The annual Taste of Barbados food festival saw Shaun Hill of The Walnut Tree in Abergavenny turning his hand to the local cuisine.
Although Hill`s Welsh restaurant couldn`t be much further from Barbados and its cuisine if he tried, there was little to dampen the chef’s enthusiasm when he visited the island as part of its annual Taste of Barbados food festival.
Hill was introduced to several traditional Caribbean dishes, including flying fish in creole sauce, souse (pickled pig’s trotters, ears or ribs), fried melts (battered fish roe), cornmeal cou-cou (similar to polenta, with okra), and pepperpot (various meats slow-cooked in a peppery sauce).
Although none of these dishes are likely to appear on the menu at The Walnut Tree any time soon, Hill was inspired. “It was good to pick up ideas of what will work together,” he says. “The pepperpot was immensely hearty and although it was quite hot, I liked it because it wasn’t phenomenally hot like Schezuan or some Indian cooking. The cou-cou is bland on its own, but when you have the spicy meat of the pepperpot, you need something like that to soothe it.”
As we approach the summer season and hopefully some warmer weather, Hill picks two of his favourite dishes from the event that are guaranteed to spice up summer menus.
Shaun Hill’s Barbados recipes
Pepperpot Serves 8
Ingredients:
1 pound cow’s tail, cut into joints
1 cowfoot (ankle), quartered (or 2 beef marrow bones, washed)
1 pound beef, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 pound pork, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 onions, chopped
2 red peppers, chopped
2 whole Congo peppers (Habaneros), tied in a cheesecloth bag
Ω cup cassareep*
water to cover
salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Place the meats in a stew pot. Add the onions, peppers, cassareep and water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about two hours until the meats are tender and nearly falling apart. Serve hot with the cou-cou
*Casareep is the concentrated juice of the roots of the cassava, flavoured with aromatics and boiled to remove the toxins. Good Caribbean grocers should stock it.
Cornmeal Cou-cou
Ingredients for a large quantity:
1lb cornmeal
half lb okra, chopped
2 cups of water to cook okra
salt to taste
Method:
Wash and chop the okra. Sieve the cornmeal in a bowl, add salt and soak in water. Bring two cups of water to a boil in a pan, add the okra and turn down the heat. When the okra is tender, strain through a sieve, reserving about one cup of the cooking water. Put the pan back on the heat and whisk the soaked cornmeal into the reserved cooking water. Gradually keep adding more water, stirring vigorously, until the cornmeal is well cooked and smooth. Stir in the okra.