Shrimp Curry, Caribbean Style
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
4 medium tomatoes, chopped, or 2 (16 ounce) cans
tomatoes, drained and chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 cups cleaned cooked shrimp
Hot cooked rice
Chutney
Cook and stir onion in butter in 10-inch skillet until tender, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, salt, coriander, turmeric, ginger, cumin and red pepper. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in shrimp; heat until shrimp are hot, 3 to 5 minutes.
Serve with rice and chutney.
Puerto Rican Coquito
2 cups coconut milk*
3/4 to 1 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 egg yolks
2 cups white Puerto Rican Rum
* Buy frozen milk in supermarket, or crack and pry the meat from a fresh coconut, add half the amount of warm water as coconut meat, place in food processor, process for 2 to 3 minutes. Let it cool and then squeeze half the mixture through cheesecloth, then second half. If you do not get 2 cups, add water to what you have to make the required coconut milk.
Put the sugar, salt, cinnamon, egg yolks and 1/2 cup of the coconut milk in a blender. Blend until sugar is dissolved. Add the rest of the coconut milk and blend again. Pour the entire mixture into an enamel pot and bring JUST to a low boil. Stirring, remove from heat and let cool.
Add rum and stir thoroughly to completely blend the flavors. Bottle and chill well before serving in very small liquor glasses with a dusting of cinnamon.
This should yield about 4 cups.
Masitas de Cerdo (Puerto Rico, Cuba and Central America)
These chunks of pork are traditionally made with pork shoulder and are fried. They are similar to carnitas, the braised pork cubes found on Mexican menus.
1 1/2 pounds boneless pork loin, cut into 1-inch cubes
6 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1/2 cup sour orange juice (or use 1/4 cup orange
juice and 1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
Place pork cubes in a self-sealing plastic bag; mix together remaining ingredients and pour over pork cubes; seal bag and refrigerate overnight.
Remove pork from marinade, discarding marinade, and place pork cubes in a shallow baking pan. Roast at 350 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes, until pork is tender. Remove to serving platter and serve hot.
Serves 6.
Marinated Shrimp Salad
4 cup water
1 tablespoon salt
1 pound raw shrimp, shelled, de-veined
1 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup lime juice
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 scallions (with tops), thinly sliced
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
8 to 10 drops aromatic bitters
Dash of crushed red pepper
1 avocado, peeled and chopped
Lettuce leaves
Lime wedges
Heat water to boiling in 3-quart saucepan. Add 1 tablespoon salt and the shrimp. Cover and heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer until shrimp is pink, about 3 minutes; drain.
Mix oil, lime juice, parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, scallions, tomatoes, garlic, bitters and red pepper in large bowl; stir in shrimp. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours.
Just before serving, gently stir in avocado. Spoon shrimp mixture onto lettuce-lined plates with slotted spoon. Garnish with lime wedges. Serve with remaining marinade if desired.
Yields 4 servings.
Jamaican Stewed Chicken
5 to 6 pounds chicken pieces (your choice)
1 litre bottle catsup
2 to 3 large onions
2 to 3 medium tomatoes diced (optional)
Black pepper, to taste
Oil (for frying)
Clean chicken and place in a large bowl. Slice the onions into thick slices and separate into rings; add to the chicken. If using tomatoes, dice them and add to chicken. Add the bottle of catsup and the black pepper (at least 1 teaspoon is recommended). This dish should be spicy, but you can use less without affecting the taste. Marinate in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight.
Heat oil; brown chicken on all sides, then place in a covered oven dish. Add about 1/2 litre of water to the catsup mixture, until you have a smooth, but not thick, consistency. Pour over the chicken. Bake at 325 degrees F for about 2 hours or until the chicken just falls off the bones.
This is good served with steamed rice.
Curried Fish Steaks
3 tablespoons oil or fat
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 cup water or coconut milk
A little lime juice
Piece of green mango
Salt, to taste
1 1/2 pounds prepared fish steaks
Heat the oil, then add the onion and garlic and fry them lightly but do not brown. Add the curry powder, stir and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add water or coconut milk, lime juice and mango, and cook until thick. Put in fish and cook gently until tender. Do not stir fish, but prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan, the pan may be moved gently backward and forward.
Cuban Roasted Pork
1 small (3 to 4 pound) pork shoulder or loin roast
Juice of 2 lemons or 1 cup sour orange juice
4 teaspoons salt
3 teaspoons black pepper
3 teaspoons dried oregano
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, sliced
Marinate pork roast in sour orange or lemon juice for 2 to 3 hours.
Remove pork from juice. Season with salt, pepper, oregano and garlic. Place in roasting pan and cover with foil. Bake 300 degrees F for 2 1/2 hours or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F.
Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
Remove foil and bake 15 minutes to brown meat. Remove from oven and let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Cut into 3/4-inch slices. Top with sliced onions for garnish.
Makes 6 servings.
Banana Bread (Pan de Banano, Guatemala)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
2 large bananas, mashed
1/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lime peel
1 tablespoon lime juice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom only of 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
Mix all ingredients; beat 30 seconds. Pour into pan. Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 70 to 80 minutes. Cool slightly. Loosen sides of loaf from pan; remove from pan. Cool completely before slicing.
To store, wrap and refrigerate no longer than 1 week.