Before Christopher Columbus found the 7000 island that are the Caribbean, they were inhabited mainly by the peaceful Arawak who had been living there for 1000 years after having migrated northwards 500 years earlier. Later the Carib Indians from the West Indies and northern South America were to join them. Soil was particularly fertile and food plentiful. The indigenous people thrived and the more than adequate diet ensured that everyone survived well on it – everyone except the Carib who were cannibals and ate the odd human, that is.

Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy in 1451 and as a young man working for Genoese importers in Lisbon, began a life of traveling for them. On the 12th of October 1492 on board his ship, the Pinto, he discovered that he was in the Caribbean when land was first seen by a sailor called Rodrigo de Triana (aka Juan Rodriguez Bermejo). Whilst he wasn’t in the East as was his intention, he had arrived in paradise. The Spaniards noted that the Indians cooked meat and fish on green wooden racks over open fires and supplemented their diets with fruit, vegetables, ground roots and maize. A boucan was the Indian word for meat cooked over the coals but to the Spaniards it sounded like barbacao and it is here that the word barbecue actually originated. The Spaniards found the Arawak eating potatoes, tomatoes and chiles and enjoyed it so much that it finally landed up in Europe. Even though the Indians, like the European Barbarians, were considered wild by the Catholic invaders, they were a very well organized and self sufficient race. Unfortunately the Spaniards’ greed overcame them and they brutally massacred all but one or two of them. The few descendants that escaped and survived taught the Europeans much about their cuisine –  how they ate, what utensils they used and all about the fruits and vegetables that form the backbone of life in the Caribbean today. To add to this already rich culinary heritage is the food of the African slaves, the English, the Europeans, the Chinese, the Syrians, the Lebanese and the Jews who all fled their own lands to avoid needless persecution – and became instrumental in giving birth to the magical food of the Caribbean today. We look at a few popular classics.

PEPPER POT

Ingredients

• 250 g dried pigeon peas – in those countries where they can’t be found use ordinary dried peas that you use for soup or lentils
• 500 g corned beef, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 x 500 g smoked ham hock, sliced in half crosswise
• 2 liters water
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 1 large onion, diced finely
• 4 spring onions, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed and chpped
• 1 fresh hot chili pepper (Scotch bonnet) finely chopped
• 500 g tin peeled tomatoes in juice, drained and chopped
• 100 ml tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 1 medium aubergine (egg plant), cubed into bite size pieces
• 250 g sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 500 g fresh spinach, well cleaned and coarsely chopped
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Salt to taste

Method

• Cook the pulses by standing overnight in boiled water, rinsing and then draining them.
• Return to a large pot of water and boil for an hour, drain and rinse again.
• If you are going to use a tin, drain and rinse.
• Bring the beef and the ham hock to the boil in plenty of water and over high heat.
• Once boiling, turn the heat down and simmer until the meat is soft – it shouldn’t take more than an 1 – 1,5 hours.
• Drain the meat and reserve the meat and the cooking liquid.
• Remove the meat from the ham hock and chop it coarsely, discarding any bones.
• Preferably use a 5 liter pot and heat the oil over medium heat, adding the onions, spring onions, garlic, and chili.
• Stir fry until the onion has become translucent.
• Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, chives and thyme and bring to a brisk simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add the aubergine (eggplant) and all the vegetables except the spinach.
• Cook until the vegetables are tender.
• Add the cooked pigeon peas and the spinach right at the end and cook until the spinach has just wilted.
• Check and correct your seasoning but make sure that you taste first because it is possible that you may not need pepper.

CALYPSO CHICKEN

Ingredients

Chicken

• 6 chicken breasts (you can use skinless if you like)
• 3 tsp tabasco sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander, plus sprigs for the garnish
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 200 ml tin coconut cream
• 175 g small ripe mango, diced (it has to be peeled and stoned first)
• 1 lime, juice and zest

Rice and peas

• 3 spring onions, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 25 gbutter
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
• 1 red finger chilli, seeded and very finely chopped
• 450 g long grain rice
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 400g can red eye kidney beans, black-eyed peas or pigeon peas, rinsed and drained
• 125g creamed coconut
• 100 g grated fresh coconut
• 1 litre hot water
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

• Preheat the grill to medium-high.
• Put two teaspoons of Tabasco sauce, garlic, paprika, thyme, half the coriander, about ½ salt and tsp and the equivalent of 2 tsps freshly ground black pepper with the oil into a Ziploc bag and make sure that everything is very well combined.
• Place the breasts inside the bag, making sure that everything is well covered (you could slit the breasts if you like for a more intense flavour).
• Allow to marinate for at least an hour.
• Grill for about 5 – 8 minutes on each side on a high heat until just cooked and set aside.
• Put the coconut cream and mango pieces into a pot and bring to the boil, reducing the heat and simmering until the mango is just tender.
• Add the rest of the Tabasco and chopped coriander as well as the lime juice to this mango and coconut cream mixture.
• Blend to a purée in a food processor and transfer to a bowl and set aside.
• Fry the onion in the oil and butter, add the garlic and chile and stir fry until the onion is translucent and just golden.
• Add the rice, thyme, and the cinnamon, stirring once or twice to make sure that everything is well coated
• Add the kidney beans or peas and the grated coconut and stir until everything has become incorporated.
• Pour in the hot water with a sprinkling of salt and bring to the boil, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and set aside for 5 minutes.
• Do not stir and do not open.
• Remove all the sticks like the thyme and cinnamon and discard.
• Check and correct the seasoning and serve with the chicken on top.

MOJITO MAGIC

Ingredients

• 1 small lime, cut into wedges
• 6 fresh mint leaves
• caster sugar, to taste
• 60 ml rum
• 100 ml soda water
• Angostura bitters
• 1 sprig mint, to garnish
• Plenty of ice

Method

• Muddle the mint, sugar and lime together.
• Add the rum, then fill the glass with ice and top up with the sparkling water and a splash of Angostura bitters.
• Garnish with a sprig of mint, and serve.