Yummm! Pelau Chicken

Happy Friday!! Our journey is far from over, as we leave Cuba for Trinidad and Tobago (Trini Massive, stand up!!)...



This week's recipe is an Indian/Caribbean hybrid of a dish that is one of my favorite Trini dishes!

Pelau Chicken

Recipe Courtesy of Island Flave

Ingredients:

2-3 lbs chicken (breasts or thighs)
2 limes
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
3 cloves garlic -crushed
4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp oil
4 tbsp brown sugar
2 cups hot water
2 cups coconut milk
1 can pigeon peas (or green peas)
2 cups carrots
2 cups rice (NOT INSTANT!)
1 hot pepper (optional)

Directions:

Rinse chicken and rub with lime.

In a large bowl: add salt, black pepper, garlic, half of the brown sugar, and half of the Worcestershire sauce to chicken, then set aside (the longer you let it sit, the better the flavor!).

Heat oil in large deep pot. When hot, sprinkle in remaining brown sugar. Once sugar begins to bubble, add chicken and coat well until chicken is nicely browned.

Add carrots, rice, hot pepper, water and coconut milk. Mix well. Cover tightly and cook on very low heat 30-45 mins until rice is almost fully cooked. Do not stir while cooking.
Add pigeon peas. Continue cooking on low heat 10-15 mins until rice is fully cooked. Add additional Worcestershire sauce to taste.

If you have a Caribbean recipe you'd love to share, be sure to email me!

Yummm! Picadillo

After a DELICIOUS trip to Aruba, we mosey on over to Cuba this week, where our recipe will be for Picadillo, which is a traditional dish in Cuba that is similar to hash. It is made with ground meat (usually beef), tomatoes (tomato sauce may be used as a substitute) and various seasonings.



Often accompanied with rice, the name comes from the Spanish word "picar," which means "to mince" or "to chop".

Picadillo

Recipe Courtesy of Recipe Island

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
450g lean minced beef
60ml sherry
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano, crumbled
1/8 tsp salt
pinch of ground chilli pepper
45g raisins
160g diced pineapple (fresh or tinned)
1 green bell pepper, chopped
50g red bell pepper, chopped

Directions:

Add a little oil to a large pan over medium heat and use to fry the minced beef, onion and garlic until the onion is tender and the meat is nicely browned (about 8 minutes). Drain off any excess fat then add the remaining ingredients (except the bell peppers). Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook gently for about 5 minutes. Stir-through the peppers and allow to warm through (about 2 minutes). Serve immediately with rice.

If you have a Caribbean recipe you'd love to share, be sure to email me!

Yummm! Bajan Oxtail & Coo-Coo

Cornmeal Coo-Coo

4 pints of water
12 fresh okra pods
4 tablespoons of butter
1 pound of yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon of salt (optional)
1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper

1 Rinse the okra in cold water, cut off the stems
and slice in round shapes. Combine the okra and
the water in a large saucepan and bring it to a
full boil, stir in the butter with the salt and
pepper.

2 Remove okra from the heat, stir in cornmeal
until all the lumps is dissolved and the mixture
is nice and smooth.


3 Return back to the heat, using a wooden spoon
stir till mixture is well blended, slightly stiff
and comes away from the sides of the pan.
Use a spoon to fill in the lightly buttered bowl,
let it sit for at least 30 minutes until it sets.

4 Cover the top of the bowl with a platter, invert
to transfer Coo Coo to the serving platter.

Stewed Oxtail

Ingredients
MARINADE
2 lbs oxtails, jointed
3 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons Trinidadian green seasoning
1 1/2 onions, very thinly sliced
1 green pepper, very thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon soya sauce

STEW
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons browning sauce (optional)
2-3 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 scotch bonnet pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons whole cloves
4 stalks fresh marjoram
8 stalks fresh thyme
2 beef bouillon cubes
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 potatoes, diced
2 carrots, diced

Directions

1 Marinade: put the clean oxtail in a large bowl and add all the ingredients to the meat so it is completely coated. Cover bowl, refrigerate and allow to marinate for at least 1 hour or overnight.

2 Stew: Heat vegetable oil and brown sugar on medium in a large pot until the mixture turns a light brown. Add the oxtail and brown them for a few minutes per side. Add browning sauce and stir.

3 Add water so that meat is almost covered. Turn heat up and add bay leaves, scotch bonnet pepper (make sure this doesn't break!), cloves and herbs. Cover pot and bring to the boil then reduce heat to medium and cook for 3 hours, or until meat is extremely tender. Stir every 30 minutes and add hot water whenever necessary: meat should always be mostly covered.

4 Remove scotch bonnet pepper carefully after about 1 1/2 hours of cooking. After 3 hours, or when the meat is done, add beef bouillon, ketchup, potatoes and carrots. Cook for another 30 minutes.

5 Taste and see if you need to add anymore spices or salt. It should be perfect at this point. If the sauce needs thickening just add a teaspoon of cornstarch or flour. Serve with rice and peas coo-coo and a side of coleslaw. Enjoy!