Tapenades are one of my entertaining ‘secret weapons’. Blend a few ingredients, add a drizzle of olive oil, some salt and pepper and people think you have been slaving for hours This one for Green Olive tapenade is one of my favourites. Because there are so few ingredients it becomes even more important that you make them of the highest quality that you can afford. I find that the flavour is piquant enough that additional salt is not necessary, however a drizzle of olive oil and a liberal application of black pepper, perk the final results up considerably If you’re in need of a last minute Old Year’s appetizer, why not give this a try?

From Wikipedia:

Tapenade is a Provençal dish consisting of puréed or finely chopped olives, capers, anchovies and olive oil. Its name comes from the Provençal word for capers, tapéno. It is a popular food in the south of France, where it is generally eaten as an hors d’œuvre, spread on gourmet breads such as baguette or ciabatta. Sometimes it is also used to stuff fillets for a main course.

Green Olive Tapenade
Servings: 4
Source: Cooking with Three Ingredients: Flavorful Food, Easy as 1, 2, 3

Ingredients

1 cup pitted small green olives
2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Method

1. In a blender or food processor finely chop the olives and garlic
2. Blend in the olive oil to make a paste.
3. Season to taste with salt and pepper

NUTRITION FACTS

Servings: 4
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 195
Total Fat: 16.65g
Cholesterol: –
Sodium: 297mg
Total Carbs: 10.37g
Dietary Fiber: 1.60g
Sugars: 0.25g
Protein: 1.87g

This post was originally published December 6, 2008. It has been updated twice since then.

mom’s ginger beer brewing in the sun

The above scene and bottle feel as though they have always been with me, they occur with such comforting regularity. Ginger beer is something that is enjoyed by both Trinis and Jamaicans however in my experience many Trinis enjoy theirs much weaker than my mother makes hers. Many people can’t drink my mom’sginger beer without looking for a fire hydrant at first. However they quickly return with an empty glass asking for a refill once their tastebuds recover from the initial shock! Of course I love my mom’s way and that’s what I am sharing with you, however if you are looking for something more along the mild side simply reduce the steeping period to one day You may also want to add lime juice at Step 7. it makes for a refreshing alternate !

Carmen’s Jamaican Ginger Beer

1. Peel 1lb of ginger – peel and blend with as much water as needed to get a good pulp
2. Put in large glass bottle
3. Set in sun for 2 days
4. Bring inside and strain
5. Add more water (about 1liter) and squeeze the grated ginger in this water. Bang out the ging !!
6. Discard the used and abused ginger.
7. Add more water. You want about a gallon.
8. Add 1.5lbs granulated sugar
9. Pour into clean bottles.
10. Add 4 to 5 cloves per bottle.
11. Allow to ‘rest’ on the counter for two days before refrigerating.

HOTT!!!

This recipe is an exclusive TriniGourmet original. Please do not share it or post it to your site without crediting TriniGourmet.com. A link back to our site is not necessary but always appreciated

This post was originally published December 5, 2006. It has been updated twice since then.

MMMM pawpaw. Growing up it was probably near the bottom rung of my favoured fruits. It wasn’t sweet enough, the seeds wigged me out, and the texture was just too bleh. In an effort to get me interested my mother would serve it to me drizzled in honey. This attempt worked more times than not, and as I got older my palate started to enjoy and appreciate this fruit, with or without adornment.

It is this childhood memory, of pawpaw and honey, that led me to create this sweet liquid concoction for my Trinidad Summer Drink series. You would never believe that so few ingredients, almost spartan in nature, could ever create a mixture so thick, heavenly and ultimately divine. But take my word for it, it does. Use the ripest pawpaws for the greatest benefits. No one would ever guess that this drink is as nutritious as it is decadent!

The Medicinal Benefits of Pawpaw (or Papaya as everywhere else seems to call it ) :

Excerpted From WHFoods:

Papayas offer not only the luscious taste and sunlit color of the tropics, but are rich sources of antioxidant nutrients such as carotenes, vitamin C and flavonoids; the B vitamins, folate and pantothenic acid; and the minerals, potassium and magnesium; and fiber. Together, these nutrients promote the health of the cardiovascular system and also provide protection against colon cancer. In addition, papaya contains the digestive enzyme, papain, which is used like bromelain, a similar enzyme found in pineapple, to treat sports injuries, other causes of trauma, and allergies.

Protection Against Heart Disease

Papayas may be very helpful for the prevention of atherosclerosis and diabetic heart disease. Papayas are an excellent source of vitamin C as well as a good source of vitamin E and vitamin A (through their concentration of pro-vitamin A carotenoid phytonutrients), three very powerful antioxidants.

These nutrients help prevent the oxidation of cholesterol. Only when cholesterol becomes oxidized is it able to stick to and build up in blood vessel walls, forming dangerous plaques that can eventually cause heart attacks or strokes. One way in which dietary vitamin E and vitamin C may exert this effect is through their suggested association with a compound called paraoxonase, an enzyme that inhibits LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol oxidation.

Papayas are also a good source of fiber, which has been shown to lower high cholesterol levels. The folic acid found in papayas is needed for the conversion of a substance called homocysteine into benign amino acids such as cysteine or methionine. If unconverted, homocysteine can directly damage blood vessel walls and, if levels get too high, is considered a significant risk factor for a heart attack or stroke.

Promotes Digestive Health

The nutrients in papaya have also been shown to be helpful in the prevention of colon cancer. Papaya’s fiber is able to bind to cancer-causing toxins in the colon and keep them away from the healthy colon cells. In addition, papaya’s folate, vitamin C, beta-carotene, and vitamin E have each been associated with a reduced risk of colon cancer.

These nutrients provide synergistic protection for colon cells from free radical damage to their DNA. Increasing your intake of these nutrients by enjoying papaya is an especially good idea for individuals at risk of colon cancer.

Anti-Inflammatory Effects

Papaya contains several unique protein-digesting enzymes including papain and chymopapain. These enzymes have been shown to help lower inflammation and to improve healing from burns. In addition, the antioxidant nutrients found in papaya, including vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta-carotene, are also very good at reducing inflammation. This may explain why people with diseases that are worsened by inflammation, such as asthma, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis, find that the severity of their condition is reduced when they get more of these nutrients.

Immune Support

Vitamin C and vitamin A, which is made in the body from the beta-carotene in papaya, are both needed for the proper function of a healthy immune system. Papaya may therefore be a healthy fruit choice for preventing such illnesses as recurrent ear infections, colds and flu.

For the full list of papaya’s health benefits (click here)

Pawpaw a.k.a Papaya Nectar

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 ripe pawpaw
1 cup water
1/4 cup honey (substitute agave nectar for vegan/raw preparations if desired )
1/2 tsp Angostura bitters
ice

DIRECTIONS:

1. Remove seeds
2. Scoop out flesh
3. Blend in blender or food processor
4. Add honey, bitters and water
5. Blend a little longer
6. Serve with ice.

This post was originally published August 4, 2007. It has been updated once since then.

Since 2009 I have actively incorporated more raw and vegan dishes into my regular diet and have found the benefits to be multifold. For one my body hasn’t succumbed to flus the way it regularly did in the past and I have found that many autoimmune responses that I had in the past to stress have become a lot more manageable. With many of my favourite fruits and vegetables currently back in season, and with the summer months kicking in in the Northern Hemisphere what better way to inspire myself (and hopefully some of you out there) to enjoy a refreshing and nutritious guilt-free drink, like this Banana-Papaya Smoothie?

Papayas (or pawpaws as they are called here in Trinidad) are something of a wonder fruit, being packed chock full of vitamins as well as immune-boosting and disease-fighting components!

Banana-Papaya Smoothie

INGREDIENTS:

1 papaya
1 cup fresh coconut water
1 ripe banana
1 tblsp coconut oil
1 small handful of ice

METHOD:

1. Toss all ingredients into a blender and blend. Doesn’t get more simple than that!

This recipe is an exclusive TriniGourmet original. Please do not share it or post it to your site without crediting TriniGourmet.com. A link back to our site is not necessary but always appreciated

Want more raw recipes? Check out the raw recipe section of Trinigourmet, and make sure to visit the Raw Cookbook area of Veni Mangé – my Amazon store!

This post was originally published on June 18, 2009. It has been updated once since then.

Salads in Trinidad are traditionally a disheartening affair that leaves you wondering why the cook/establishment even bothered. Two wilted lettuce leaves, a force-ripe watery slice of tomato, and some slivers of cucumber served either unadorned, or swimming in some vague mystery oil with specks of pepper flecked throughout. All that’s missing is a headstone for your plate. Most people down it ASAP so that they can focus on the ‘real’ part of their plate, or they simple leave it behind. For this reason, I don’t take it personally when guests express a sound/look of disappointment, when I announce that the ‘salad course’ is about to begin. It makes the moment even sweeter when I see their eyes open wide as they see (and taste) whatever my latest combination is.

I have a rather loose approach to salads, I’m more concerned with the balance of my favourite elements. I like to combine colours, include sweet and sour elements, throw in some crunch, and I try to keep my dressings sparing and simple. When the salad is shimmering and bursting with all these dimensions, it would a travesty to drown it in glop Some good olive oil, freshly cracked pepper (try those multicolored assortments for more punch), sea salt, and a splash of lime juice (or cider vinegar) are my favourite accompaniments. It’s meant a lot to me that even my own mother is playing around with this simple formula now and branching out of her own ‘box’. I’m a firm believer that vegetables don’t have to be dull, and that it really doesn’t take much more than some imagination to incorporate them into our daily lives. This salad is one of my faves and one that I get repeat requests for.

If you are a lettuce and tomato ‘salad’ maker (or know someone who is), now is the time to hit ‘Print’ and Share Sometimes it -is- OK to throw out the old time ways

Cranberry Almond Slaw

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 of a green cabbage, shredded
1 cup cilantro (or chadon beni), roughly chopped
1 large carrot, shredded or grated
1/4 cup almonds
1/3 cup dried cranberries (easily replaced with raisins or sweet corn kernels – this is flexible!)
2 T. red onion, minced
1 large avocado, cut into bite-sized pieces

DRESSING:
Juice of 1 lime
2 T. olive oil
2 T. agave nectar (or honey)
Sea salt
Freshly cracked pepper

METHOD:

1. Prepare vegetables
2. Combine and toss.
3. You can now combine the dressing ingredients and pour them over everything. I myself prefer to drizzle the ingredients separately as it creates an exciting variety of flavours with each bite

How easy was that?!!

This recipe is an exclusive TriniGourmet original. Please do not share it or post it to your site without crediting TriniGourmet.com. A link back to our site is not necessary but always appreciated

This recipe was originally published September 7, 2009. It has been updated once since then.

This Basil Lemonade recipe was originally made for Stephanie’s 43rd edition of Blog Party! One of the things that I love about adding basil to beverages is the muted herbal flavour that it imparts. This lemonade is no exception. It softens the acidity of the lemon/lime juice, and also mellows out the overt sweetness. Be sure to blend the basil leaves and lime juice completely before adding the water. That way there are no bits of leaves floating around

Basil Lemonade
Source: Adapted from a recipe on GoneRaw.com

INGREDIENTS:

2 lemons, juiced
2 pints ice cold water
2 basil leaves, washed
raw agave juice, to taste
6 ice cubes

METHOD:

1. Blend the lemon juice and basil leaves together until completely pulverised
2. Add ice cold water and ice cubes.
3. Blend until ice is completely crushed.
4. Add agave nectar (or sweetener of your choice) to taste.

This post was originally published March 4th, 2009. It has been updated once since then.

No Trini condiment series would be complete without a recipe for garlic sauce. Garlic sauce is one of those local favourites that can be found everywhere from beachside stands, to popular ‘grill’ joints as well as streetside food vendors. Indeed many street vendors have distinguished themselves solely on having ‘ah bess garlic sauce’ – something Trinis have taken to sharing digitally now via Foursquare Honestly, I have never experienced our style of garlic sauce anywhere else, and the closest equivalents I can think of are aioli and tzatzki (but even they are more extremely distant cousins), so I think a recipe is long overdue!

Garlic sauce is a flavour that many Trinis crave on savoury sides (especially sandwiches). Indeed, local sandwich chain Boomer’s branded itself in its early days as a more desirable alternative to the ubiquitous Subway by proclaiming itself the only sub chain to offer Garlic Sauce.

Subway of course quickly corrected this ‘oversight’, and now sub lovers can enjoy the flavour enhancement Trini garlic sauce brings at either chain!

So what exactly is the flavour? You’d be correct in assuming garlic (it is after all right there in the name) however, to me, the real energy of garlic sauce comes from the balance of sweet and tart and the all-important chadon beni (culantro).

Enjoy Trinidad Garlic Sauce on grilled meats, with french fries, over boiled cassava (or other boiled/steamed vegetables) or as a salad dressing. Once you’ve tried it once, you’ll definitely be craving more!

Sarina’s Trinidad-style Garlic Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

10 cloves garlic
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
3-4 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chadon beni (culantro)

METHOD:

1. Combine the first 4 ingredients in a blender until liquefied.
2. Taste and adjust seasonings to taste
3. Turn blender on and slowly drizzle the olive oil so that the mixture emulsifies (the end result should be like an extremely light pourable mayonnaise.
4. Taste again and readjust seasonings if needed.
5. Add the 1/4 cup chadon beni and pulse gently until green flecks are evenly distributed throughout the mixture.

This recipe is an exclusive TriniGourmet original. Please do not share it or post it to your site without crediting TriniGourmet.com and linking back to this site

This post was originally published on February 6, 2009. It has been updated once since then for submission to Mango Moods

Earlier this month I asked Trinigourmet readers on Facebook and Twitter what their favourite way to enjoy mango was. The runaway winner? Mango Chow!

Green mango chow is a wonderful accompaniment to most meals. Light and yet spicy, it adds a tart sweetness when used as a condiment. Chows like these are best used by slightly under-ripe fruits. In this case I have used a green mango, however pineapples are sometimes used, and even though I’ve never seen it done locally, my recent readings on Vietnamese cuisine cos me to believe it should also work brilliantly with green papaya.

Assembly is quite simple. The recipe below is really quite loose and forgiving. Feel free to adapt it to your own preferences

Green Mango Chow

INGREDIENTS:
1 half ripe mango
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced cilantro or chadon beni (culantro)
1 tbsp.lime juice
Salt
freshly ground pepper

METHOD:
1. Peel mango and cut into chunks.

4. Cover and chill overnight to allow flavors to penetrate the fruit (if you can wait that long )
5. ENJOY!!

This recipe is an exclusive TriniGourmet original. Please do not share it or post it to your site without crediting TriniGourmet.com. A link back to our site is not necessary but always appreciated

This post was originally published on February 18, 2009. It has been updated once since then.

Prior to last year I had never heard of Yu Sheng (also known as Yee Sang), indeed I only became aware of its existence thanks to research done for a blogging event. As this year the Chinese New Year falls on Valentine’s Day it seemed only fitting to repost this recipe, which is one I’ve fallen in love with

According to Wikipedia:
Yusheng , yee sang or yuu sahng (simplified Chinese: 鱼生; pinyin: yúshēng) is a Chaozhou-style raw fish salad. It usually consists of strips of raw fish (most commonly salmon), mixed with shredded vegetables and a variety of sauces and condiments, among other ingredients. Yusheng literally means “raw fish” but since “fish (鱼)” is commonly conflated with its homophone “abundance (余)”, Yúshēng (鱼生) is interpreted as a homophone for Yúshēng (余升) meaning an increase in abundance. Therefore, yusheng is considered a symbol of abundance, prosperity and vigor.

Fishermen along the coast of Guangzhou traditionally celebrated Renri, the seventh day of the Chinese New Year, by feasting on their catches. This practice is believed to have started in Chaozhou and Shantou as far back as the Southern Song Dynasty.[citation needed] In Malaya’s colonial past, migrants imported this tradition; porridge stalls sold a raw fish dish which is believed to have originated in Jiangmen, Guangdong province that consisted of fish, turnip and carrot strips, which was served with condiments of oil, vinegar and sugar that were mixed in by customers. The modern yusheng dish originated in during Chinese New Year in 1964 in Lai Wah Restaurant and was invented by master chef Than Mui Kai (Tham Yu Kai, co-head chef of Lai Wah restaurant)as a symbol of prosperity and good health amongst the Chinese.

As I always do, when preparing a completely unknown dish for the first time, I decided to plow through as many blogs and articles as possible, featuring this dish. I wanted to get a sense of its personality, components, what elements people included time and time again and which components lended themselves to personalization and preference.

Many of the initial recipes that I discovered led me to believe that this dish leaned towards the sweet side, thanks to deep fried wonton skins and liberal amounts of plum sauce. Boy am I glad that I didn’t stop there though because it wasn’t until I reached an entry by EatingAsia that I felt that moment of recognition, where I finally felt I understood what this dish was supposed to be about.

Lamenting the fact that so many commercial Yu Sheng’s underwhelm the palate, EatingAsia praised the dish as prepared by a Kuala Lampur restaurant called Sek Yuen.

From EatingAsia:
Sek Yuen’s yu sheng is a textural marvel – the combination of six fresh and pickled ingredients, cut to almost exactly the same shape and size, culminates in one big, satisfying crunch. It’s sweet from the plum sauce, but also boasts varying shades of tartness from pickles, lime juice, and fragrant lime leaves. The overwhelming flavors are of fish and vegetables, spiced up with ginger two ways (pickled and fresh) and white pepper. The cinnamon adds a subtle warm note. Won ton crisps (most other versions use colored crunchies of unidentifiable origin) – sturdy, grease-less, and wheaty – are delicious enough to eat on their own. Kudos to the restaurant for its light hand with the dressing and for its use of sesame oil; I’ve had more than my share of yu sheng drenched in plain old cooking oil – blech!

The words were evocative, the photos breathtaking. This would be the formula that I would use as the base for where my own whimsy would take me!

Next on my agenda, was to determine how to handle the raw fish component. I do not follow a vegan raw diet so fish is not a problem for me. I adore sashimi, but with two days to go before the event deadline I had no idea where to get sashimi grade salmon locally and figured that cold-smoked salmon could be a suitable substitute, but was this permissible? Again, I turned to the internet where I learnt that an Italian restaurant in Singapore offers a smoked salmon Yu Sheng, and that Singapore Airlines does as well for passengers. Not only that but in recent years some Singaporean restaurants have been radically reinterpreting Yu Sheng with great success. Smoked salmon was a go.

Only one more obstacle stood in my way, but this time it was a self-imposed one. I was determined to make this recipe as raw as possible. This meant no commercially bought plum sauce, and definitely no deep-fried wonton skins. PIckled ginger can be prepared in a raw fashion, but again time was working against me, chopped raw ginger would have to do. I made a raw plum sauce from scratch, and in lieu of wonton skins I prepared dehydrated almond crackers using some leftover almond pulp that I had frozen after making a nut ‘milk’.

Although I was nervous putting this together, as I started to see it coming together my anxiety started to be overcome with excitement. I always get this way when trying something new!

After all was done, J and I tossed the salad together until everything was well-blended! This technique makes sure that all the essential components of the yu sheng, get to take center stage with each bite. The hot and spicy, the crunchy, the slightly sour, the sweet. The warmth of the oily marinated salmon, and the cool crisp vegetable shreds. It ends up being something so much above and beyond the sum of its parts. I know that this recipe is only supposed to be served once a year, but it’s going to be very very hard for me not to make it a semi-regular habit

To learn more about Yu Sheng:
• Chinese New Year 2009: Yu Sheng with a Twist
• Yu Sheng Rituals and Meanings
• The Dish: Yu Sheng (Wall Street Journal)
• Yu Sheng on Flickr
• Oranges, yee sang and a beast: Myths and facts about Chinese New Year!

Yu Sheng/Yee Sang “Rainbow Raw Fish Salad”
Serves 2

8 oz smoked salmon
1 tablespoon nama shoyu
2 carrots, shredded
1 sweet potato, peeled and shredded
1/2 avocado, cubed
4 tbsp chopped chive
3 pimiento peppers, sliced thinly
2 inches ginger, peeled and julienned into thin matchsticks
2 leaves pak choi (bok choy)
sesame oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1/4 peanuts, chopped
3 or 4 chadon beni leaves or cilantro
rice wine vinegar
1 lime

1. Tear the smoked salmon into large irregular pieces
2. Marinate in sesame oil (enough to almost cover), 1 tsp nama shoyu, and 1/2 of the julienned ginger. Turn occasionally while assembling the rest of the recipe.
3. Sort shredded carrot and sweet potato into separate mounds. I used 2 mounds of each and arranged around the perimeter of a circular plate or dish, alternating with chopped avocado, and a mound of combined chive, pimientos and the remainder of ginger. Be sure to leave a hole in the center for the fish!
4. Once assembled drizzle the assorted vegetables with one tablespoon rice vinegar, one tablespoon of sesame oil
5. Next, sprinkle the sesame seeds, chadon beni and cilantro
6. Around the perimeter sprinkle the chopped peanuts and cracked dehydrated almond crackers (feel free to use fried wonton skins if non-raw)
7. Place half of the shredded bok choy in the center of the plate
8. Add the fish and marinade to the center of the plate
9. Top fish with the remainder of the bok choy
10. Squeeze half a lime over the fish and bok choy
11. Drizzle plum sauce (1/2-3/4 cup) over the shredded vegetables. (here is a recipe for raw plum sauce if not using commercial )
12. Toss to combine at the table!

This recipe is an exclusive TriniGourmet original. Please do not share it or post it to your site without crediting TriniGourmet.com. A link back to our site is not necessary but always appreciated

This quick and simple salad is perked up by the addition of slivered stem ginger. Stem ginger is an ingredient that doesn’t get as much love as I think it should. It’s usually found in the baking aisle, but at times I have seen it hiding rather uncomfortably in the aisles that house ‘international ingredients’ and/or random salad dressings.

From the Good Food Channel:

Preserved or stem ginger is made from tender young ginger root – which is technically not a root at all but a rhizome or underground stem of a tropical plant.

Finely chop or slice the ginger pieces to sprinkle over cream, ice cream, mascarpone, pancakes and fruit salads, adding a little syrup from the jar too if a sauce is desired.

Preserved ginger goes especially well with chocolate, caramel and honey.

Watercress Salad W/ Ginger

INGREDIENTS:
spinach
slivered stem ginger (stored in syrup)
1 bag shredded carrot

(play around with the proportions, do what’s right for you!)

DRESSING:
8 ounces sesame tahini
juice of 1/2 medium sized lemon
2 medium sized garlic cloves
1/4 teaspoon Celtic sea salt or Himalayan crystal salt
1 cup filtered or spring water

METHOD:
Put all ingredients in a blender and blend on high until smooth and creamy. Pour over salad and toss.

Season with freshly cracked pepper and salt to taste.

This recipe is an exclusive TriniGourmet original. Please do not share it or post it to your site without crediting TriniGourmet.com. A link back to our site is not necessary but always appreciated