Now here’s an old-school ingredient I had not seen in over 25 years, nor had the pleasure to eat in just as long a time. Growing up in the countryside (Guaracara) in Trinidad and Tobago we called this petite tambo, but I do know others who called it tipi tambo and/or topi tambo as well.
You’ll Need...
2-3 lbs Topi Tambo 1 teaspoon sea salt (any salt) water
Note! As I mentioned in the previous recipe post, the camera I use for taking stills to use on website posts isn’t functioning properly, so I’m unable to make the post images focused… so it’s easier to follow along. That said, this is as simple a recipe can come, but you can still follow along using the video below.
Place the topi tambo in a large bowl filled with water and give them a good wash/scrub. In the process, remove any stems and tiny little roots.
Topi Tambo are grown in the dirt, like yams, potato, peanuts etc, so a good washing is necessary. If memory serves me correct, the plants look similar to ginger as well as turmeric (same type of foliage).
After they’ve been washed thoroughly, place them in deep pot covered with water and bring to a boil. Toss in the sea salt (use any salt you have on hand) and stir well.
Then reduce to a rolling boil and cook for 30-45 minutes or until tender. It’s as if you’re cooking potatoes basically.
Once cooked, drain and cool. Then peel back the skin and enjoy. They will have the same sort of texture of water chestnuts, but with a more pronounced (clean) flavor. While I’ve never tried it, I think tossing in some salted pigtail or smoke meats (turkey etc), could enhance the flavor.
This recipe is based loosely on the way mom would make fried chicken for us as children. It’s a recipe I did quite often when my daughters were growing up (to prevent them asking for McDonalds) and something I still do when I get Chicken Tenders on sale at the market.
You’ll Need…
salted crackers (about 1/2 a pack) 2 lbs chicken tenders vegetable oil (3 cups) 1 tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning 3/4 teaspoon sea salt 1/3 teaspoon black pepper 3 eggs (whisked) 1 cup all-purpose flour
Feel free to season the whisked eggs with a bit of salt and black pepper if you wish. I use vegetable oil for frying, but you can use whichever oil you like frying with. If you wanted to give these a go in your air fryer, spray them with a bit of cooking spray (oil) first.
Season the chicken tenders with the Caribbean Green Seasoning, salt and black pepper. Mix well to coat all the pieces of chicken. No need to marinate for long… maybe just the time you need to prep everything else.
You may use bread crumbs you can purchase at your bakery or grocery store, but I’m doing as our mom would do when we were growing up on the islands.
Place the salted crackers in a large zipper bag (or tea towel) and smash to crumbs with a rolling pin. The beauty of doing it this way is that you won’t have uniform crumbs, but some pieces will be bigger than others, thus giving the finished chicken tenders a uniqueness.
Now prep your breading station. The seasoned chicken, eggs (whisked) in a bowl, flour and the crumbs we made from the crackers.
Grab the tenders, dust it in the flour, then into the whisked eggs (shake off the excess egg), then roll/pat it in the crumbs. Repeat until you’re all done. I set each coated piece of chicken tender on a cookie sheet as I worked my way through them all.
Heat your veg oil on a med high heat in a wide pan, then add the breaded pieces of chicken.. don’t crowd the pan.
Fry, flip and fry again, for about 3-4 minutes on each side. Drain on a wire rack (on a cookie sheet to catch the excess oil). I explain why I don’t use paper towels in the video below.
As you take them out of the hot oil, you may sprinkle on some sea salt if you wish. I didn’t as I’m trying to cut back on the salt in my diet.
This version of “fry” Corned-beef aka Bully Beef is inspired by after-school visits to my Jamaican friend’s home and the way his grandma (RIP granny) would make it. Her version was a bit more runny/saucy as I believe she would add a 1/4 cup or so of water.. I talk about this in the video below.
You’ll Need…
1 can corned beef 1 medium onion (sliced) 1 medium tomato (sliced) 1 small habanero pepper (sliced) 1 small carrot (thin strips) 1/2 green bell pepper (diced) 1/2 orange bell pepper (diced) 2 scallions (chopped) 1 cup frozen corn 1 tablespoon ketchup 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1 clove garlic (smashed)
I used a whole Habanero pepper, including the seeds. Use as much as you can handle, or any spicy pepper you like. Remove the seeds and white membrane of the pepper to control the heat level slightly. Finally, as we’ve discussed in the past, wear gloves and wash you hands with soap and water immediately after handling such spicy peppers.
Prep the vegetables in advance as this is supposed to be a quick side dish to top steaming hot rice, on sandwiches or even toss your fav cooked pasta into the mix. Growing up, we would enjoy the version mom would make, with hot Sada Roti or as mentioned previously, on top of hot long grain rice.
Place the opened tin of corned beef in a dry non-stick pan… I explain why I don’t start with oil in the pan, as well as why I don’t add any salt, in the video below.
On a low heat, break up the corned beef into pieces.. it will be easier as it heats up.
Add the black pepper, carrot, bell peppers, habanero pepper, onion, frozen corn and tomato.
Stir well to make sure everything is mixed together nicely. Cook on a medium heat and at this point add the ketchup and garlic.
After about 6 minutes with the lid on.. BOOM! You’re Done. Toss in the scallions to finish!
Bully beef (also known as corned beef in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Singapore and other Commonwealth countries as well as the United States) is a variety of meat made from finely minced corned beef in a small amount of gelatin. The name “bully beef” likely comes from the French bouilli (meaning “boiled”) in Napoleonic times, or possibly from the head of a bull depicted on the popular Hereford brand of canned corned beef. The cans have a distinctive oblong shape. Bully beef and hardtack biscuits were the main field rations of the British Army from the Boer War to World War II.
Here’s my take on a classic Jamaican Jerk Dry Rub! A recipe I’ve tailored to my own taste, as you won’t see any Paprika (as in many recipes online) and to be honest with you, dried thyme is NOT my fav. However it’s a key ingredient in any Jamaican jerk rub or marinade you’ll ever come across, so I included it.
Note! To add a smoky undertone (if you won’t be using a smoker or grilling over charcoal), the smoked Paprika I mentioned that I didn’t use above, will work. NO, regular pepper flakes will NOT give you the same effect as the Scotch Bonnet pepper flakes. But if that’s all you can source, so be it.
I find that by crushing the Pimento (allspice) berries, it gives the finished rub a much deeper flavor. However, the ground stuff will work, if you don’t want the work or you don’t have a heavy mortar and pestle.
The addition of the Bay Leaf compliments the Pimento Berries as the have the same flavor profile, so I’d recommend using them. Those I crushed also. A spice grinder will also work.
To be honest, that’s the only real work involved in putting this wicked Jamaican Jerk Rub together. Basically all you have to do now is place all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well to combine.
Use fresh or store in a airtight glass jar. I prefer a glass jar as the flavors of the rub is very strong and can leave a scent-stain on plastic containers. Store in a cool, dry/dark place in the airtight jar and it will last you a few months easily. Give it a good shake before using next.
Do keep in mind that I didn’t use any salt in this rub as I much prefer to control that, depending on what I’ll be using the rub on. Speaking about use, it can be used on vegetables, fish, shrimp, pork, chicken (poultry) and lamb.
My fave is smoked/grilled dry rub chicken. Trim the excess skin and fat off chicken pieces, dust generously with the Jamaican Jerk Dry Rub, allow it to marinate for a couple hours (or go directly onto your grill), then grill as you’d normally do.
Circling back on my comment above about dried thyme… while I’m no fan of it, fresh thyme out of my garden is my JAM! I can use that herb on everything I cook.
Do keep in mind that this will be SPICY and if you use your hands to rub onto whatever you’re grilling, wash with soap and water immediately after.
Dry, Bland and “Like Rubber“! A few words the average Caribbean person will use to describe curry (curried) chicken breast (white meat). And while there’s some truth to this, I’m here today to change that forever.. with a few simple steps.
You’ll Need…
3-4 lbs chicken breast (no skin nor bones) 1 teaspoon salt (adjust) 2 tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning 1/2 medium onion (diced) 6 cloves garlic (smashed) 2-3 tablespoon olive oil 1 1/2 – 2 tablespoon curry powder 1 teaspoon ground roasted cumin (geera) 1 teaspoon Anchar Masala 3 cups water 2 medium tomatoes (diced) 2 tablespoon cilantro (chopped) 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Important! If doing this recipe gluten free please go through the full list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs. Especially the curry powder you use, as some may have flour as a filler. I find using a heavy pan (like cast iron) gives you better results. I also like cooking this dish outdoors (the strong scent indoors can last a long time).
Heat the oil on a medium flame. Then add the onion and garlic, turn the heat down to low and cook for 3 minutes. Then add the Caribbean green seasoning and stir well. Typically you’d season the chicken with the Caribbean Green seasoning, but we’re doing things differently. After 3 minutes after adding the Green Seasoning, add the curry powder and stir well.
The curry will go darker as we cook it (heat still on low). After 4 minutes add the diced tomato, this will help give you a thick gravy at the end, PLUS the acidity will help balance the overall flavor of the curry. Stir well, then add the water.
Turn the heat to medium to bring it to a boil. As you start seeing little bullbles, add the black pepper, salt, anchar masala and geera.
Turn the heat down to med/low and simmer for about 8-10 minutes. Toss in the peppers (whole). Feel free to make it spicy by using a more SPICY pepper.
The liquid will reduce by about a third, add the pieces of chicken breast (2 inch pieces) and stir well to coat with the curry sauce.
Cook for 7-10 minutes as we don’t want to make the chicken dry. Turn off the heat, toss in the cilantro to finish things off. Or if you have fresh Shado Beni(culantro), use that instead of the cilantro.
Remember to taste for salt and adjust to your liking. Note! If you break the peppers it will make the dish spicy.
Here’s another Caribbean Classic! Curry Stew Goat.. seasoned with an exciting curry-based marinade, then brown-stewed as it’s typically done on the islands. It’s then cooked slowly to develop rich flavors and fall-off-the-bone tenderness. #Goatober
You’ll Need…
4-5 lbs goat (bone in) 1 1/2 tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning 1 teaspoon salt (adjust) 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1 medium onion (sliced) 1 medium tomato (diced) 1 scotch bonnet pepper (sliced) 3-4 cups water 1/2 cup coconut milk powder 5-8 cloves garlic (whole) 1 tablespoon grated ginger 1 1/2 tablespoon golden brown sugar + 2 tablespoon olive oil 1-2 tablespoon parsley (chopped) 2 limes (juice) for washing the goat.
Important! If doing this recipe gluten free, please go through the full list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs. Especially the curry powder you use, as some may have flour as a filler and thickener.
this recipe will work with lamb and I find that you get better results with using bone-in goat. Do ask your butcher to cut it into small pieces as you will struggle to get through the bones with your everyday chef’s knife of clever.
Trim the excess fat and wash the meat (with lime juice and cool water), drain well, then season with the salt, curry powder, black pepper, Caribbean Green Seasoning, onion, tomato, scotch bonnet pepper (adjust to the heat level you can handle) and grated ginger. Mix well!
Marinate overnight or at least 2 hours in the fridge.
Heat the oil in a deep pot (heavy cast iron works best) on a medium / high flame, then add the sugar. This is the stewing or browning part. The curry element was added when we seasoned and marinated the goat.
This step is crucial as we don’t want to BURN the sugar. The sugar will melt, go frothy, then we need it to go a deep amber color (yes the kitchen will go a bit smoky). At this point (be careful) add the seasoned goat to the pot and stir to coat in the caramelized sugar. Should it go beyond amber (BLACK), STOP. Allow the pot to cool completely, wash, dry and start over. Burnt Sugar will give you a bitter taste.
watch the video below to see how I did the step mentioned above.
Turn the heat to medium/low, add the whole cloves of garlic and cover the pot. It will sprout up it’s own natural juices. Let it go for about 10 minutes with lid on.
Place the water in the same bowl you marinated the goat in and swish around to pick up any remaining marinade.
After 10 minutes, remove the lid and crank up the heat to burn off all that natural liquid. In the process we’ll develop a lovely color. It will take 4-6 minutes. The goal is to see the oil we started off with and no liquid at the bottom of the pot. Please stir so we get even browning, as this happens.
When this is achieved, pour in the water (from the bowl we marinated the goat in) and bring to a boil. Add the coconut powder and stir well to incorporate. As it comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until tender (lid on, but slightly ajar).
Depending on how old/mature the goat was when it was butchered it can take between 2 and 3 hours on that simmer to be tender. In rare cases it can take up to 4 hours.
Taste for salt, adjust the gravy (thickness) to your liking (add more water if you find that the goat is still tough) and top with the parsley. Goat can be fatty and the parsley tends to help cut some of that.. I also like adding some lemon zest at times too, for the same reason.
While you will see similarities with this Onion Choka andClassic Pepper Choka (basically roasted hot peppers made into a SPICY condiment), with the simplicity (and the perfect blend of flavor and texture) of this version, it could easily be your new favorite side to curry dishes. TIP! Use as much thinly sliced onion as YOU desire.
You’ll Need…
6 hot peppers 6 – 8 cloves garlic 1 Large Red Onion 3/4 teaspoon sea salt 1 cup olive oil
Important! This is meant to be SPICY! Wash your hands and/or wear gloves when handling such hot peppers. Please go through the entire list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary requirements.
To help control the heat level and for a unique flavor (you wont get with mature ripe peppers), I like using the peppers which are green and about 90 % mature. During the summer months I simply grill them until charred on my outdoor grill. However (being careful) you can roast them until charred on your gas stovetop. Be mindful that if using metal tongs, it can heat up all the way to your hands after a while.
Once the peppers are cooled (enough to handle), place them (stems removed) along with the garlic and salt into your mortar and smash it with the pestle until it’s broken down. You DO NOT want a paste, but something more chunky.
May I suggest you be very careful when smashing it, as the liquid and pieces of pepper can go flying and could end up making contact with your eyes. Yes, you may use a food processor if you wish – but PULSE! I usually use one hand to hold the pestle and the other to cover or shield whatever I’m crushing (so it remains in the mortar).
THINLY slice the onions (use as much as you like as we want the onions to be the star of the recipe) and place it directly over the now crushed roasted peppers and garlic. A typical pepper choka will not have as much onion as the focus in that recipe will be the peppers.
We’re almost done. Heat the oil in frying pan until you see whispers of smoke, then (be careful) pour it directly over the raw onions. This will take the raw edge off the onions and add a wonderful flavor to the completed onion choka. This step is called “Chunkay”.
Give it a proper stir and enjoy! The heat from the peppers (and smoky flavor from charring), flavors of the garlic and onion, and the slight crunch from the raw onions.. definitely one of my fav condiments to enjoy with curry dishes. Store in a clean glass container in the fridge for up to a week.
Besides the onions being the key to this choka, you’ll also love the oil drizzled over whatever you’re eating. As I mentioned above about adding as much onion as you want, the same goes for the heated oil. It will be one of the best pepper oils you’ve ever had.
No you’re not seeing double! If you’ve been following my culinary exploits here from day one, you would have seen me share a similar Curry Chicken With Potato (aloo) recipe about 8 years ago. And while that recipe is timeless, the google indexing bots are no longer as kind to the website, so if you were do do a search online you’ll never find that classic (original) recipe.
You’ll Need…
3-4 lbs chicken 3/4 tablespoon salt (adjust) 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 3 tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning(divided) 3 tablespoon olive oil 1 medium onion (sliced) 5-8 cloves garlic (smashed) 1/2 scotch bonnet pepper 5 1/2 cups water (divided) 2 heaping tablespoon curry powder 1 teaspoon roasted geera (cumin) 1 teaspoon anchar masala 5 medium potatoes (cut into 1/4’s) 3 tablespoon chopped cilantro
Important! if doing this recipe gluten free, please go through the full list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs. Especially the curry powder – read the label if you don’t make your own. I used an extra Habanero pepper (floated) in this dish as I enjoy my curry very spicy.
Watch the video below to see how I broke down a whole chicken for this recipe. Feel free to use thighs or drums if that is what you have on hand or prefer using. Additionally, you may use chicken breast, but IMHO you get better results with bone in/ dark meat.
Season the chicken with the salt, black pepper and 2 tablespoon of the Caribbean Green Seasoning. Stir well and allow to marinate for a couple hours in the fridge.
Heat your deep pot on a medium flame and add the oil. Followed by the onion, garlic and scotch bonnet pepper. Turn the heat down to low and gently cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add the remaining Caribbean Green Seasoning and stir. 30 seconds later add the curry powder and mix well.. heat still on low please. This step will toast the curry powder and bloom the spices which makes up the curry powder.
4 Minutes later, crank the heat to high and add 1/2 cup water, stir and then add the Geera and anchar masala (you can get this on amazon or your local Caribbean market – or double up on the roasted geera aka cumin). The goal here is to do two things. 1 Cook out the rawness of the curry and 2. to burn off the water we added to intensify the flavor of the curry base.
It will go dark, thick and perfume the kitchen with all the curry niceness. As soon as all the liquid is gone and you can see the oil we started with, add the seasoned chicken and stir well to coat each piece.
Bring to a boil (about 3-4 minutes), turn the heat down to medium and cover the pot. In the same bowl you marinated the chicken swish around the 5 cups of water and set aside for now.
After 4 minutes with that lid on, you’ll notice a lot of liquid sprouted. Turn the heat back up to high and burn off that liquid to intensify the overall flavor of the curry. (lid off).
3-4 minutes on high and the liquid should be gone. Add the potato, stir and add the 5 cups of water to fully cook the chicken and get the potatoes tender and falling apart.
As soon as it comes to a boil, turn the heat down to a rolling boil, lid on (slightly ajar) and allow it to cook for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. This is where I floated the Habanero pepper (not mentioned in the ingredient list) .. if you do, you can break it later on as I did, to release the fury or don’t break to get the flavor of the oil on the outside of the pepper and not the raw heat.
Here is where you’ll taste it for salt and adjust to your liking. Also, you can (up to you) use your spoon to crush some of the potato pieces to help thicken the gravy.
I allowed the pot to go for 4 minutes with the lid off and then it was time to turn off the stove, toss in the cilantro (better if you have shado beni) and get ready for an incredible curry dish. IMPORTANT! If it looks runny, please note that it will thicken up as it cools down.
Back to using chicken breast… be sure to check out my Curry Chicken Breast video if you like white meat and you don’t want dry, bland and tough curry chicken without bones and dark meat.
Roasted Carrots and Beets is simply not a recipe you’ll associate with the Caribbean. During my time as a young fella on the islands, I don’t think I ever once saw beets being sold in the market.. as a matter of fact, I didn’t taste beets until I moved to North America. How times have changed… if you watched my Caribbean Markets #Gallivanting videos, you’ll quickly notice how easy they are to source at the farmers’ markets.
Note! If doing this recipe gluten free, please go through the entire list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs. I’m roasting these beets on my propane grill, but it can be done on a charcoal or wood grill or done just as easily in your indoor (kitchen) oven.
I used a medley of carrots (colors), which I peeled with a potato peeler or you can scrape them with a knife. The beets were red and yellow or orange beets (color)… peel with a pairing knife and cut into 1/4s. Give everything a wash and drain.
Important! When peeling the red beets it will bleed though onto your hand and finger, so do wear gloves. The small beets I cut into 1/2.
Place everything into a roasting pan and drizzle on the olive oil.
Then hit it with the sea salt, black pepper, thyme, grated ginger, lemon juice and garlic. Give it a good mix to coat the carrots and beets.
While you wait for your grill to heat to 375, cover the roasting pan with aluminum foil. Then into the hot grill and put the lid on to give it that oven effect.
After 30 minutes, remove the foil and continue roasting. Be sure to toss it a few times to roast off evenly.
After 30 minutes (1 hr total cook time) after removing the lid (foil), they should be full cooked (poke with a pairing knife to make sure there’s no resistance). Toss in the parsley and get ready to serve.
While I didn’t learn to make this in the Caribbean, it’s very much made and enjoyed in our Caribbean household in Canada. AND enjoyed when I prepare it for family and friends when we visit the Caribbean, since beets are grown and marketed locally now.
Somehow it seems that Caribbean People always got some leftover rice in a ‘butter dish’ (any plastic reusable container) in the fridge. And after filming the Tantalizing Pepper Pork video demo, I thought.. why not a fried rice for lunch. BTW old school Caribbean use the term “butter dish” as back in the day, margarine and butter came in plastic containers with lids and we’re famous for repurposing such containers. There’s always one or 10 in my parent’s fridge with leftover food.
This is a very quick dish to put together, so may I recommend that you have all the ingredients prepared in advance.
Heat the oil on medium flame in your wok or frying pan, then add the onion and garlic, stir and cook until you start seeing brown edges on the garlic (1-2 minutes). The goal is to NOT burn the garlic.
Add he pork (cut into skinny small pieces) to the pot and stir to heat through and to take on more flavor from the garlic and onion.
I had a couple Wiri Wiri peppers left from cooking the Pepper Pork, so I added them to the pot (OPTIONAL) to give the dish more KICK!
3 minutes later add the sesame oil and oyster sauce and cook for 2 minutes. Toss in the rice and top with the mushroom soy sauce.
Mix everything well and heat through. Finish with the chopped scallions and enjoy.
Feel free to add cabbage, bell pepper, bean sprouts, carrots etc if you wish to use up what you’ve got in the fridge or to simply personalize this fried rice to your liking. The rice was cooked in salted water and chilled. Chilled rice will give you a more grainy fried rice and prevent the mushy texture so many of us dislike.
I’m not a huge fan of ‘cooked’ pepper sauces (say peppersauce – one word), as I find that the cooking process subdue the true flavors of the ingredients, especially the peppers. So you’ll notice that most of the pepperauce (hot sauce) recipes I’ve shared over the years were mostly raw. However in this recipe the charring of the pineapple on a hot grill (propane, wood or charcoal) makes a huge difference in the overall flavor of the sauce.
Peel and slice the pineapple into 1 cm slices, then head over to your grill and grill over a 375-400 fire. Basically until you see the grill marks, it’s softened and the edges are a bit charred. This will help the natural sugars of the ripe pineapple to heighten and the sauce will also get a gentle kiss of smoke from the charred bits.
Set the grilled pineapple slices aside and lets start to work on the other ingredients.
WEAR GLOVES! Wash the peppers, remove the stems and give them a rough chop to help the food processor or blender that you’re using, to have an easier time making this into a sauce that we can bottle.
Now give the grilled pineapple slices a rough chop and place it into the food processor along with the other ingredients.
Yes, do give the garlic and Shado Beni a rough chop too.
Basically all you have to do now is pulse it until you get a consistency you like. For me it had to be a bit chunky.
Add more vinegar if you feel you need it a bit more runny and do puree completely if you wish.
Pour into sterilized glass container’s and store in a cool, dark spot in your kitchen for up to 6 months. Or in the fridge for at least a year. The vinegar will act as a natural preservative. Should you want to cook the sauce, bring it to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes (lid slightly ajar). Store the cooked version of the sauce in the fridge.
You may need to adjust the salt after a couple of days.. I do recommend giving the pepper sauce about 3 days to come together before using. So at this point you can taste and adjust the salt… especially if the pineapple you used was not fully ripe and there’s a tartness.
From experience I know that if you were to store it in the fridge, if may get less HOT over the months. DO NOT use a wet or dirty spoon when taking out of the glass container. Yes, Habanero peppers will work just as well and should you want to increase the heat level, toss in a few Scorpions, Reapers or any of those insanely hot peppers.
If you cannot source the shando beni, use cilantro.
With an abundance of plump Cherry Tomatoes in our garden and the thousands of requests I get for more recipes in the #MeatFreeMonday series on YouTube, I thought I’d share (while not “Caribbean”) a simple and delicious salad with you all.
You’ll Need…
1- 1 1/2 lbs cherry tomatoes (sliced in 1/2) 1/2 large red onion (sliced thinly) 2 tablespoon chives (chopped) 1 clove garlic (crushed) 3 tablespoon olive oil 3 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon sea salt (divided) 3/4 teaspoon black pepper (divided) 2 tablespoon honey 2 sprigs thyme (leaves) 1/2 orange (juice) 1 cup bocconcini cheese (pearls)
Important! If doing this recipe gluten free, please go though the full list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs. If doing this recipe vegan, use what you normally use to replace cheese. Feel free to add nuts and dried fruits to the salad if you wish.
Wash and prep the ingredients. Slice the tomatoes in half, trim off the leaves of the thyme, slice the red onion VERY thin, crush the garlic and give the chives a fine chop.
The tomatoes, chives and garlic were from my garden.
Now it’s time to make the dressing. In a bowl, add the olive oil, balsamic, 1/2 of the black pepper, 1/2 of the salt, garlic, thyme leaves, honey and orange juice and whisk until combined.
It’s time to assemble things. Add the chopped tomatoes to your salad bowl and top with the sliced onion, then sprinkle on the remaining salt and black pepper.
Now add the cheese (feel free to add your fav).
Pour on the salad dressing and top with the chives. Give it a good mix and place in the fridge for about 20 minutes for the flavors to marinate and come together (mix again before serving). This will also allow the cheese to soak in some of the dressing.
Fresh chopped basil (I’m not a fan, so while I do have it in my garden, I sparingly use it) and diced cucumber is a great addition to this salad.
