Traditionally Made Caribbean Green Seasoning.

My paternal grandmother had a huge wooden mortar and pestle (also used for pounding cocoa and coffee beans) and my maternal grandma used a blue-stone Sil and Lorha for making her green seasoning, masalas and other grinding. I’ve showed you how to make this Green Seasoning with your everyday blender and food processor and I’ve even shared my Top 10 Tips For an Amazing Green seasoning. Today we’ll focus on the simplicity of this classic Caribbean marinade and how you can make it without any fancy gadgets like my grandmothers before me.

You’ll Need…

2 seasoning peppers (pimento peppers)
2-3 coffee peppers (wiri wiri)
5 cloves garlic
4-5 shado beni leaves (culantro – cilantro will also work)
3 scallions
5-6 sprigs thyme
2 thin slices ginger
1-2 tablespoon olive oil (optional)

Note! Like Epis and Sofrito, Green seasoning is basically a puree of the herbs, seasoning peppers and garlic you enjoying using in your cooking. So it can be very personal (based on your taste) therefore I urge you to use herbs etc that you like.

I’m using a stone mortar and pestle, but if all you have a wooden one.. rock that. Note that I’m including the seeds of the peppers, so mine will have a bit of a kick to it. Remove and discard the seeds if you’re concerned about the raw heat. And remember to wear gloves when handling such hot peppers as the Wiri Wiri (aka coffee peppers).

Wash, dry and give everything a rough chop to make it easier to work in the mortar. Then basically all you need to do is add everything to the mortar (except the oil) and crush to the consistency you like. NOTE! Feel free to use Spanish Thyme (big leaf thyme), parsley, rosemary etc if you want.

From the images you’ll notice that I like mine a bit chunky. If you wanted to add some salt to further assist in crushing, feel free to do so. But be mindful that your finished Green Seasoning will contain salt – when seasoning your meats, seafood and vegetables before cooking.

Crush to the texture you like, then add the olive oil and stir well. The oil is NOT something granny would use, but I find that it helps to preserve the flavors of the herbs etc and maintain the color (no oxidization) of everything.

Note! This is a small version of the recipe designed for immediate use. However, due to the use of the olive oil, it will keep for weeks in the fridge (in a clean container), should you make a larger batch. Obviously you can use a food processor or blender too… for larger batches.