Caribbean Food

CARIBBEAN-STYLE BEANS AND RICE

Steps:

• Heat a Dutch oven or large, deep pot over medium-high heat. Add the bacon to the hot pot and cook until light brown on both sides. Add the garlic and saute until light brown. Add the drained beans along with the cold water to the bacon and garlic and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover the pot, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until beans are just tender, about 1 hour. Add the chili peppers, cinnamon, coconut milk, scallions, thyme, allspice, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Stir in the rice and, once the mixture has returned to a boil, stir, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the rice is tender and has absorbed all of the liquid. Allow to sit for 15 minutes before serving. Remove the thyme sprigs and Scotch bonnet pepper halves and serve.

CARIBBEAN CHICKEN

Steps:

• Puree all ingredients except chicken in food processor. Add marinade and chicken to re-sealable plastic bag, mix thoroughly and let marinate, refrigerated, for 4 to 8 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat grill to high, remove excess marinade from chicken and place on grill. Grill each side of chicken for 3 to 4 minutes then place on a pan and finish in the oven for 15 minutes.
• Squeeze a lime wedge over each piece of chicken and serve.

CARIBBEAN-STYLE OXTAILS

Steps:

• Add the olive oil to the One Pot (or any pressure cooker, or a Dutch oven) and heat over medium heat until hot. Season the oxtails with the salt and pepper. Add half of the oxtails to the One Pot and cook until well browned on both sides, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Set the seared oxtails on a platter once browned and repeat with the remaining oxtails.
• Once all the oxtails are browned, add the onions, carrots and celery to the pan. Saute the vegetables until softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the leeks, garlic, green onions and ginger to the pan and saute for 1 minute, stirring often. Add the tomato paste and stir well to incorporate. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir to combine. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the beer to the One Pot and increase the heat to medium-high. Bring the beer to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.
• Add the stock and allspice, stir, and return the oxtails to the pan. Return the pan to a boil and place the lid over the pan. Once a steady stream of steam is emitted from the pan, lower the heat to a simmer, and cook the oxtails until tender, about 1 hour in a pressure cooker or 2 hours in a Dutch oven. Remove the lid, and stir the chopped parsley into the pan. Serve immediately.

DOUBLES

Steps:

• For the bara (or flatbread): Put the sugar and yeast in a medium bowl. Stir in the warm water and let it sit until bubbles begin to form, about 5 minutes.
• Stir to combine the flour, salt, cumin, black pepper and turmeric in a medium bowl. Add the water and yeast mixture to the flour and knead, using your hands or a mixer with a dough hook attachment, until the dough is smooth and glossy, about 2 1/2 minutes.
• Lightly oil a large bowl with cooking spray and place the dough in the bowl. Spray the dough and place plastic wrap directly on top of the dough, then add plastic wrap to the top of the bowl as well. Let the dough sit in a warm draft-free place until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
• Heat the oil to 350 degrees F in a large Dutch oven or cast-iron skillet. Turn the dough out onto a flour-dusted work surface. Working one at a time and keeping the unused portions covered, flatten a small ball of dough with a rolling pin to the thickness of 2 tortillas, about 4 inches.
• Working in batches, fry the flattened dough until puffed and golden, about 45 seconds per side. Drain on a paper-towel-lined plate. Transfer the baras to a plate and cover with plastic wrap to steam and keep warm.
• For the chickpeas: Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over low heat. Saute the onion, garlic, minced chile and a large pinch of kosher salt, about 10 minutes. Add the curry powder, allspice, cumin, nutmeg, paprika, black pepper, cayenne, bouillon cube, chickpeas and chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and cook until all the liquid has reduced, about 1 hour. Right before serving, season with salt and lime juice to taste.
• For the tamarind sauce: Add the sugar, tamarind paste and 1 cup water to a small pot over low heat. Warm until the tamarind paste has dissolved into the water, about 5 minutes. Remove and cool.
• For the pepper sauce: Put the habaneros, garlic, white balsamic vinegar and a pinch of salt in a blender and puree until smooth.
• For the cilantro sauce: Add the cilantro, white balsamic vinegar, and salt to a blender and puree until smooth.
• For the garnish: Toss the cucumber and cilantro in a bowl with a pinch of salt.
• To assemble: Place two baras slightly overlapping on a plate, then top with 2 to 3 spoons of chickpeas. Top with a little tamarind sauce, pepper sauce, cilantro sauce and grated cucumber and cilantro.