A Mouthful of the Caribbean

Caribbean cooking is plain and simple Creole cooking, a mouthful of African, East Indian, Asian, Middle Eastern and European flavors. Today, Caribbean cuisine offers some of the most exotic foods in the world. When we say Caribbean, we are referring to the archipelago of islands from Cuba to Trinidad and Tobago.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of presenting and cooking the menu below to a 12-person cooking class. Everything was a hit but the callaloo! Some people just can't stomach the slimy okra in this traditional Trinidad dish. I should have served it with rice or provisions, which was my recommendation. But time constraints forced me to eliminate the rice dish.

The class loved the simplicity of the food and the combination of spices such as cilantro, sazon (Hispanic seasoning), curry, cumin, geera, cayenne pepper, garam masala and allspice. Their favorite dishes were the meat pies and Mexican-style roasted corn on the cob. They loved the fried plantains and tostones (green plantains). Most had never tasted plantains before. How can you go through life without eating plantains?

Of course, any Caribbean setting must have music. The class cooked to the sounds of calypso and soca from this year's Trinidad Carnival, thanks to my brother Clumpy.



Here's the menu:


Buljol
A blend of salted codfish, onions, tomatoes and hot peppers

Meat Pies
Creamy puff dough filled with spicy beef or chicken Hispanics call this empanadas)

Callaloo
A thick pureed soup made from taro leaves and okra, crab and coconut milk

Tamales
Meat-filled masa dough steamed in corn husks (Caribbean folks also make tamales, although Mexican tamales are better known).


Veggies
Roasted fresh corn rolled in parmesan cheese and cayenne pepper (cotija is a better known Mexican cheese)
Jicama and avocado salad

Jerk Pork
Meat marinated in a blend of spicy spices and grilled to perfection (very Jamaican)

Chicken Roti
A delicate Indian flat bread, which can be filled with curried chicken, potatoes and chick peas

Dessert
Tropical cheesecake with guava sauce, which I developed for a food company using passion fruit (granadilla or parcha).