The Vibrant Caribbean Pot Cookbook
Soup Season Cookbook
Get My Latest Cookbooks
On Sale Now

One Kitchen, Many Cultures

Seafood

Caribbean Spinach With Shrimp Recipe.

Today we’ll be using two of my favorite ingredients in a combination similar to how our mom would do bhaji (dasheen bush) and salted fish (salt cod) when we were kids. With a little heat from scotch bonnet peppers and with a wicked garlic/onion base, it will be outstanding. And very quick to put together.

You’ll need…

1 med onion
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 bunch spinach
2 cloves garlic
pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper
1 cup pre-cooked shrimp.

Note: You can leave out the scotch bonnet pepper if you’re concerned about the heat (it’s minimal) and do try to get tiny pre-cooked shrimp as they tend to be “sweeter” as we say in the Caribbean.

This is a very quick recipe as spinach cooks really fast and the shrimp is already pre-cooked.

Heat the oil on a medium flame and add the diced onion and garlic. Turn the heat down to low and let it cook (soften) for about 3-4 minutes.

Wash and drain the spinach, turn up the heat to medium high and add the washed spinach. Top with the black pepper, scotch bonnet pepper  and salt. Add the shrimp (I would recommend giving them a rinse in cool water and drain before adding to the pot) and give it a good stir. Do not cover the pan (you don’t want to create any additional moisture). It will quickly start to wilt and darken in colour.

Here is where you’ll personalize it a bit. When it’s cooked to your liking (about 3-4 minutes for me) turn off the stove. Remember to taste for salt and adjust accordingly.

Note: The spinach will naturally release liquid, so you may have to turn up the heat on your stove to burn that off quickly and not over-cook the spinach.

There’s enough here for 3-4 people as a side dish, so feel free to add more spinach if you’re cooking for a bigger party. Simply adjust the salt! If you can’t source spinach, Jamaican callaloo (or chorai bhaji) would be a good substitute.. just cook longer to soften.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. oh yea! leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.

Desserts

Peanut Butter Stuffed Prunes.

It’s always the little things in life you tend to cherish and miss. As a boy on the islands I fondly recall these wonderful treats at parties and any sort of social gathering and how much they remind me of happy times. When one thinks about dessert, prunes is definitely not something which comes to mind. After-all, people only eat prunes if they have problems going to the bathroom..right?  WRONG! And I’ll prove it with this simple recipe.

You’ll Need…

Pitted Prunes
Smooth Peanut Butter

Notes. You can certainly use prunes with the seeds, but it’s takes a lot of time to remove them. Other than peanut butter, you can also stuff them with Nutella or a combination of nutella and peanut butter. For a more fancy finish you can place the peanut butter in a piping bag and use that to stuff the prunes.

* Remember if you’re serving this to guests, to mention that there is peanuts in this in the event there are any relating allergies.

The amount of prunes and peanut butter needed depends on how many of these you plan on making. You’ll need about 1/2 teaspoon peanut butter for each prune.

Using a pairing knife or scissors cut a slit in each prune, about 1 inch across and deep enough to stuff (be careful). Then open each slit and stuff with about 1/2 teaspoon peanut butter. You’re done!

You can make these in advance and place them (covered) in the fridge for a a day or two. This is without a doubt the fastest recipe I’ve ever shared and those of you familiar with these lovely treats may not even see this as being a recipe.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. Oh yea! leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.