This meal came together relatively quickly. It is a classic one-pot dish based on veggies that are on ‘standby’ and tinned pantry staple. What gives it a little twist from other cobbler-style casseroles is the use of cornmeal as the crust. As I enter my 3rd year of preparing gluten-free meals where my mother is concerned I have come to have an even greater respect for cornmeal’s versatility. In this case, the corn provides a crisp textural contrast to the soft vegetables. I have to give a shoutout to …

One of the things that I love about operating Trinigourmet is the wealth of knowledge and experiences that readers bring to the table. Whether it’s commenting on other’s questions left in posts, participating in the #caribbeancooks hashtag on Twitter, or contributing to my Facebook presence, I am always left inspired.
Case in point. Recently I asked fans of the Trinigourmet Facebook page, what was their favourite way to enjoy plantains. Many of you picked fried ripe (and green) as the method of choice, with boiled a rather distant second. One …

Oiled down (also more commonly referred to as ‘oildown’) is one of those truly transcendent West Indian delights. As I wrote, in one of this blog’s first entries:
“Oil Down, is a colloquial Caribbean name for any dish of starchy vegetables cooked in coconut milk until all the milk is absorbed and the ingredients have turned into a creamy mush (or have ‘oiled down’). The two most popular oil downs are breadfruit oil down and cassava oil down. Oil down is really something to experience first-hand, I am not sure that …

July 5, 2010: Sometime between when this post was originally written in 2007 and now it appears Saveur Magazine selected this recipe as one of its ‘Best Of The Web‘, and Trinigourmet.com as one of its ‘Sites We Love’. I can’t explain how much this means to me as it has always been my hope and aim to disseminate Trinidadian cuisine to the wider world. It really makes the long hours cooking, writing, photographing and editing, not to mention the ongoing expenses, worth it. Thanks so much!

Yum Yum …

I see plenty of recipes for accra in West Indian Cookbooks but often they bear little resemblance to Trinidad Accra. My Jamaican mother tells me that what she knows as accra is a saltfish fritter, flat, fried brown. Here in Trinidad however accra is a puffy fried dough ball, made of a highly seasoned dough into which shredded saltfish has been mixed. I’ve had it at weddings, gatherings, and of course bought it from street vendors. This recipe comes together quite quickly once the saltfish has been boiled and picked. …

Here in Trinidad the term bake is applied to any bread which is not leavened with yeast. It also usually involves cutting fat into flour in the early stages. People often ask me how I get my bakes to be so soft, well after much soul searching I am ready to share my ‘secret’ Ice water! I love to keep the dough as cold as possible and nothing does that better than ice water. Not only does that stop the gluten in the dough from toughening up it …

You know one of the unexpected discoveries of having a food blog is realizing how much our parents keep from us about -their- culinary pasts. Before I started TriniGourmet I thought it was reasonable to assume that the foods my parents made were accurate reflections of their respective heritages (Trinidad and Jamaica respectively), and as such included faves from their own childhoods. Not so. It has happened on more than one occasion that a dish I have made here (often for the first time) unlocks a flood gates of “MMMM, …

This recipe for Ciabatta Bread creates a very light loaf, soft and chewy on the inside with a thin crunchy rustic crust. I originally made it for my mom’s birthday in 2006, before she developed a gluten allergy and it was a huge hit. Since that time it has become one of the most popular recipes here on Trinigourmet, even being linked to by The Fresh Loaf!
Although I have been thrilled by all the attention that my little writeup has gotten through the years it has not been without …

Famous in Brazil
We call chuchu christophene
Click here to learn more

Adapted from a recipe in Bon Appetitmagazine, this warm and creamy soup became an instant classic in my home and graced the table at last year’s Passover Seder.

Butternut Squash Soup with Ginger
Source: Adapted fromBon Appetit
Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients
2 butternut squash (about 4 3/4 pounds total), halved lengthwise, seeded
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups thinly sliced onion
1 tablespoon golden brown sugar
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1/2 cinnamon stick
5 cups (or more) canned low-salt vegetable broth
Chopped fresh parsley
Heavy cream (omit/substitute for vegan)
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Oil baking sheet.
3. …