Caribbean cuisine is incredibly diverse and varies across the different islands and regions, but it often shares common elements due to historical influences from African, Amerindian, European (particularly Spanish, British, French, and Dutch), and Indian cultures. Here are some key components and dishes commonly found in Caribbean cuisine:
- Rice and Beans: A staple in many Caribbean countries, rice and beans are often cooked together with various seasonings and served alongside meats, fish, or vegetables.
- Plantains: A versatile fruit that can be fried, boiled, or baked. Fried plantains (tostones or platanos fritos) are particularly popular as a side dish or snack.
- Seafood: Given the Caribbean’s abundant coastline, seafood plays a significant role in the cuisine. Commonly consumed seafood includes fish (such as snapper and mahi-mahi), lobster, shrimp, and conch.
- Jerk Seasoning: A spicy and flavorful seasoning blend used primarily on meats like chicken, pork, and fish. Jerk dishes are often grilled or smoked.
- Curries: Influenced by Indian cuisine, curried dishes featuring chicken, goat, or seafood with rich spices and coconut milk are popular in countries like Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana.
- Callaloo: A leafy green vegetable dish cooked with coconut milk, often including okra, peppers, and sometimes crab or salted meats.
- Ackee and Saltfish: A traditional Jamaican dish where ackee (a fruit) is cooked with salted codfish, onions, tomatoes, and spices. It’s often served as a breakfast dish.
- Roti: A type of flatbread of Indian origin, often filled with curried meats, vegetables, or chickpeas. It’s popular in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and other Caribbean islands.
- Fritters and Patties: Various types of fritters made from ingredients like saltfish (bacalao), conch, or vegetables, as well as patties filled with spiced meats or vegetables.
- Rum: A significant part of Caribbean culture, rum is often used in cooking (such as in desserts like rum cake) and enjoyed as a beverage.
- Tropical Fruits: Mangoes, papayas, pineapples, guavas, and passionfruit are widely available and used in both savory and sweet dishes, as well as refreshing beverages.
Caribbean cuisine reflects the vibrant and diverse cultural heritage of the region, with each island offering its own unique flavors and specialties. Whether it’s the spicy heat of jerk chicken, the comforting flavors of rice and peas, or the sweetness of ripe tropical fruits, Caribbean food is known for its bold flavors and delicious combinations.
Carribean Cassava Pone
This recipe is a Caribbean dessert, a delicious cassava, pumpkin and coconut treat. It’s very simple to put together, just combine all of the ingredients and put into a pan and bake. That’s it!
It is great warmed up with your favorite cup of coffee or tea. The blend of spices in this recipe give the dessert an aromatic and pleasant smell. My kitchen was smelling really nice afterwards! 😀
This recipe normally calls for 1 cup of grated coconut and 1 1/2 cups of coconut milk, but I left it out as I have allergies to coconut 😭 so for the milk I replaced it with unsweetened almond milk. If you want to make it even more lower in carbs, add more grated coconut and pumpkin puree and less cassava. It’s 14g netcarb per 1 cup of pumpkin puree. As you see here, cassava is not keto or low carb, however, it is a root vegetable, and if you have a cheat meal once a week, this dessert won’t harm you, especially if you only have one slice. Keep in mind, you’re using sweeteners in this recipe and not real sugar so overall it’s a pretty healthy dessert.
I highly recommend this dessert! Let me know in the comments if you enjoyed it too!
Paleo Cassava Pone Recipe
Ingredients:
- 4 cups grated cassava, frozen, room temperature
- 1 cup grated coconut (I used frozen)
- 1/2 cup mashed pumpkin (I used canned, organic puree)
- 1 1/4 cup sweetener (add another 1/4 cup if you like really sweet)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 6-8 tablespoon oil or butter, softened (I used Ghee)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract (I didn’t have this on hand so I left this out)
- 1 1/2 cups coconut milk or unsweetened almond milk
You can see the original/authentic recipe here on this website: https://www.simplycaribbean.net #shoutout
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 325F.
- Grease your baking pan and set aside.
- Blend the coconut milk and grated coconut together. In my case, I skipped this step. Set aside.
- In a large bowl combine all the ingredients and mix well.
- Pour the mixture into greased baking pan. Place on the center rack and bake uncovered for one hour at 325°F degrees followed by an additional 45 minutes at 350°F. I set my timer for each.
- Look for firmness. It shouldn’t by shaky or wobbly but firm to the touch.
- Bake for a final additional 10-15 minutes more, at 375°F if you want more golden brown on the surface.
