Vegetarian Archives | Page 25 of 25

So what do you do with the left over stew chicken from the day before? Our main meal of the week in Trinidad and Tobago is usually “Sunday lunch”. I recall my mom going all out just about every Sunday, which usually included her famous stew chicken. As we were kids and didn’t eat much, there was usually left over chicken… that slowly changed as we grew older and our appetite increased. Back then, Monday dinners usually meant curry potato with the added chicken for extra flavor, paired with either rice or roti.

That tradition now continues in our household, but it’s not a Monday thing…

You’ll need…

2 large potatos

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1/8 teaspoon of black pepper

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil (any that can withstand high heat)

1 medium onion sliced

2 cloves of garlic sliced

1/4 of a hot pepper – habanero (only add if you like extra spicy)

leftover stew chicken (leave out chicken if you want it vegetarian)

2 cups water

4 tablespoons water

1 1/2 tablespoon of your favorite curry powder.

Peel and dice the potato into 1-2 inch pieces, then wash and keep handy. Prepare the garlic and onion by peeling and slicing into thin pieces. You may also crush the garlic if you wish, but I leave in slices so our girls can see them when the dish is complete. This way they can remove if they wish when eating.

I now add the curry powder to a bowl with the sliced onions and garlic.

In a heavy pan I place the oil over medium to high heat. Just before it starts to smoke, I add the curry, onion and garlic mixture and let cook for about 2 minutes. In the same small bowl that the curry mixture was in, I add the 4 tablespoons of water and rinse (get any curry that was left back). Now pour that water into the pot with the cooked curry, onions and garlic. Let that cook until the water evaporates and you now have a bit of a paste.

Our next step is to add the diced potato and move around, so everything gets coated. This can take a couple minutes.

Add the salt, pepper, habanero and remaining water. The goal is to try and have enough water to cover the potato so it will cook evenly.

Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and cover. Allow this to cook for about 15-20 minutes or until the potato is tender and starts to melt away to form a nice thick sauce. Here is where the dish goes from being vegetarian… Add the pieces of leftover chicken and let simmer for about 5 minutes. If you’re going with the vegetarian version, allow to thicken and serve at this point.

The goal is to allow the runny sauce to thicken up, so you may have to crush the potato a bit if necessary by pressing down on them with the back of your cooking spoon. Please taste for salt and add if necessary. I’m not a heavy salt eater, so you may find that some of my dishes do require more salt – basically to your taste!

Tip. If you live in a country where your home is closed up for the winter months and you’re worried about the curry smell lingering around, burn a candle (scented is great) during and after you’re done cooking. If the smell is really strong (depends on the curry powder you use), you add either a vanilla bean or piece of cinnamon to a couple cups of water and boil for a bit. The fragrance will envelop your home, but you may feel like having apple pie.

Share your thoughts on this and all the recipes on CaribbeanPot.con by using the comment box at the bottom of each recipe posted.

Mango chow – the pleasure and the pain.

May 28, 2025April 11, 200937 Comments

One of my favorite snacks when mango was in season as a kid on the islands was mango chow. Even today, whenever we meet at family gatherings, there’s usually a bowl of chow in the midst. I can still recall eating away at this piping-hot combination of tart fruit, garlic and herbs… balanced with the wonderful juice of a fresh squeezed lime or lemon. I guess you were thinking sweet and savory when you think “snack”.

Seems everyone I’ve met over the years makes this a bit different, but you can’t go wrong with my take on mango chow.

You’ll need…

1 green mango (near to ripe is best)

1/4 teaspoon of salt

dash of black pepper (optional)

1 tablespoon shado beni hot sauce (or 1/4 cup cilantro or 1/8 cup of shado beni – finely chopped)

2-3 cloves of garlic (depends how much you like garlic)

1 lime or lemon

1-2 habanero peppers (or your favorite hot pepper)

1 shallot (optional)

Let’s get started. In a bowl, place the salt, sliced pepper, garlic and shallots. For a stronger flavor, instead of slicing the pepper and garlic, crush it with the salt using a pestle.

Wash and peel the mango using a pairing knife or potato peeler. Then slice into wedges and place in the bowl. Remember that the mango will have a hard core (seed) so you won’t be able to slice all the way through. Now add the shado beni hot sauce if you have some stored, or add the fresh shado beni / cilantro.

Basically the only ingredient you should have left is the lime or lemon. Squeeze the lime into the mixture you have in the bowl and toss around using a spoon. Sometimes we’re tempted to use our hands, but remember that you used those hot peppers so it may leave your hand burning if you do.

Taste for salt at this point and add as necessary. Depending on how tart the mango is, you may require some more salt. You have 2 options now.. dig in or cover with plastic wrap and let it marinate in the fridge for a couple hrs. If you decide to have it marinate, be sure to toss it around every 30 minutes or so for best results.

Do you use another fruit for making chow? Maybe your recipe is totally different! Leave us your comments…please.

Meat & Poultry Vegetarian

Shredded salad with or without leftover chicken.

May 27, 2025April 6, 200942 Comments

This one can work both ways, with or without the chicken so you can enjoy just the same if you’re a vegetarian. Some of you are probably saying that this is just a plain salad, but when you kick-in the bbq or jerk sauce to the chicken pieces, your taste buds will be asking questions… what took you so long to introduce me to this sexy number.

A great side or full course on a Monday night when you’ve got extra chicken from Sunday dinner and you’re looking for something light.

You’ll need….

1 medium Iceberg lettuce
1 medium Boston lettuce (can also use a red lead lettuce)
1 Carrot
1 English cucumber (about 6 inch piece)
1/4 of a small red onion
Your fav salad dressing

Optional

– leftover chicken (roast or bbq)
– your fav BBQ sauce (jerk would be excellent)
– salt and pepper to taste

Take the core out of the iceberg lettuce (stem and hard inner) by cutting the lettuce into 2 pieces (makes it easier to get rid of the core parts). Place on cutting board and with the use of a big sharp knife, cut into thin pieces – shred or julienne.

Place the shredded lettuce in a large salad bowl. Now wash, peel (use a potato peeler) and julienne the carrots into 2 inch lengths.

Place the julienne carrots into the salad bowl. Now it’s time to work with the Boston lettuce. Break off the leaves and rip into bite size pieces. Place the pieces into a salad spinner and run cold water over it. Boston lettuce is famous for packing sand on it’s journey to the supermarket. So we must wash really well.

After you’ve rinsed the Boston lettuce a couple times and spun it dry.. add to the salad bowl. Wash and peel the cucumber, using a potato peeler. Now slice very thin so when your fork hits the salad it can grab a bit of everything and not just a massive piece of cucumber. Do the same for the red onion. Along with making my cuts very thin, I go on an angle, so i never get a full ring. Our girls hate onions, so the less they can see it, the better the chance of them eating the salad. Plus, no one wants to bite down on a huge piece of onion.

With the lettuce (both types), red onion, carrot and cucumber in the salad bowl. Cut the tomato into wedges, get rid of the seeds, rib and stem parts. Now wash in cold water and pat dry with a paper towel, then add to the salad bowl. Toss salad now!

In a large non stick pan on medium heat, add about 2 table spoons of your favorite BBQ sauce or to make this really Caribbean-like, add jerk sauce ( I love the “Grace” brand when I’m not making it from scratch). Cut the leftover chicken into strips and add to the heated jerk sauce. Then top with about 2 more table spoons of sauce. We really want to coat all the chicken pieces. Let cook until heated through, since the chicken was already cooked from the day before.

Now it’s time plate and serve.. you’re done!

Tip 1. Add the tomato just before serving. It tends to spring juices and get the salad a bit soggy.

Tip 2. I would get guests to add their salt and pepper. If you add the salt to the entire bowl of salad, the cucumber will tend to spring juices and get the salad a bit soggy.

Tip 3. Add the chicken just before serving. you have the option of cold or hot. If you’re going with cold, you can cook and place in the fridge with the salad in a different container. Hot or warm will enhance the jerk sauce.

Tip 4. Ask guests to not add salad dressing, but get them to toss the pieces of chicken that’s coated in the jerk or bbq sauce. The entire salad will pick up on the flavors.

Tip 5. Not really a tip, but this can be served without the chicken and enjoyed by your vegetarian guests.

I never though that posting a “salad” recipe would take so much work. I really hope you give this one a shot!

Chris…

Vegetarian

Hearty Pumpkin, Pigeon Peas and Christophene Soup.

March 27, 2009March 27, 200987 Comments

Stew or Soup? In the Caribbean what we call “soup” is usually very hearty and in places like Canada and the US they would be considered “stews”. A great meal in one pot! Last fall I put this one together with the help from my mom (my personal recipe book) over the phone. Her original version did contain salted meat.

Ingredients.

25g / 1 oz butter or margarine

1 onion, chopped.

2 garlic cloves crushed

2 carrots, sliced

1 – 15g / 4 oz seeded, peeled pumpkin, chopped

1 Christophene, peeled, stoned and chopped (same size as the pumpkin)
Hearty Pumpkin Stew With Pigeon Peas and Christophene.

1 – 15g / 4 oz pigeon peas (that’s about a 1/3 of a normal can)

600 ml / 2 1/2 cups of vegetable stock.

2 sprigs of thyme (dried if you can’t get fresh)

1 tbsp fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves chopped.

25-50 g / 1-2 oz coconut cream (liquid or solid)

2.5 ml / 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

hot pepper

salt

Fun Fact : The chayote (Sechium edule), also known as sayote, tayota, choko, chocho, chow-chow, christophene, mirliton, and vegetable pear, is an edible plant that belongs to the gourd family Cucurbitaceae along with melons, cucumbers and squash.

Step 1.

Melt the butter or margarine in a large saucepan and saute the onion and garlic for a few minutes until the onion is soft. You may want to cook the onion a bit before adding the garlic, since garlic is know to burn fast and become very bitter. .

Step 2.

Stir in the carrots, pumpkin, christophene, pigeon peas, stock and thyme at this point. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Step 3.

Add the coriander, coconut, cinnamon, hot pepper and salt (to taste). Simmer until the vegetables are tender and the sauce is reduced and thick (agin to your liking.. I like mine thick) . Serve hot… garnish with coriander.

Here’s a peek at the finished product…

Do you have another version of this recipe? We welcome you to post your comments or submit your recipe and be featured on one of the fastest growing websites dedicted to Caribbean culinary culture.

Chris…