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Gluten Free Vegan

A Vegetarian’s Delight, Caribbean Comfort Food.

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Ever since making and sharing the recipe for the Stuffed Grilled Snapper, I knew this recipe would be a hit with vegans, vegetarians and those who follow an Ital food path. A quick and tasty stew made with pumpkin, spinach, Jamaican callaloo (Chorai bhagi) and okra.

You’ll Need…

1 1/2 tablespoon veg oil
1/2 medium onion (sliced)
6-8 cloves garlic (smashed)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 sprigs thyme (leaves only)
1 teaspoon garlic /herb blend (seasoning powder)
2 Pimento peppers (aka seasoning peppers – sliced)
1/2 lb pumpkin (diced)
12-15 okra (stems removed, chopped)
1 lb Jamaican Callaloo (chorai bhagi)
2 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon salt (adjust)
hot peppers (see note below)
1/2 lb baby spinach (chopped)

Notes! May I recommend you follow along with the video below as much more about the recipe is explained there. Including what is Jamaican Callaloo, how to prep it and alternatives to use if you cannot source it. If making this recipe gluten free, please go through the full list of ingredients to ensure they meet your gluten free dietary requirements.

Prep all of the ingredients in advance (see the video where I explain everything). Heat the oil on a medium flame in a wide pan, then add the onion, garlic, black pepper, garlic/herb blend, pimento peppers and thyme leaves. Turn the heat to low and gently cook for 3 minutes.

Add the diced pumpkin (or squash) and cook with the lid on for 2-3 minutes.

At this point you may add the chopped Okra and salt, stir well.

Add the washed, trimmed and chopped Jamaican callaloo and two tablespoons of water. Turn the heat to medium/low, cover the pot and cook for 5-6 minutes. Stir every couple minutes to ensure nothing sticks.

I added 4 Wiri Wiri and 1 bird’s eye pepper WHOLE to the pot and kept them WHOLE during the entire cooking process. This way you don’t get the raw heat of the peppers, but flavor from the oil on the skin of the peppers. Later on you may fish them out and discard, or leave them for people who enjoy heat to crush them as they eat. Which is what I did with my Sada Roti.

Remove the lid, add the washed/chopped spinach and mix well. Cook uncovered for 4-5 minutes.

At this point you’ll check and adjust the salt to your liking. Burn off any liquid at the bottom of the pot and turn off the stove.

Should you want to add a bit of coconut milk to the festivities, you’d skip the water I added and add 1/2 cup of coconut milk. Ginger, turmeric and/or roasted cumin (geera) would make great additions as well.

As mentioned above I tucked in with Sada Roti, but steamed rice, boiled dumplings, ground provisions or even simply boiled potatoes would be excellent with this. If all fails, toast some bread and enjoy yea.

Vegetarian

Masala Mushroom Recipe.

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If you’re looking for a quick and tasty meat free (vegan/vegetarian) dish banging with exotic flavors, look no further. This Masala Mushroom is guaranteed to deliver, without being overly bold with spices. And it works great with basic button mushrooms, which can be very affordable.

You’ll Need…

2 lbs mushrooms (cleaned and cut in 1/2)
3 tablespoon coconut oil (divided)
1 teaspoon salt (divided)
1/2 medium onion (sliced)
5-7 cloves garlic (smashed)
1/4 Scotch Bonnet Pepper (sliced)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 medium tomato (diced)
1 1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (geera)
1 teaspoon Anchar masala
1 1/4 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning
2 tablespoon cilantro (chopped finely)

Notes! May I recommend that you follow along with the video below as much more about the recipe is discussed there. Additionally you may make this as spicy (hot pepper) as you can tolerate and the Anchar Masala can be found at your local West Indian grocer or online.

Prep the ingredients as necessary.

Place a wide frying pan on a med/high flame with 1/2 of the coconut oil, then add the mushrooms and stir well.

Add 1/2 the salt and cook on the high heat for about 8-10 minutes. The mushrooms will shrink, let out moisture (this is why we need a wide pan) and take on color, as that liquid evaporates. We need that color to happen as explained in the video. Set the mushrooms aside and get a saucepan on a medium flame.

Add the remaining coconut oil, onion and garlic. Turn the heat to low and cook gently so we don’t burn the garlic, for about 3-4 minutes.

After which you’ll add the Scotch Bonnet, black pepper and cumin (geera) seeds and continue cooking. Four minutes later add the curry powder and Caribbean Green Seasoning and stir well. Continue cooking on a low heat.

Now add the remaining salt, turn up the heat to medium/high and add the water. Bring to a boil, then add the Anchar Masala and diced tomato. Cook on a medium heat for about 4 minutes.

At this point I used my stick blender to puree everything to give me a sort of thick sauce or gravy, before adding the previously cooked mushrooms to the pot. This step is optional, but I like the overall texture of the gravy by doing so.

Bring it back up to a boil and all it needs now is a couple minutes to heat through the mushrooms and for them to absorb that lovely curry goodness we created. Taste and adjust the salt to your liking and as you turn off the stove, add the cilantro (or Shado Beni).

Gluten Free Vegan

Incredible Ital Stew (vegan / vegetarian).

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Growing up in the Caribbean at a time I did, making a decision to be vegan or stay away from meats was never really an option. There were days mom would make fish or meat dishes and there were days (many more) when vegetarian meals were prepared. Basically you ate or starved (nah was the norm, no cruelty ting eh).. except when she cooked bitter melon – myself, my brother and sisters would revolt. Much of what we ate came from our kitchen garden or what local farmers had for sale, so dishes like what I’m about to share comes naturally. Especially since most of what I’ll be using, came from my lil Caribbean Canadian garden.

You’ll Need…

2 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
3/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 cup coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups diced pumpkin
4 cups chopped Jamaican Callaloo (chorai bhagi)
4-6 pumpkin stems (baby leaves)
6 okra (cut)
1 green scotch bonnet pepper
5 sprigs thyme + 5-8 green beans
4-6 cherry tomatoes (cut in 1/2)
4 cloves garlic (smashed)
1/4 cup chopped chives (chopped)
1 medium eggplant (cubed)

Notes. Please watch the video below for more tips and explanation. Should you be doing this recipe gluten free, may I recommend that you go through the full list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary requirements. Remember to wash your hands with soap and water immediately after handling such hot peppers as Scotch Bonnet. I explained why I used a green Scotch Bonnet in the recipe, in the video down below.

With most of the items coming from my garden, the first order of business was to give everything a good wash. Then it was a matter of chopping and dicing. While I do have a pumpkin patch, for some reason they didn’t even bloom this year. I made use of the pumpkin I had in the fridge from the local grocery. Butternut squash will would great too.

Heat the coconut oil (use olive if you prefer) on a medium flame in a deep pan (I used a cast iron pan) and add the cubed eggplant to the pan. I kept the skin on. Try to get color on all sides, then remove and set aside. Try to leave back as much of the oil in the pan.

With your flame still on medium, add the diced pumpkin and stir well to coat with the oil. After about 2-3 minutes, add the thyme (my stems were tender, so I added it all.. should yours be woody, pick the leaves off and only add them), garlic and chives. Turn the heat down to med/low and cook for 3 minutes. During this time you may add the black pepper.

It’s now time to add the beans, Scotch Bonnet okra and salt. Should you not want things spicy you may leave out the Scotch Bonnet, or add it whole and don’t break it. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, then add the chopped Jamaican Callaloo. Everyday Spinach, Kale or Swiss Chard will work to. At this point you may add the turmeric as well. Add the baby pumpkin leaves (explained in the video).

The Jamaican Callaloo (Amaranthus viridis Also known as: Slender amaranth, Slender pigweed) will pile up, but as it gets in contact with the heat, it will wilt down considerably. Top with the coconut milk and bring to a boil. Then reduce to a simmer.

After about 5 minutes on the simmer, add the pre-cooked eggplant back to the pan and cook for another couple minutes, so the lovely smokey flavors of the eggplant makes it’s way into the dish. We fried the eggplant at the start so it can maintain it’s shape and texture in the dish. The skin will add a lovely sweet note to.

Now it’s time to personalize things a bit. You can burn off all the liquid at the bottom of the pan or leave some if you need a little gravy for rice or boiled ground provisions. At this point I’ll suggest you taste for salt and adjust accordingly. I know if you’re following a strict Ital diet, you’ll want to go low on the sodium or leave it out altogether.

Just before I turn off the stove I like adding the tomatoes to the pan and allow the residual heat to gently blister them. Squeeze in some fresh lemon juice should you want and a topping of additional black pepper can brighten the dish further.

A delightful vegan dish, packed with goodness from my garden.