This is a great side dish. It has a lovely balance of earthy mushrooms, aromatic garlic, and sweet sharp white balsamic vinegar.
I use 4 mushrooms per person. However, you may want to make more!
Ingredients
Mushrooms - just the caps ( 4 per person)
White balsamic
Garlic - minced fresh or The Spice Trader Minced Garlic
Salt
Pepper
Directions
Clean the mushroom caps and marinate in white balsamic and garlic for 30 minutes. Turn them half way through. Use enough garlic to sprinkles all the mushroom and enough balsamic to have caps sitting in the liquid.
Heat a saute pan with oil, and place the mushroom in the pan. Once the mushroom have browned ( stir to make sure they don't burn) add the rest of the marinade to the pan and cook it down. It will get darker and coat the mushrooms.
Add salt and pepper.
This is a wonderful autumn dish. The root vegetables mixed with pears and syrup are delectable. If you want to add carrots it works as well.
Ingredients
4 parsnips, peeled, halved, cut into large wedges
1 large firm red pear, cut into wedges
1 large red onion, cut into wedges
6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon dried chilli flakes ( optional)
Salt & pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 375F
Grease or line 2 baking trays.
Combine the pears and parsnips and onions and garlic in a bowl.
Blend together the maple syrup, wine vinegar, oil and chili flakes.
Pour the liquid over the veg mixtures and coat everything.
Place the vegetables and fruit on a baking trays and place in the oven.
Bake for 50 mins-1 hr turning the vegetables half way through.
Eat.
GUYANA ! July 15 2015, 0 Comments
Guyanese Pepperpot is traditionally eaten at Christmas and special events. It is a slow cooked meat stew with spices and hot chilies. You will find versions of this dish all over the Caribbean. It is served with a dense homemade bread to sop up all that amazing gravy.
GUYANA
Pepperpot
(serves 8 - 10)
4 lbs of stewing beef & goat, cubed
1 cup of cassareep*
2 cinnamon sticks
2 inch piece of orange peel
4 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
4 wiri wiri peppers ( or habanero) whole
1/2 cup brown sugar
1.5 tsp kosher salt
6 whole cloves
2 small onions, peeled and halved
1 tbsp of cooking vegetable oil
10 - 12 cups of water
*CASSAREEPA is a flavouring syrup made from the juice of the bitter cassava. If you can't find it, then replace it with 1 cup red wine vinegar, 4 Tbsp of molasses and 4 Tbsp of lime juice.
Heat the oil in a large stewing pot and brown the meat. Add everything and stir until well blended. Add water and bring to a boil. ( Make sure the water covers all the ingredients). Skim off any oily fat and scum that rises to the surface. Reduce to a gentle simmer, cover and let it cook for 3 hours. Keep skimming as needed. Serve with bread.
JAMAICA ! July 14 2015, 0 Comments
This traditional Jamaican recipe evolved from different cultures over centuries. Mostly, jerk was cooked over fire pits, which created a smoky, spicy delicious dish. Although different spices can be found in jerk marinades and rubs, they always contain allspice and a hot chili pepper! The technique of slow cooking after marinating is the way to make an authentic tasting JERK CHICKEN.
JAMAICA
Jerk Chicken
(serves 4)
3 lbs of bone in chicken pieces (drum sticks, thighs and breasts)
½ cup of The Spice Trader’s Jerk Rub
8 scallions, chopped
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp lime zest (3 limes)
Lime wedges
1 Tbsp Brown sugar
6 garlic cloves, crushed
1 Tbsp rum
Kosher flake Salt
* Soak some wood chips in water infused with 2 tbsp dried thyme, 2 tbsp dried rosemary and 2 tbsp whole allspice berries.
Mix together the spice rub, soy sauce, lime zest, brown sugar, scallions, crushed garlic and rum. Transfer to a blender and pulse into a paste. Place marinade in a Ziploc bag and add the chicken. Toss to coat the chicken and marinate from 30 minutes to 24 hrs.
Place wood chips and wet spices in an aluminum foil package. Close the packages and poke holes in it. Place your homemade wood chip smoker on the grill and turn the grill to high. Wait until chips start smoking (around 15 minutes). Place marinated chicken on the grill skin side up, but on indirect heat. Cook, covered for 30 minutes. Turn the chicken to skin side down and place chicken on direct heat and wait until browned. Flip chicken again and cook until done. Let rest for 5 minutes and then serve with lime wedges.
Allspice is native to Jamaica. It is also called pimento and Jamaican pepper.
