In this post I’ll attempt to explain what “Ground Provisions” are, the part it plays in Caribbean cuisine and a simple recipe for preparing everyday ground provisions. In previous recipes I’ve shared, I’ve commented on using ground provisions and over time I’ve come to realize that I had left my readers a bit confused when I did. It’s one of those things where you assume everyone knows what you’re speaking about and don’t give it much thought.

Ground Provision, Provision, Blue Food, Dry Food, Food For The Back, Country Food… yes, I just had to add some more confusion to the mix. These are just some of the other names people use when the refer to ground provision in the Caribbean (BTW if you have a different name for ground provision, do share with us in the comments below). And though it’s called “Ground” not all the items are directly from the ground. Ground provision or provision is one of the main staples I grew up on living in Trinidad and Tobago. That rice and flour made up a major part of our diet. I guess it can be compared to the way potato is used globally.

So what is considered provisions? Yam, Sweet potato, eddoes, dasheen, taro, tania, cassava, breadfruit, plantain, moko and green fig (banana). And for the most part, the most common way of preparing the majority of items, is by boiling. Like in the recipe I’m about to share below…

You’ll Need…

4 medium eddoes
4 medium sweet potatoes
1 taro (about 2lbs)
1 teaspoon salt

* I went looking for dasheen in the grocery store and saw what I thought was dasheen, but they had it labeled as Taro.
* Tip - When working with ground provisions, it’s best if you rub some cooking oil all over your hands or use a pair of latex gloves, as you may find that your hands may itch from handling them when peeling.

Peel the eddoes, sweet potato and taro and cut into chunky pieces, but make sure they’re about the same size (I usually just cut the sweet potato and eddoes in halves) so they cook uniformly. If you’re peeling them in advance of cooking, be sure to place them in a deep bowl and cover with cool water to prevent them from going discoloured.

I’ve seen where people put  a pot of water to boil, then add the provisions, but I much prefer to place the peeled provisions into a deep pot, cover with water and then bring to a boil on a high heat. When it comes to a boil, you then add the salt and turn the heat down to a simmer.

As it boils you’ll notice some stuff start to settle at the top, that’s mainly starch and other impurities that you can spoon off and discard.

Allow this to boil for about 20 minutes or until you can pierce through a piece with a sharp knife without any resistance. While cooking this taro I noticed that it did cook faster than the sweet potato and eddoes, so I would suggest you either remove the taro after 15 minutes or so, or add them to the pot after the other provisions have been cooking for about 5 minutes. I much prefer removing, as if you add it during the cooking process it will lower the heat within the pot and you’ll have to adjust the heat.

The next step is to drain as you would if you were boiling potatoes and then enjoy. The options now are endless as you can re-fry these as I did in the “yam recipe” and the “cassava” recipe or eat them with stewed meats, make a pie as I saw being made in Tobago with bread fruit or simply top with some butter and/or cheese and enjoy. Two classic combinations for ground provisions are provision with tomato and salt fish and provision with saltfish buljol. And if you like eddoes, be sure to check out the eddoes talkari recipe I shared a while back.

With the provision I cooked above I had it with stewed pork – see pic below:

One of the things the majority of us from the Caribbean miss when we leave the shores of our beautiful islands is definitely the abundance and ease of getting fresh ground provisions. Whenever I get homesick I rush out to the many ethnic grocery stores to find some yam, dasheen, eddoes, green bananas or cassava (as a last resort only) and if I’m lucky I can score a breadfruit. A classic “oil down“  using breadfruit simmered in stewed pork and coconut milk is the ultimate in comfort food for me. Not only is it packed with many layers of flavours, but it takes me back to my childhood when my dad and his friends would be up all night playing “all fours” and the menu for the night was oil down.

Yes, provisions makes up a huge part of everyday Caribbean culture and cuisine… what would Saturday soup be without provision?

During world war 2 when everything imported was rationed, my dad told me that provision was “king”, as there wasn’t much rice and flour entering the islands. And those who once frowned on what was considered “poor or country people” food, had no choice to to resort to eating it.

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For those of you not familiar with the Trinbagonian accent… “pong” simply refers to “pound”. So basically we’ll be pounding or mashing the yam in cooked salted cod and other ingredients to bring out the true essence of this wonderful “country” dish. This dish may have different names such as “yam choka” or “yam talkari”, but to me it’s pong up yam with saltfish. Besides using saltfish to flavour this recipe, I recall my mom also using left over stew pork as well. Usually this is a dish we would enjoy the day after we’ve had ground provisions. My mom would take the leftover pieces of yam, along with the saltfish or stew pork that was part of the original meal and cook it together for us to eat sada roti or fry bake with. Since I’m a novice at making roti (just waiting to get a good food processor that will help me make the dough), I make it into an entire meal and enjoy with a couple slices of zaboca (avocado).

Note: The yam I’m using in this recipe is NOT the type of sweet yams you get and use around Thanksgiving time in North America and will not come in a can. This yam is the real deal and makes up what we call ground provisions in the Caribbean. Also note that there are many varieties of this yam, including “Finger”, “Kush Kush” and “Juba” to name a few. All of which is rather soft when cooked and is fairly white in colour. However I’ve been to the local Caribbean grocers and have come across some varieties that comes from Jamaica (sort of a yellow yam) that very hard when cooked. I personally think  that variety will not work with this recipe, as it it will be to hard when boiled.

Final yam note… this yam my dad purchased at an Asian store in Toronto for me, but I don’t know if it’s actually Asian in nature or actually African. I do know that unlike most yams from the Caribbean, this one cooks (gets soft when boiled) very fast and has a wonderful texture when cooked.

You’ll Need…

1-2 lbs of yam (not the yams you have for Thanksgiving in North America)
1 teaspoon salt
1 medium onion sliced
dash of black pepper
4-6 tablespoons of olive oil
1/4 hot pepper (habanero or scotch bonnet) optional
1/8 of a green bell pepper diced small (sweet pepper)
4 oz salted fish (cod is great for this recipe)

Place the salted cod in a fairly deep bowl and cover with boiling water to remove the extra salt it was cured in. Allow this to soak for a few minutes until it’s cool enough for you to work with. In the meantime, peel the yam (see video below) and cut into pieces. Try to ensure that all the pieces are the same size so they all finish cooking at the same time. Rinse off the pieces of yam under cool water and place in a deep pot. The pot must be deep enough for water to cover the pieces of yam when boiling. Now place the pot over med-high heat and bring to a boil. When it starts boiling add the salt and turn down to the heat to a steady simmer/boil.

* Depending on the variety of yam you used and when that yam was harvested (if it’s harvested too early it will affect the cooking time) the time it takes to cook will vary. With the yam I used, it was cooked in under 15 minutes, but with normal Caribbean yam it won’t be done for at least 20 minutes +. Here’s how to test the yam to know if it’s fully cooked. Run a sharp knife through the pieces and if there’s no resistance, it means it’s done.

After you’ve tested that the yam is cooked (it will be soft, but firm) drain the water out and set it aside as we get ready for the next step. By now the hot water we poured over the salted fish should be cool. Drain that water, rinse with a new batch of cool water and squeeze off any excess water. The next step is to rip the fish into small pieces. I don’t think I mentioned it above, but I purchased the boneless type of salted fish.

In the same bowl you have the pieces of slated fish, add the sliced onion, hot pepper, black pepper and bell pepper.

Then in a fairly large saucepan over medium heat, add the olive oil. When the oil is hot add the fish and all the other ingredients and allow it to cook for about 6 minutes. Remember to stir occasionally.

The final step is to pour in the cooked yam and crush it, then stir to allow all the ingredients to combine. I used a wooden “pounder” (pestle) that I have, but you can also use a potato masher as well. If you don’t have either, simply use the back of your cooking spoon to mash or crush the yam pieces. It’s important that you stir often and prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the saucepan. Cook for a couple minutes (until everything is blended) and serve hot.

As mentioned above this is amazing as a side for roti or fry bake and just as great all on it’s own.

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Here’s a video I did a while back showing you how to peel yams…