one pot recipe Archives | CaribbeanPot.com

While the base of this dish is reminiscent of Shrimp Scampi, and though I didn’t employ the use of any white wine (great addition btw), I’ll be adding rice (you may see others add pasta) to make it a tasty one pot dish.

You’ll Need…

3 tablespoon butter
8 cloves garlic (crushed or fine diced)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt (divided)
2 lbs small shrimp (61-90)
1/2 med onion (diced)
3 sprigs thyme (leaves only)
2 tablespoon chopped parsley
5 Wiri Wiri peppers
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 lemon (juice)
2 cups jasmine rice (washed)
4 cups chicken stock

Notes! I used Wiri Wiri peppers in the recipe, but you’re free to use any pepper you enjoy or can source and in the amounts you can tolerate. May I suggest you follow along with the video below as much more is discussed there, especially where I speak about the rice to use and if you wanted to add coconut milk in the recipe.

In a wide pan on a medium/low flame add the butter and crushed garlic. Turn the heat down to low and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add the cleaned and deveined shrimp, turn the heat to medium and cook for 90 seconds. Stir well.

Immediately remove the shrimp and set aside. As explained in the video, you should try to leave back as much of the garlic in the pan as you remove the shrimp.

In the same pan (add more butter if you find that the pan is dry), add the onion, thyme, black pepper, 1/4 of the salt, parsley, turmeric and Wiri Wiri peppers. Cook on med/low for 3 minutes. Then add the lemon juice to deglaze the pan. Should you prefer to add smoked paprika or tomato paste instead of the turmeric, go for it.

Turn the heat up to medium and add the washed rice to the pan and stir well to coat the rice with that lovely flavored base we created. We’re also trying to toast the rice grains a bit to give the dish a nutty flavor.

2-3 minutes later it’s time to add the chicken stock, followed by the remaining salt and bring to a boil.

Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and place the lid over the pan, but slightly ajar.

After 12-25 minutes, it’s time to add the pre-cooked shrimp back to the pot (don’t stir in yet) along with any juices which may have accumulated. Then cover the pan, turn the heat off and leave it on the same burner you were cooking it on. The goal is to allow the residual heat to complete cooking the dish.

After 10 minutes with the lid closed, it’s time to get a fork and fluff the rice and in doing so you’ll distribute the shrimp throughout the dish. Be sure to taste and adjust the salt to your liking. Be mindful that the stock you use will have a sodium element to it.

A delightful one pot dish, best served with a side of peppersauce and don’t forget the Caribbean style garlic sauce.

Seafood

The Ultimate Seafood Pelau.

November 3, 2022September 25, 20221 Comment

A traditional Caribbean Pelau is a one-pot rice dish, loaded with rice, pigeon peas, carrots and meat or protein of some sort (chicken, beef, salted pigtails or salted salted beef), simmered in a rich broth of flavored with coconut milk and herbs. While this version is basically the same, since we’re using seafood as the ‘protein’, being mindful of the cooking time is the key to an iconic meal.

You’ll Need…

1 lb shrimp (large)
1 lb Cod (fish)
1 lb mussels
1 lb clams
1 lb lobster tail
1 tablespoon butter
2 scallions (chopped)
2 tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning (divided)
1 teaspoon black pepper (divided)
4 sprigs thyme
1 1/2 cups diced pumpkin
4-6 cloves garlic
1 large carrot (diced)
1 can pigeon peas (rinsed)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon golden brown sugar
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 tablespoon salt (adjust)
2 cups long grain par-boil brown rice
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
3-5 bird’s eye pepper
4-7 cups of water (adjust)
3-4 tablespoon parsley (chopped)
1/2 lemon (juice)

you’ll need lemon or lime juice and cool water to wash the seafood

Clean and prep the seafood (watch the video below). With the shrimp and lobster, remove and save the shell as we’ll use those for making a rich stock. Tip! Use scissors to cut and peel back the lobster tails.

In a saucepan on medium flame, add the butter, scallions, 1/2 the black pepper and thyme. Give it about 30 seconds, then add the washed lobster and shrimp shell. Turn the heat down to low and let it go for about 4-5 minutes. Now add 3 cups cold water and bring to a boil (turn the heat to high). When it comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer and let it reduce by 2/3 (so we’re left with just over 1 cup of stock).

As the stock comes together, heat a heavy (large) pot on a high flame. This is the ‘stewing’ part of things. Add the olive oil followed by the brown sugar (watch the video below for mastering this step). The goal here is to melt the sugar, it will then go frothy and finally.. a deep amber in color (DO NOT ALLOW IT TO GO BLACK). When you get that amber color (it will go smokey) add the pigeon peas, pumpkin and carrots. Stir well.

Turn the heat to medium, add the garlic, onion, bird’s eye pepper (optional – or use your fav spicy pepper) and grated ginger. A minute later add the coconut milk and bring to a boil., then reduce to a simmer

As this comes up to the boil, chop the lobster into bite-sized pieces and the Cod into 1 inch pieces. Place all the seafood into a large blow, add the remaining black pepper, 1/3 of the salt and 1/2 Caribbean Green Seasoning. Stir well to coat everything.

Back to the main pot. 10 minutes on that simmer, add the washed rice, the remaining salt and the remaining Green Seasoning. Add 2 1/2 cups hot water and bring to a boil. Simmer with the lid on for 10 minutes.

Drain/Strain the stock and add it to the pot. That will add a lovely flavor to the dish, so do try to keep this step.

After about 7 minutes, tuck the clams and mussels into the pot making sure they’re in the sort of broth. After 3 minutes add the lobster and shrimp and mix (be gentle). Put the lid on and let it cook a further 4 minutes. Add the Cod to the pot and again being gentle, stir.

3 minutes later, taste and adjust the salt, top with the parsley and hit it a fresh squeeze of lemon juice.

Some key parts of the recipe to keep in mind. Depending on the rice you use, you will need to adjust the cook time and the amount of liquid you add in total. This version of Pelau is meant to be a bit “wet”, but do keep the lid on the pot after you switch off the stove and don’t open/serve for about 5 minutes. Try to NOT overcook the seafood. Typically I don’t like straying from traditional techniques, but adding a bit of white wine (before adding the water) when making the stock, will add a another subtle layer of overall flavor.

Serve warm and with a side salad, thick slices of Zabouca (avocado, pear) and make sure you have some peppersauce to kick things up further.

Drop me your comments below, tag me on Instagram and don’t forget you can now get my cookbook – The Vibrant Caribbean Pot, 100 Traditional And Fusion Recipes @ CaribbeanPot.com/CookBook/

Meat & Poultry

Black-eyed Peas Cook-up Rice.

May 27, 2025June 7, 20224 Comments

Like Pelau, cook-up rice is another iconic comforting one-pot dish to come out of the Caribbean. And YES, as you move up and down the chain of islands, you’ll find variations of this dish. Our mom would do this dish with salted beef or pig’s tail, but you can do I as did and add a combination of your fav meats. I used canned coconut milk (convenience), however if you have access to freshly made coconut milk.. you’ll want to use that!

You’ll Need…

4-5 lbs chicken (cut into serving size pieces)
2 lbs salted pigtail (2 inch pieces)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning
2 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 medium onion (diced)
5 cloves garlic (smashed)
1 scotch bonnet pepper
1 carrot (cut into rings)
2 cups diced pumpkin
3 scallions (chopped)
5 sprigs thyme | 1 Can Black Eyed Peas
1/2 teaspoon smoked pimenton (smoked paprika)
1-2 tablespoon tomato paste concentrate
2 cups coconut milk
2+1 cups water + 1 chicken stock cube (adjust if necessary)
2 1/2 cups long grain brown par-boiled rice
3-5 pimento peppers (sliced)
1 teaspoon grated ginger
8-12 taro (dasheen) leaves

Pre-boil the salted pig tails to make them a bit more tender and to remove most of the salt. (cover with water, bring to a boil. cook for 35 minutes, drain, rinse and cool)

Place the chicken (I used dark meat – leg and thigh) and the pig’s tail in a large bowl, then add the Caribbean Green Seasoning, salt and black pepper. Mix well and set it aside.

Get your big soup pot out as this will yield a lot of food (the remains can be frozen and reheated easily).. I went with a heavy iron pot. On a medium flame, add the olive oil (feel free to use coconut oil if you prefer), then onion, scallion, fresh thyme, garlic and scotch bonnet pepper. Remember to wash your hands with soap and water after handling such hot peppers. Use as much of that scotch bonnet as you can handle.

Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 3 minutes. Now add the tomato paste (non traditional) and smoked paprika and stir well (I explain why in the video below).

Heat up to medium now, then go in with the seasoned meats… the marinade too! Mix well to coat the pieces of meat with everything.

Five minutes later add the black eye peas (from a can, so I rinsed it first), pumpkin and carrot. Stir well. Then add the coconut milk and 2 cups water + chicken stock cube. Bring to a boil.

Allow it to cook on a rolling boil (reduce the heat) for about 15 minutes.

As this happens, prepare the taro leaves (use spinach if you cannot source dasheen (taro) leaves). Watch the video below to see how this is done.

Add the chopped dasheen leaves to the pot and give it a good mix. Cook for 10 minutes. Add the pimento peppers now, if you can source it and grate in the ginger. Cook for 5 minutes, then it’s time to add the rice.

Wash the rice, then into the pot. Turn the heat up, add the additional cup of water and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Adjust the water later if needed (add more).

Watch the video for my tip on getting this dish more creamy and additional ingredients you can add for a more spectacular cook-up rice.

25 minutes after adding the rice and you can now personalize things. Taste and adjust the salt to your liking, continue cooking if you want it more soft or turn off the stove as I did as I knew that the residual heat of this iron pot would finish off things for me.

I closed the pot, and allowed it to sit for 15 minutes before I went in for a feast!

Serve warm with sliced tomato, cucumber and a THICK slice of zabouca (avocado) and one must NOT forget the peppersauce. Drop me your comments below, tag me on Instagram and don’t forget you can now get my cookbook – The Vibrant Caribbean Pot, 100 Traditional And Fusion Recipes @ CaribbeanPot.com/CookBook/

Meat & Poultry

Incredible Rib Pelau.

May 27, 2025March 22, 2022Leave a Comment

While I do make Stewed Ribs when baby-back goes on sale and have shared that recipe with you, this will be the first time I’m making/sharing a Pelau recipe with ribs as the cornerstone of the recipe. We’ve done Chicken Pelau, Vegan Pelau, Oxtail Pelau, Salted Pigtail Pelau, Beef Pelau, Curry Stewed Chicken Pelau, Curry Chicken Pelau and most recently, I did and amazing Seafood Pelau that blew people’s mind! However, this version using pork ribs (use beef if you wish) is truly one of my faves.. #ComfortFood

You’ll Need…

5 lbs pork ribs
1 lemon (juice)
1 tablespoon pepper sauce
2 tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning
1-2 teaspoon grated ginger
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Angostura bitters
1 tablespoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 medium onion (sliced)
1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoon golden brown sugar
1 large carrot (cubed)
2-3 pimento peppers (sliced)
1 can red kidney beans (small)
2+1 cups water
2 cups vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
2 cups coconut milk
3 cups long grain par-boiled rice (washed)
1/2 lb spinach (washed)

Note! This Incredible Pork Rib Pelau recipe is inspired by my friend Chef Barry Bartholomew IG @cheffinbar.

Cut the ribs individually (you may remove the sliver skin on the underside first if you wish), then wash with cool water and the juice of the lemon and drain dry. Now it’s time to season the ribs and have them marinate for at least 2 hours.

Add the Caribbean Green Seasoning, salt, black pepper, onion, ginger, Worcestershire sauce, Angostura bitters and peppersauce (hot sauce). You may use fresh Scotch Bonnet or your fav pepper if you wish… I was out of them. Stir well and marinate.

Watch the video below to follow along with this step (as well as how to cut the rack of ribs into individual ribs) as it can be a bit tricky. NO, the sugar we’re about to use will NOT make this dish sweet.

Heat the oil in a deep, heavy pot. Add the brown sugar and using a dry spoon, stir the sugar. It will melt, go frothy, then amber. As soon as it goes DEEP amber in color (be gentle here) add the seasoned ribs to the pot. Should the sugar go black, STOP! Allow the pot to cool completely (move from the hot burner) and wash, dry and start over. Or you will have a bitter tasting dish.

This step is called “stewing/browning” and it’s one of the most important steps in preparing Pelau. BTW Pelau is basically a one pot dish, with a protein, pigeon peas (not today), coconut milk, herbs etc and rice. Made mostly in the Southern Caribbean and differs from island to island in the ingredients used. As you add the seasoned ribs to the pot, stir to have them coated in the ‘browning’.

Put the lid on the pot, turn the heat down to med/low and let it go for about 15 minutes. Try to stir every 4-5 mins. Yes it will sprout it’s own natural juices.

After the 15 minutes, remove the lid and crank up the heat to high. The goal here is to develop a rich flavor and deep color. Be mindful to stir and keep an eye on things so it doesn’t burn.

When you can see the oil we started with (some fat will render from the pork ribs too) at the bottom of the pot, it’s time to add the red beans (I used a small variety of red beans out of a can, which I washed – traditionally pigeon peas is use in making Pelau), carrot, Pimento peppers (aka seasoning peppers), vegetable stock, coconut milk and water. I added 2 cups of water here and later on I added the 3rd cup (more on that in the video below).

Bring this up to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, lid on slightly ajar and allow it to cook for about 30 minutes or until the ribs starts getting tender.

Its then time to wash your rice (watch the video below where I comment about this) and add it to the pot. Bring back to a boil (you may need to raise the temp a bit), then reduce to a simmer.

After about 10 minutes I added the spinach and stirred it in. It was here I noticed I needed more liquid, so I added the 3rd cup of water. No spinach is not traditional to this dish, but as I mentioned in the video. It’s a great way to sneak vegetables etc into a dish for children and picky eaters.

The spinach will wit down so don’t stress about seeing it pile on. There are 2 things to pay attention to when it comes to Pelau. The color and the texture. Both are personalization based on the individual. Some like it a bit darker and this is achieved by the “browning or stewing” step at the start. The other key thing people focus on, is the texture. You’re Team Wet Pelau (meaning a bit soggy) or Team Dry Pelau, meaning there’s a look of steamed (grainy) rice at the end. I’ve recently converted to Team Wet Pealu, so I used a bit more than usual liquid, plus I stirred the rice quite a bit. By stirring, the rice grains rub on each other and release starch, giving the finished dish a more creamy (wet) texture.

After another 10 minutes or so, you’ll be done. Taste for salt and adjust accordingly. I like to turn the stove off, place the lid on and let it rest for about 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with a side of watercress, sliced cucumber, sliced tomato, coleslaw and/or a thick slice of Avocado (say zabouca). In my case I like mine with a side of Roasted Tomato Choka and/or Roasted Pepper Choka.

Drop me your comments below, tag me on Instagram and don’t forget you can now get my cookbook – The Vibrant Caribbean Pot, 100 Traditional And Fusion Recipes @ CaribbeanPot.com/CookBook/

one pot recipe

Delicious Garlic Shrimp Rice Recipe.

The Ultimate Seafood Pelau.

Black-eyed Peas Cook-up Rice.

Incredible Rib Pelau.

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