table spoons scoop a tablespoon of batter and place into the hot oil. Use the second spoon to scrape the batter off the original spoon. Don’t worry if the first batch turns out a bit deformed in shape, you’ll quickly get the hang of it. You’ll notice that it will easily double in size as it cooks. Using a fork, flip them over so each side gets to cook evenly. You’re looking for a golden brown colour and the pholourie will start floating as an indication that the center is fully cooked. Remove from the oil and place on the paper towels.

Don’t forget to get the mango chutney recipe

One final comment… this batter makes about 20-25 pholouire depending how big you make them. Happy cooking!

Source: http://caribbeanpot.com/a-typical-trinbagonian-pholourie-recipe/ 

Mango Chutney Recipe - To be served with Pholourie

You’ll need…

1 green mango
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 chili peppers (or 1 scotch bonnet or habanero pepper)
2 cloves garlic
dash black pepper
2 shado beni leaves (or couple tablespoons cilantro)
Juice of 1 lime or lemon
1 scallion (garnish)

Method:

Start by peeling the mango and giving it a wash under cool water. Then you have a couple options here… you can cut the green mango into pieces and add it to a food processor to puree. If you choose this method, you can add all the ingredients mentioned above at the same time and you’ll have the finished chutney very fast. The other way (One I used) is to grate the green mango on the fine option on your grater (remember to back off when you get close to the seed). Place the grated mango into a bowl to mix with the other ingredients.

In a mortar, place the peppers, garlic, salt and shado beni (I didn’t have any) and begin to pound away. The salt (being coarse)  will help you to really get a smooth paste. Now squeeze the lime or lemon into the mortar, then add the crushed mixture to the bowl with the grated mango. I put the lime juice in the mortar to help pick up the remaining bits, rather than put it directly to the bowl with the grated mango. If you’re using cilantro, I find that it’s best to mince it very fine with a knife and add it to the grated mango, rather than adding it to the mortar to be crushed.

After you pour the crushed mixture from the mortar into the bowl with the grated mango, give it a good mix and taste for salt (remember to add a dash of black pepper). You should not get an over powering “sour” taste. It should be a combination of the tartness of the mango, the heat from the peppers, the uniqueness of the garlic and an overall freshness form the lime juice. Top with sliced scallions!

NOTE: You will notice that if you do store it in the fridge  it will loose some of it’s heat.

Some Green Mango Buying Tips!

1. The skin should look green in colour.

2. It should be very firm to the touch. Using your thumb, press against the mango, it should not give.

3. Besides being green with a bit of a natural shine  in colour, it should not have any blemishes (dark spots).

4. When you cut it it should have a light green colour with a slight tinge of yellow.

Source: http://caribbeanpot.com/a-simple-mango-chutney-for-pholourie/ 

Corn Pie

Corn Pie - Trinidad

 (Recipe by Felix Padilla of Simply Trini Cooking)

Ingredients:

1 (15.4oz) can whole corn
Water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1 egg, room temperature
8 tablespoons fine cornmeal
1/4 cup (2 oz) unsalted butter
3/4 cup diced onions
3/4 cup chopped bell peppers (mixture of green and red)
Minced hot pepper to taste
1 cup evaporated whole milk
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese, divided in half

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Drain and reserve the liquid from the corn. Pour the reserved liquid into a 1-cup measuring cup, if the liquid does not fill the cup; add lukewarm water to bring it up to 1 full cup of liquid.
• Pour the 1 cup of liquid and egg into a large bowl. Add the salt and white pepper and beat to mix well.
• Add the cornmeal to the egg mixture. Stir to form a smooth paste and set aside.
• Add butter to a medium saucepan and place on medium heat and let melt. As soon as the butter melts, add the onions, bell peppers and hot peppers and sauté until the onions are translucent.
• Pour in the milk, stir and bring the mixture to a boil. When the mixture comes to a boil, immediately stir in the cornmeal and reduce the heat to low. Let cook on low heat for 4 minutes, stirring intermittently.
• Add the whole corn and stir to mix. Let the mixture continue to cook on low heat until it comes away easily from the sides of the pot - about 5 minutes.
• Remove the pot from the heat and stir in 1/2 cup of cheese.
• Transfer the mixture to a greased baking dish. Smooth the surface and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese on top of the mixture.
• Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden brown.

 Let rest for at least 30 minutes before cutting and serving.

Recipe adapted from: TnT's Chef League