Callaloo

Trinidad and Tobago

Callaloo is considered a national dish in Trinidad and Tobago. It’s a dish originally created by Africans slaves. Traditional Caribbean Cooking gives you the traditional way of preparing callaloo. You can add smoked bone (smoked bone are bony parts from the pig, like the backbone etc), pig tail, salt beef or crab to add flavour. You can serve callaloo as a soup or as a side dish. In Trinidad and Tobago, callaloo is a must have on Sundays for lunch, together with red beans, stewed chicken, macaroni pie, potato salad and Spanish rice topped off with a nice glass of cold homemade

mauby or sorrel drink.

PREPARING THE CALLALOO LEAVES:

Leaves from the dasheen root are used for callaloo. The young curly, leaves are preferable. Cut and throw away the tips of the leaves. Chop and wash the leaves for cooking.

INGREDIENTS:

• ¼ cup pumpkin, peeled and chopped

• 1 bundle dasheen bush (callaloo leaves)

• 1 hot pepper (optional)

• 1 green sweet pepper (bell pepper)

• 7 okras, chopped

• 2 cups coconut milk

• ½ cup full cream milk

• 1 small onion, peeled and chopped

• 1 sprig chive, finely chopped

• ¼ cup celery, finely chopped

• 1 pimento, finely chopped

• 2 sprigs thyme

• 1 tsp parsley, finely chopped

• salt to taste

1. Sauté the chopped onion and garlic in vegetable oil. Add chopped and washed dasheen bush to pot.

2. Add remaining ingredients and pour the milk over it. Add whole hot pepper. (Do not cut the hot pepper).

3. Cook on low heat until the bush is softened. Mix and ensure there is enough liquid in the pot.

4. Season with salt and Maggi cubes if desired.

5. You may add more water if the liquid dries up. Also, if you like it more like soup, add more water. When all the ingredients, especially the dasheen bush, are cooked and soft, remove from heat.

The traditional way to complete the process is to whisk the callaloo with a swizzle stick, but you can use your processor or blender if you wish.

Note: Before you whisk or blend, remove the whole hot pepper.

If you cooked the crabs or pig tail with the callaloo, make sure to remove those too. Add them again after the mixture has been blended or whisked.