Category: Caribbean

#HungryHighlander #Coconut #Caribbean #Beef #Stew Caribbean Coconut Stewed Beef

#HungryHighlander #Coconut #Caribbean #Beef #Stew This is my take on a recipe by Chris Le La Rosa of The Caribbean Pot.  I love Caribbean Food and have tried to lower the carb count and make it Lower GI.     

Level of difficulty – Not too tricky 

Ingredients: 

2 kg lean beef cut into 1 inch (2.5 cm) cubes 

1 heaped tbsp Caribbean Green Seasoning 
1 thumb sized piece of ginger grated 

1 beef stock cube/stock pot 

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce 
½ Habanero or Scotch Bonnet pepper (or any other spicy pepper of your choice) 
2 400g tins of lite coconut milk 

350 ml (1.5 cups) water 
2 spring onions (scallions) (chopped) 
4-6 sprigs thyme 
1 tablespoon tomato puree 
1 medium onion (finely chopped) 
1 tablespoon Rapeseed Oil (or olive oil) 

1 tablespoon brown sugar (golden) 

Pinch of salt 

Method 

Season your washed/cubed pieces of beef with a pinch of the salt, habanero or Scotch Bonnet pepper, tomato puree, onion, Caribbean Green Seasoning, Worcestershire Sauce and grated ginger. Mix well and allow to marinate for a couple hours. Don’t use any of the seeds of the habanero pepper if you’re concerned about the raw heat and remember to wash your hands immediately after with soap and water. 

Add Marinade Ingredients to Meat
Mix meat well with Marinade ingredients

Heat the rapeseed (or olive) oil on a high heat in a heavy pot (one with a lid). Then add the brown sugar and stir. The sugar will melt, go frothy, then amber in colour. Do NOT proceed if it goes darker or the finished dish will have a terrible burnt taste. This step is what we know as ‘stewing’ in the Caribbean. As it goes amber in colour, start adding the seasoned beef to the pot and stir well to coat. 

As it comes up to the boil, reduce the heat to med/low, cover the pot and let it go for about 10 minutes. After which it’s time to burn off all the natural liquid which will have been created. Remove the lid and crank up the heat. This will give us that rich colour and flavour we’re looking for. 

The goal is to make sure there’s no more liquid at the bottom of the pot (you should see the oil you started off with). Stir in the spring onions and thyme and give it a good stir. Now add the water (swish the water in the same bowl you marinated the beef in to pick up any remaining marinade), then add the coconut milk. 

In my case it took about 1 hr and 30 mins for the pieces of beef to be tender and the gravy to reach the right consistency. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly.  Garnish with chopped spring onions to brighten it up a bit. Delicious with Rice and Beans!  Enjoy! 

Finished Dish + Rice and Beans

Preparation Time – 25 minutes 

Cooking Time – Approx. 2 hours 

Total Time – 4 hours 25 minutes (including 2 hours marinating time) 

Mango chicken, Rice and Beans bake

Mango chicken, Rice and Beans bake
Mango chicken, Rice and Beans bake
Mango chicken, Rice and Beans bake

#Caribbean #Chicken #Rice #Beans Drumsticks and Thighs are ideal for an all-in-one traybake – the rice, beans and spicy seasoning make it a little like Caribbean jerk chicken.

Ingredients

small bunch spring onions, chopped

a thumb-sized piece of ginger, chopped

3 garlic cloves

1 red chilli, seeds removed if you don’t like it too hot (or more if you like it hot)

small handful coriander, stalks roughly chopped and leaves picked

1 tbsp thyme/fresh thyme leaves

zest and juice of 1 lime, plus 1 lime cut into wedges to serve

1½ tsp ground allspice

2 tbsp olive oil

8 chicken drumsticks/thighs (we used a mixture)

300g Basmati or brown wholemeal rice

400g can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

500ml chicken stock

1 ripe mango, peeled, stoned and cut into bite-sized chunks

200g mango chutney, plus extra to serve (optional)

Method

Put the spring onions, ginger, garlic, chilli, coriander stalks, thyme, lime zest and juice, allspice and oil in a food processor, then blend to a paste. Pour over the chicken drumsticks and leave to marinate for at least 1 hr, or preferably up to 1 day.

Marinating Chicken
Marinating Chicken

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Tip the rice and beans into a large roasting tin with deep sides. Remove the chicken from the marinade and set aside. Mix the stock into the marinade in the bowl and stir well. Pour the stock over the rice and beans, then put the chicken drumsticks and the mango pieces on top. Cover the tray tightly with foil and bake for 30 mins.

Take the tray out of the oven and remove the foil. Increase the temperature to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Spoon the mango chutney over the drumsticks and return to the oven, uncovered, for 35-40 mins, to brown the chicken pieces and allow the rice to absorb all the liquid. Before serving, fluff up the rice a little with a fork and scatter with the coriander leaves. Serve with lime wedges and extra mango chutney, if you like.