Seafood Archives | Page 23 of 36

Immediately after posting the Island Style Chicken Strips Recipe, I started receiving requests for a fish version. A fish nugget recipe which will help encourage kids and picky eaters to give fish a try. When I hear people talk about hating fish and their only experience are those frozen fish sticks heated in an oven or microwave, I’m discouraged as I know that is not a good measuring-stick for fried fish. To achieve what I believe are the ultimate fish sticks or nuggets, we’ll start off with a wonderful Caribbean herb marinade, then dip the seasoned pieces of fish in a modified tempura batter, before frying them until they are golden brown.

You’ll Need…

1 lb Sole (any white fish)
1 teaspoon Caribbean Green Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon peppersauce

Veg oil for frying

Batter ingredients:

1 cup carbonated water (chilled)
pinch salt
pinch black pepper
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour (+ flour for dusting)
1 scallion (green part)
1/4 teaspoon curry powder (optional)

If you’re using previously frozen fish (I used Sole) as I did, make sure to squeeze the pieces to remove the excess water they are frozen in. Cut into bit sized pieces and get ready to season. Go in with the Caribbean Green Seasoning, 1/4 teaspoon salt, black pepper and peppersauce (or finely diced scotch bonnet / your fav hot sauce). Give it a good mix and let it marinate for 5-10 minutes.

Place all the ingredients for the batter in a bowl and whisk (try to have the carbonated water as cold as you can get it – beer will work great as well). Now set up a work station. Seasoned fish, batter and flour.

Heat the vegetable oil on a med/high flame, then take a piece of the seasoned fish (leave the marinade on it for max flavor), dust it in the dry flour and then dip into the batter. Gently add to the heated oil. Fry 2 -4 minutes on each side – until golden brown. Then place on a wire rack or paper towels to get rid of the excess oil from frying.

As you take the pieces of fried fish out of the oil, you can sprinkle on a tiny bit of sea salt (if salt is your thing).

Serve warm – with some ranch dressing (or your fav dipping sauce for fish) or as we do in our home, with some homemade peppersauce and ketchup. Personally I like making sandwiches with these wonderful pieces of battered fried fish, but they just as good with fresh cut fries. Maybe in the coming weeks I’ll share my KILLA seasoned fries recipe with you all.

Simple Recipe For Tasty Salmon In The Oven.

December 27, 2014December 27, 20144 Comments

Island life is closely connected to the ocean as well as the land on so many levels. Like the fresh herbs,vegetables and fruits we’re blessed with, the Caribbean Sea is packed with some the most delicious fish and seafood known to man. However when it comes to Salmon, it was more of a Good Friday dish and usually the salmon came in the form of a can (or “tin salmon” as it’s known). But if you’ve ever had stewed or curry salmon (yes the same stuff from the can) done the Caribbean way.. lets just say you’ll be amazed! Living in North America means fresh salmon is readily available in most supermarkets, so this is one of my go-to recipes when Tehya (shes the only one who really deals with the fish and seafood) and I get a hankering for baked salmon.

* You will notice that this is isn’t necessarily a “Caribbean” recipe, but I thought I’d still share it so you have some variety in your fish recipes repertoire. If doing this recipe gluten free do go through the entire list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs.

You’ll Need…

2 salmon steaks
1/2 white onion (sliced)
1 cup chopped grape tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped chives
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 sprigs dill
4 slices lemon

* Parchment paper

In a small bowl place the chopped tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, salt and black pepper and give it a good mix. Now tear off a large piece of parchment paper and in the middle drizzle on 1/2 the remaining olive oil, then layer on two lemon slices, a few onion rings and a sprig of dill. Place one of the salmon pieces on top of it and pour on 1/2 the tomato mixture we made.

Carefully wrap the fish as a package and try to seal it so the salmon steam cooks in its own juices and with the flavour ingredients we added to the parcel. If you want you can add additional black pepper and salt on top of the fish before sealing the parcels. Do the same of the next piece of salmon, then place them in an oven proof dish (you can add a bit of cooking spray or veg oil in the bottom of the dish)

Heat your oven to 375 F and place the dish on the middle rack. After about 15-18 minutes the salmon should be fully cooked (depending on how thick they are). Now you can personalize this by adding a bit of scotch bonnet pepper to give it a wicked kick and you certainly cook it longer if you so desire. But salmon (like all fish) can go dry and have a sort of cardboard texture if its overcooked.

There are so many flavors going on here in this simple baked salmon dish, I dare your kids and picky eaters not to enjoy this one. Well, unless they are Indy and Kieana who refuse to eat any fish but their grandmother’s fried King Fish, dipped in ketchup. They’ve been eating that ever since they could eat solids as toddlers.

Gluten Free Seafood

Festive Saltfish Buljol Recipe.

May 28, 2025December 9, 20146 Comments

This being the holiday season I thought I’d take a classic recipe for making saltfish buljol and put a little festive spin on it, to serve at your holiday party or to take with you as you visit family this holiday season. We’ll follow the same basic rules of making traditional saltfish buljol (basically a fish salad) and add a few other ingredients to help balance and brighten up the overall flavors of this classic dish. You’ll notice that I did post this under the gluten free recipe section, but do keep in mind that you’ll need a gluten free bread or cracker to serve these on, to meet with your complete gluten free dietary needs.

You’ll Need…

2 cups prepared salted fish (cod / shredded)
2 scallions (green part only)
1 cup diced mango
1 cup diced cucumber
1/2 cup diced tomato (seeded)
1/3 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 lemon (juice)
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 sprig thyme (chopped)
2 birds eye pepper (bird pepper) seeded and diced

The first step is to prepare the salted cod – place in a deep pot with cold water, bring to a boil, reduce and simmer for about 20 minutes (you can watch this video : How To Prepare Salted Fish For Use. Then drain, rinse with cool water and flake/shred. This process removes the majority of the salt (or it will be too salty) and rehydrates the fish. I would recommend using deboned salted fish as it makes for less work. But do remember to still be on the lookout for tiny bones as you flake the fish after boiling. Tip – after preparing the saltish, you can add it to a food processor and give it a couple pulses to get a lovely shredded texture.

Basically all you have to do now is dice the mango, tomato (please remove the seeds), scallion and cucumber. If you want to add more pizzazz to the dish you can also add some chopped grapes or pineapple.. or basically any firm fruit you like.

It’s all about assembling now. In a large blow place all the ingredients and gently fold together so you keep the shape of the mango and any tender fruit you use. I would then allow this to marinate for about 30 minutes, then top on your favourite cracker or bread.. in my case I used slices of French Baguettes. Another great idea would be to use lettuce leaves as wrappers and scoop some of the buljol in the middle and wrap them like spring rolls.

You’ll notice that we didn’t add any salt to this dish as the remaining salt from the salted cod (or whatever salted fish you use) will be enough to season this dish. Be carefully when handling the hot pepper and be sure to wash your hands with soap and water immediately after. I would not recommend assembling these (on the bread etc) until you’re about to serve it as the bread or cracker will go a bit soggy after about 30 minutes.

Gluten Free Seafood

Curry Conch Recipe (conch curry).

May 28, 2025November 16, 20142 Comments

This recipe takes me back to my childhood days when my brother and I would go scavenging for conch (small and large black snails) in the rivers and ravines surrounding our small village (Guaracara). So to be clear, these are not the ocean conchs that’s turned into salads, soups and stews, especially in the Bahamas. It was like a treasure hunt for us, looking between roots, rocks and other debris in the water to find these. Good Times!

Luckily I across these in the frozen section of the Asian market we shop at, so I now have the opportunity to share this curry conch recipe with you.

You’ll Need…

1 lb conch (cleaned and cut into pieces)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoon curry powder
1 heaping tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning
1/2 medium onion
2 tablespoon veg oil
5 cloves garlic
1/2 scotch bonnet pepper (adjust to your liking)
3 cups water (boiling)
2 scallions
1 tomato

Important: In the Caribbean we wash all meats and sea food with lime or lemon juice before seasoning/cooking, but in this case DO NOT do so. Instead rub with a bit of plain flour and water, drain and rinse. The acid from the lime or lemon juice will cause the conch meat to go really tough and no matter how much you cook it, it will not go tender. Also, if doing this recipe according to a gluten free diet, pay attention to the curry powder you use as some manufacturers add flour to the mix and it will not meet your gluten free dietary needs.

Wash and season the conch (cut into 1 inch pieces) with the salt, black pepper, Caribbean Green Seasoning, Scotch Bonnet and a bit of grated ginger (optional – not mentioned in the ingredient list). Give it a good mix and allow it to marinate for a couple hours in the fridge.

Heat the oil on a medium flame in a deep sauce pan (one with a lid) and go in with the diced garlic and onion – turn the heat to as low as it would go and let it cook for about 3 minutes. Then add the curry powder (heat still on low). This step we’re toasting the curry powder to release the flavors of all the spices which make up the curry powder. Cook for about 4 minutes, so you won’t get a raw curry taste when the dish is done cooking. It will go grainy, them clump and go darker and your house will have that lovely aroma of curry! Add a bit more veg oil if you find it’s starting to burn.

It’s now time to raise the heat to high and go in with the seasoned conch and stir well. Place the lid on the pan and bring to a boil. As it comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer, stir well and let it go for about 10 minutes. It will spring it’s own natural juices.

Now it’s time to really infuse the conch pieces with the curry, so turn up the heat to high and cook off all that natural juice which you see in the pan (lid off). It may take about 3-5 minutes. Go until you see the oil at the bottom of the pan, then go in with the boiling water and bring back to a boil. it’s important to use boiling water or again the conch will go tough.

Once it comes to a boil (we need patience now) reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, have the lid slightly ajar and let that go for about 1.5 to 2 hours. Yes it does take a while to go tender (this is VERY gamey). Remember to stir every 10 minutes or so.

After you’ve achieve the sort of tenderness you like, taste for salt, then turn up the heat to thicken the gravy. In most cases you’d find that traditionally curry conch is cooked dry (no gravy). The last 5 minutes of cooking is when you’d go in with the chopped tomato and scallions to give the dish a bit of color. You can even add a bit of chopped shado beni or cilantro if you like.

In my case I left it with a thick gravy as I was having this with steamed rice.

Looking back I can also remember mom would never want us to go unsupervised to the river and we would always get into problems with her. UNTIL we figured out how she knew when we went o the river and ravines – our legs would be dry and dirty from the muddy water. So we started taking coconut oil with us to use as lotion after playing in the river. BTW.. we never ate the conchs we’d catch and even today curry conch is not my thing.

Gluten Free Seafood

The Ultimate Garlic Shrimp Recipe.

November 2, 2014October 21, 20148 Comments

In the Caribbean we have an abundance of wonderful seafood in our waters, including some of the most tasty shrimp you’ll ever enjoy. Sadly, I don’t recall this dish ever being made by mom or as a matter of fact.. I had never seen it done on the islands when we were growing up. However this is a go-to recipe for me when I need my shrimp fix! The natural sweetness of the garlic and the creamy texture you get when you add the chilled butter, is just outstanding.

You’ll Need…

1 lb medium shrimp
pinch salt
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon chilled butter
1 tablespoon chopped parsley (flat leaf)
1 scallion
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper
2 heaping tablespoon diced garlic
pinch black pepper

Side Note: For this recipe I used organic garlic which I secured form a local farmer here in Hamilton and I must admit (been using the same garlic since) that without any doubt.. this is the BEST garlic I’ve ever used. Fleshy, sweet and a unique overall garlic flavor. You can use any garlic you have (fresh) access to, but getting organic garlic is well worth the effort (and price).

You’ll be surprised how quick and simple this recipe is to put together. Chop the scallion and parsley and finely dice the scotch bonnet pepper as well as the garlic. Clean, devein and wash the shrimp and drain dry.

Heat the oil in a heavy/wide saucepan on medium heat and go in with the cleaned shrimp. Cook for about 2-3 minutes.

Remember to stir so the shrimp cooks evenly. Now add all the other ingredients except the chilled butter and cook for two minutes. We DO NOT want to burn the garlic, so stir well.

Turn the heat off (or on very low) the heat and add the chilled butter, stir as you do so you get a rich and creamy sauce.

The diced scotch bonnet pepper (remember to wash your hands with soap and water after handling such hot peppers) is optional, but I quite like the slight kick you get to balance the natural sweetness from the shrimp and garlic. Yes, that gentle 2 minute cooking will allow the garlic to take on a gorgeous sweetness.

This gluten free (use gluten free butter – read label) is best served hot/warm and goes well with pasta and on toasted bread as a sandwich. Tehya and I had had them on ‘hops‘ bread.

Gluten Free Seafood

The Ultimate Grilled Stuffed Peppers.

November 17, 2014October 7, 2014Leave a Comment

This past summer our annual Month Of Grilling was a huge success with fans around the world. One of the featured recipes this year was the grilled stuffed peppers, where I played around with some classic “Caribbean” ingredients to achieve what I believe is a delightful way to do stuffed peppers. Though this recipe was done on the grill, you can easily prepare it in your indoor oven with great success.

You’ll Need…

5 bell peppers
3 cups cooked rice (long grain parboiled brown)
2 scallions (chopped)
1/2 medium onion (diced)
1 cup shredded saltfish (salted cod, prepared)
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper (diced fine)
1 tomato (diced/seeded)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar
1 tablespoon parsley
2 sprigs thyme
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

IMPORTANT: Use boneless salted cod and still check to make sure there are no bones as you prepare the salted fish.If you’re doing this recipe gluten free, please pay attention to the cheese (and every ingredient listed) you use as if it’s processed it may have trace amounts of gluten.

* NOTE : To learn how to prepare the salted cod, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-4xn6sFpIQ

Cut the tops off the peppers and remove the core (seeds etc) and give them a wash and turn over on paper towels to dry. Dice the onion, scallions and tomato into same size pieces. Then finely chop the parsley, thyme and scotch bonnet pepper. Remember to not include any seeds from the scotch bonnet and wash your hands immediately after with soap and water after handing it. Grate the cheese and set aside. You’ll need to precook the rice in salted water.. I used long grain parboiled brown rice.

Above I have a link to a video showing how to prepare the salted fish (cod in my case). Soak in cool water, then place in a pot topped with water and boil for about 20 minutes Drain, rinse with water and shred. The goal is to remove most of the salt the fish is cured in and to re-hydrate the fish.

Heat the olive oil in a deep pan on a medium/low heat, add the diced onion, 3/4 of the scallion, thyme, black pepper, parsley and tomato cook for about 3 minutes on low. Then add the salted cod and cook for another 2-3 minutes. The cod is fully cooked, but we want to get the rich flavors from it in the stuffing.

Allow the filling to cool a bit, then mix it with the cooked rice in a large bowl. Then add 3/4 of the grated cheese, mix well and get ready to stuff the peppers. As mentioned I did these on the grill so I opted to use my cast iron pan to grill these on. Basically all you have to do is drizzle on some oil (or use cooking spray) and place the peppers on there to be stuffed. TIP: If you find that the peppers don’t sit evenly on the pan, you can cut the bottom of them so they level off.

As you grill heats up, top each pepper with a bit of the cheese and scallion we reserved.

Grill indirectly for about 30-40 mins.. be sure to turn the peppers so they cook evenly. My grill was set at about 375 F, the lid was covered and if you’re wondering.. indirect simply means the pan was not directly over the heat source of my grill.

If you’re doing these gluten free stuffed peppers in the oven – 375 F on the middle rack and I would recommend covering with tin foil to start, then remove the foil the last 5 minutes of cooking so you get those lovely charred edges. If you want you can also hit the broil setting for 2 minutes.

I do hope you’re liking the fact that we’re now featuring Caribbean type gluten free recipes (thanks for all your emails). I encourage you to be creative with the stuffing.. even if it means using 2-3 different types of cheese!

It’s important to note that I didn’t use any salt in this recipe as the remaining salt from the salted fish will be enough to season this perfectly. But you can always taste the stuffing and adjust accordingly. If you want you can dice the bell peppers we trimmed off (top) and add it to the stuffing or you can use them as a lid for presenting these tasty stuffed peppers at your dinner party.

Seafood

Homemade Fish Nuggets (fried fish) Recipe.

Simple Recipe For Tasty Salmon In The Oven.

Festive Saltfish Buljol Recipe.

Curry Conch Recipe (conch curry).

The Ultimate Garlic Shrimp Recipe.

The Ultimate Grilled Stuffed Peppers.

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