Barbados is the most easterly of the Caribbean islands, which
is part of North America. It was colonised by Britain in 1625, and flew the
British flag until 1966 when the country became independent. Its name is
believed to originate from the Bearded Fig Tree. The Portuguese ‘los barbados’
means ‘bearded ones’, which describes the fig trees trailing branches. The
small island is surrounded by the Atlantic, is a high exporter of rum.
CUISINE
The island of Barbados
is known for excellent and diverse cuisine; Barbadians love their food and
there are many dishes and delicacies unique to the island. An amalgamation of a strong English,
Indian and African influence fused with the availability of freshly grown local
produce has added further impact to what is now known as Bajan foods.
Barbados has been christened "The
Land of Flying Fish" so it is no
wonder that the island's national dish is cou-cou and flying fish. Most of the foods
found throughout Barbados carry names that we had never heard of, such as jug-jug, Pudding and Souse and conkies.
OUR EXPERIENCE
Barbados, now
there is a country that we have not eaten from before, apparently it is also reported to have the third oldest Parliamentary democracy in the world. I knew that macaroni was
popular, but I needed to find something else as I do not eat cheese. There were
groans from the others, so I might make them one. We certainly had a mixed
experience of the food and tried more than one meal! We started off with Curried
Mushroom Chicken, which was a very simple recipe and one that I did make
alterations to, I also served it with a rice and pea dish, which seemed fitting
for the Caribbean and would do it again. Cutters, seems to be the Barbados equivalent
of a big roll, which we all loved and had with fish cakes, lettuce and tomatoes as
per the research. “A posh fish finger sandwich” was my husband’s verdict, and
he was right – it tasted great.
My husband and I had the pudding and souse and
I am not sure if I cooked this correctly, we were a little apprehensive about
it, if we are honest but we really enjoyed it. I had done pork sausages, as I
don’t like cold pork and it tasted better the cooler the sausages got. We also
did the Conkies, or conkers as my son called them, which I did reduce the amount of sugar in. I had intended to
make cou cou, but this went wrong - very wrong, and then I tried to do couscous, which I often do and this went wrong, so the fish (salmon) I was going to
serve with the cou cou, was served with the conkie instead – maybe not right –
but we felt it went well. My husband loved it, whereas my son and I enjoyed it,
but were not sure if we wanted it again. I did make the boys a macaroni cheese,
which they thought was odd with corn in! Next week we are off to Thailand.
So, here is a summary of what we had and our score, which I am doing out of 100:
Curried Mushroom Chicken Recipe................80
Barbados Cutters.....................................83
Pudding and Souse...................................75
Conkies................................................67
Macaroni...............................................60
Ingredients
for 4
4 pieces of chicken [I chopped them into bit size bits]
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 dessert spoon curry powder [I used a blend of
different spices: cinnamon, coriander, cumin, ginger]
NB: I added a chopped onion and sliced mushrooms
Method:
- Fry the onions and place in a Pyrex dish, which the chicken pieces on top [I browned mine off a little]
- Mix the soup and curry powder [blended spices] and pour over the chicken
- [I added the sliced mushrooms on top]
- Bake 375F, 190C, GM5 for about an hour.
- The chicken will spring its own juices and blend with the soup to make a creamy curry sauce.NB: I served boiled rice with this that was flavoured with cinnamon, turmeric, coriander, and peas.
Recipe
Source: www.barbados.org.
This is the complete original recipe, which I am not sure how many it serves,
so I adjusted accordingly for the two of us]
Souse Ingredients:
2
lb pork shoulder cut into 1 inch pieces
one
large onion, diced
Two
cucumbers, grated
Scotch
bonnet pepper (or chilli of your choice), finely diced
Juice
of 3 limes
Chopped
fresh parsley
Method:
- Boil the pork in salted water, until tender.
- Combine the cooked pork with the grated cucumber, onion, pepper, lime juice and parsley. Add salt to taste.
- Refrigerate and serve cold with the pudding. Diced sweet potato or pickled breadfruit is usually served on the side.
[I used
pork sausages, and combined the other ingredients together and served
separately]
Pudding Ingredients:
1 ½ lb grated sweet potato
½ tsp thyme
½ tsp marjoram
1 tsp chives, chopped
Scotch bonnet pepper (or chilli of your choice),
finely diced
Pinch of sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tsp oil
2 oz butter
Colouring (optional) [I did not use]
Method:
- Combine the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Colouring (browning) gives the pudding a characteristic dark brown colour but can be omitted.
- The pudding may be steamed in a bowl over a pot of boiling water, or baked in a greased baking dish, until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
Barbados conkies
Source: www.barbados.org
Ingredients:
Makes 8 [I
halved the recipe, leaving out the milk, but keeping 1 egg.]
2 cups corn flour
1/2 cup plain flour
1 cup grated coconut [I used coconut milk, and omitted the milk]
3/4 lb grated pumpkin
1/2 lb grated sweet potato
6 oz melted butter or margarine
1 cup whole milk
1 egg (beaten)
3/4 lb brown sugar [I reduced the sugar, but increased the raisins]
4 ozs. raisins
1 tsp spice
1 tsp almond essence
1 tsp grated nutmeg
1 tsp salt
Fresh Banana leaves (Can be substituted with wax paper or foil.)
Method:
- Mix the coconut, pumpkin, sweet potato, sugar, spices, raisins, flour, corn flour, and salt together in a large bowl.
- Add the beaten egg, melted butter/margarine, and milk. Mix thoroughly by hand to combine. You should have a thick mixture that drops slowly from a spoon. Add more flour if the mixture is not thick enough; add a bit more milk if it is too thick.
- Fresh green Banana leaves are traditionally used to wrap the conkie mixture. If you have these, strip leaves from stalk with a sharp knife then briefly singe them over an open flame to make them more pliable. Cut the leaves into individual 8" squares.
- Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of the mixture into the centre of the banana leaf. Fold the leaf around the mixture, taking care not to rip the leaf.
- Steam the conkies on a rack over boiling water in a large saucepan for 1 hour or until they are firm.
Macaroni pie
A favourite dish on Barbados, often served as an
accompaniment instead of potato.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
225g / 8oz macaroni
40g / 1 ½ oz butter or marg
20g / ¾ oz plain flour
450ml / ¾ milk
5ml / 1 tsp mild mustard
2.5 ml / ½ tsp ground cinnamon
175g / 6oz mature cheddar
cheese, grated
1 egg, beaten
15ml / 1 tbsp butter / marg
25g / 1 oz chopped spring
onions (Scaliion)
40g / 1 ½ oz canned tomatoes
115g / 4oz corn kernels
Salt and black pepper
Chopped fresh parsley to
garnish
Method:
- Heat the oven to 180C/350F/GM4. Cook the macaroni in a pan of salted boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water and drain again.
- Melt 25g / 1oz of the butter in a pan and add the flour. Cook for 1 minute, then add the milk, whisking constantly. Heat until the mixture boils, then simmer gently for 5-10 minutes.
- Stir in the mustard and cinnamon, with 2/3 of the cheese. Season to taste. Cook gently, stirring frequently, until the cheese has melted, then remove from the heat and whisk in the egg. Cover closely and set aside.
- Heat the remaining butter or marg in a small frying pan and cook the spring onions, chopped tomatoes and corn over a gently heat for 5-10 minutes.
- Tip half the cooked macaroni into a greased ovenproof dish. Pour over half the cheese sauce and mix well, then spoon the tomato and corn mixture evenly over the mixture.
- Tip the remaining macaroni into the pan containing the cheese sauce, stir well and then spread carefully over the tomato and corn mixture.
- Top with the remaining cheese. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the top is golden and bubbly. If possible, leave to stand for 30 minutes before serving, garnished with parsley.Taken from the book: “The Illustrated Food and Cooking of the Caribbean, Central and South America” by Jenni Fleetwood and Marina Filippelli.
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