ital recipe Archives | CaribbeanPot.com

Cook-up or cook-up rice is one of those classic one-pot Caribbean meals mom would usually do on a Saturday (when she didn’t do a soup). However Mom’s usually came loaded with chicken, beef or salted meats, but in this version I like skipping the meat .. without sacrificing flavors for and iconic meal. Served HOT!

You’ll Need…

1 medium onion (diced)
4 cloves garlic (smashed)
4 sprigs thyme
1-2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 scallions (chopped)
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper (diced)
1 carrot (cut into 1/2 cm wheels)
3/4 cup red beans (from a can – rinsed)
1 teaspoon turmeric
10 okra (1/2 inch chop)
1 large sweet potato (cubed)
1 1/2 cups squash (or pumpkin \ cubed)
2 cups long grain par-boiled brown rice
2 cups spinach
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
2 1/2 cups veg stock
1 teaspoon salt (adjust)
2 tablespoon parsley (chopped)

Important! 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. Especially the veg stock you use.

Heat oil in a deep/wide pan on a medium flame, then add the onion, garlic, thyme, scallions and black pepper. Turn the heat down to low and cook for about 3 minutes.

Add the scotch bonnet pepper (no seeds unless you want it spicy) and carrot, stir well, then add the beans and cook on low for another 2-3 minutes.

Add the turmeric, turn the heat to medium and add okra, stir. In now goes the sweet potato and squash (pumpkin will work too). At every point (when we add ingredients to the pot) stir well.

Go in with the washed rice and mix. Fold in the spinach along with the coconut milk and vegetable stock. Scrape the bottom of the pot as there will be some caramelization (flavors) develop at the bottom of the pot. Add the salt and bring to a boil.

As far as ‘washing” the rice is concerned.. this is to remove extra starch and grit as a result of the process of taking out the husk off the grains. So we’ll cover the rice with cool water in a bowl, massage with our hands, discard that water and repeat until that water is somewhat clear. Or rise under running water in a strainer, until the water runs clear – That’s “Washed” rice.

Lid on when it comes to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and allow the rice to fully cook and go plump. For a more creamy cook-up, stir the pot a bit and the rice will release more of it’s starch in the process.

25 minutes later, taste for salt and adjust… leave it ‘wet’ or you can remove the lid and burn off the liquid which remains. Toss in the parsley and you’re pretty much done. Note that the residual heat on a heavy pot will continue to cook the rice and thicken it up (after you turn off the stove).

For this classic dish, I like having a side of Tomato Choka as a side or condiment for an extraordinary vegan meal.

Caribbean Ratatouille (ital vegetable stew).

May 26, 2019March 31, 2019Leave a Comment

Last fall I did one of my favorite ways to put vegetables from my garden (and fridge) to use, in what I like to refer to as being a Caribbean take on Ratatouille… and I documented it to share with you. Very much like the outstanding Ital food I remember eating as kid at the Ital restaurant in San Fernando Trinidad (Pleasantville / Mon Repos area). While I’m very much a carnivore, this vegan dish is absolutely delicious and something I look forward to making/eating.

You’ll Need..

4- 6 cups eggplant (cubed)
2 stalks celery (chopped)
2 sweet bell peppers (1/2 of each, diced)
1/2 scotch bonnet pepper (green one)
4 medium tomato (diced)
5 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs basil
1 medium red onion (diced)
2 spring onion (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/4 tablespoon salt (divided)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 tablespoon olive oil
5-8 okra (sliced)
2-3 cups Swiss chard (chopped)
2 cups Jamaican callaloo (chopped)
4 cloves garlic (smashed)
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 medium Christophene (cho cho)
2 tablespoon parsley (chopped)

Important: 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.

Wash and prep all the vegetables. I used the stems of the Swiss Chard, but not the Jamaican Callaloo (choria bhagi) as I find that they can be a bit too tough. The eggplant were cut into 1/2 inch cubes, then placed in a drainer and topped with 1/2 tablespoon salt. Then allowed to sit on the counter for about 30 minutes. This will help remove some of the moisture from the eggplant and in doing so, some of the bitterness. You’ll notice that I did keep the skin on them. Please watch the video below to see how I prepared all the vegetables.

Then rinse the eggplant with cool water and pat dry with paper towels to remove the salt. In a deep oven-proof pan, heat the oil on a medium flame and fry-off the eggplant. You may need to do this in 3 batches as to not crowd the pan. It will take about 5-7 minutes to get golden edges each time. Set aside the eggplant after you’ve fried them. As the eggplant cooks, feel free to prep the other ingredients.

With the Christophene you’ll need to peel and remove the core, then dice. There should still be some oil in the bottom of the pot (if not add a teaspoon or so) and go in with the tougher vegetables… heat on low. Start with the Christophene, followed 2 minutes later by the bell peppers, then 2 minutes later you can add the Swiss Chard stems (cut thin), the spring onion (bulb cut in 1/4) and the red onion. Mix well.

Now add the remaining salt and the celery and cook for about 5 minutes. After which you’ll add the garlic, green tops of the spring onion, tomato paste and black pepper. Mix well and add the rest of ingredients.. Jamaican Callaloo, green part of the Swiss Chard, Okra, chunks of tomato and thyme.

It’s finally time to add back the pre-cooked Eggplant and mix well. Here’s where you can add the Scotch Bonnet pepper if you want the dish to have a bit of a kick. Top with the parsley and coconut milk and give it a good stir to combine everything.

Place the pan/pot into a preheated 400 F oven, on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes.

After it comes out, taste for salt (adjust accordingly) and top with the Basil. You’re done! A delicious one pot vegan dish, which is guaranteed to impress your family and friends. In my case a lot of the ingredients came directly from my garden.

Do you own a copy of my cookbook ?- The Vibrant Caribbean Pot 100 Traditional And Fusion recipes Vol 2

Vegetarian

Ital Soup A Vegetarian Delight.

November 8, 2014August 12, 201216 Comments

I’ll be honest and confess that I have little experience cooking Ital food (no salt, no meat.. usually not for me), but I’ve had several requests over the past few months and a friend of mine who’s a practicing Rastafarian commented that I’m not showing him much love with my offerings. So with a little research I came up with this delicious ital soup, which I know is a good representation of their diet code. However I’ve had conflicting info come my way when it comes to cooking without salt. I grew up knowing that my dreddy friends didn’t partake in meats and salt, but I was told that some make the exception and use sea salt. In this recipe you will notice that I didn’t use any form of salt, so it was a bit challenging to have a well balanced soup since my palate is so dependent on this sinful addiction. Feel free to add salt to your taste if it’s not a dietary restriction.

You’ll Need…

1 cup pumpkin (cubed)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 scotch bonnet pepper
1 cup dried split peas
8-10 cups water
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
3 eddoes
1 medium sweet potato
2 potato
2 scallions (aka green/spring onion)
6 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tablespoon oregano (fresh is best)
2-3 cups callaloo bush *
1 carrot
1/2 cup celery
2 cups coconut milk
5 okras
tablespoon freshly grated ginger (optional)
1 plantain (half ripe)
1 carrot

Notes: The callaloo (Jamaica) bush is also known as chorai bhagi or spinach in the Caribbean. If you can’t source callaloo bush, feel free to use typical North American spinach, baby dasheen bush leaves or shredded cabbage. Additionally you can also add yam, dasheen, cassava or green cooking bananas if you have those things readily available.

We’ve got to create the base for this lovely ital soup and since the dried split peas will take much longer to cook than the other ingredients, we need to put that to cook first. Wash the split peas then put it in your soup pot (huge) and pour in the 8 cups of water. Also chop the scallion, garlic, onion and celery. As the peas comes to a boil add these flavourful ingredients. reduce to simmer and let cook until the peas and tender (about 45 minutes). Place the scotch bonnet pepper in the pot whole as we want to flavor and not the raw heat. At the end of cooking you can remove it from the pot. However if you like the heat, you can certainly burst it open to release the Caribbean sunshine.

When the peas are tender and starting dissolving, it’s time to add the other ingredients. So peel, cube and wash the plantain, eddoes, potato, sweet potato, carrot and pumpkin, then add it to the pot. Now pour in the coconut milk and don’t forget to add the thyme, black pepper and oregano. Make sure you have enough liquid in the pot to cover everything. You can add more water or coconut milk if more liquid is required. Bring to a boil and reduce to a gentle simmer.

Trim the stems off the okra and cut then into 1 inch pieces and ad to the pot. When cubing the ground provisions try to keep them uniform in size so they cook evenly (cut them in big pieces so they hold their shape as they cook). After 25 minutes everything should be almost cooked all the way through, so it’s time to wash and trim the callaloo bush and add it to the pot. Basically all you have to do is remove the leaves off the stem, wash and roll like a cigar and chop into 1/2 inch strips.

Allow it to cook for a further 7-10 minutes so the callaloo bush adds additional flavor and the soup thickens up. If you’re adding salt, now would be a good time (adjust accordingly). NOTE: This soup will thicken up quite a bit as it cools, so make sure you leave a fair amount of broth to compensate.

Now is a good time to remove the scotch bonnet pepper and if you added the thyme with the sprigs, do remember to fish them out as well.

With all the natural seasoning we added with the fresh herbs, you’ll be quite surprised at how tasty this ital soup will be. By using herbs like parsley, savory, thyme, marjoram and celery you’ll add so many levels of flavor to meals, you’ll be better equipped to handle a salt free diet. A nice touch is some fresh squeezed lime juice to top your steaming bowl of ital soup and be prepared for one of the most hearty meals you’ve ever had. You’re guaranteed to have the sleepies after a hot bowl of this ital soup.

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.

ital recipe

Outstanding Cook Up Rice (#Ital #Vegan #Glutenfree)

Caribbean Ratatouille (ital vegetable stew).

Ital Soup A Vegetarian Delight.

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