Caribbean Recipes
145 recipes found
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This Frozen Drink Tastes Like the Tropical Vacation We All Need
A guide to making the very best piña colada.
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Coquito (Puerto Rican Spiced Coconut Drink)
Coquito is a Puerto Rican drink made from coconut milk and warm spices. Think of it like a Caribbean version of eggnog.
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The Crispy Fried Fish Fritters I'm Making for All My Friend's This Holiday Season
With crispy edges and tender, slightly dense centers, bacalaitos, Puerto Rican fried salt cod fritters, are a great snack or appetizer to feed a crowd.
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Johnny Cakes: Buttery, Soft, Pillowy, and Fried to Golden Perfection
These slightly sweet fried cakes with a golden crust are enjoyed across the Caribbean as a snack or a side to a savory main.
Saltfish Fritters
A festive fixture in the Caribbean, these fritters — which are sometimes referred to as stamp and go in Jamaica — are fun to eat, relatively easy to make and best served piping hot. The rewards for a direct line from pan to plate are crispy edges and fluffy, chewy centers, thanks to a little lift from baking powder. For entertaining success, prepare the salt cod and seasoning ahead of time, and then simply mix and fry the batter as guests arrive. If possible, use coconut oil for frying to add an additional layer of tropical aroma. Serve fritters as is, or with a spicy dipping sauce like pepper sauce.
Pepper Sauce
Throughout the English and French-speaking Caribbean, homemade pepper sauce in glass jars or plastic bottles are an important part of the tablescape, kept within reach to add a burst of fruity, sharp heat to whatever is being eaten. This version, from cookbook author Lesley Enston, is earthy thanks to the addition of culantro, a fresh herb not to be confused with cilantro. From island to island, and even household to household, the recipe varies, but Scotch bonnets, the brightly colored bonnet-shaped chiles native to the region, are a must. Feel free to play around with this sauce to create one that matches your tastes, adjusting the seasonings or adding a pinch of a spice like clove or nutmeg. Keep a jar on hand to add a teaspoon or so to dishes from the Caribbean like braised oxtails or to serve as a condiment for dishes like fried snapper with Creole sauce.
Summer Fish Tea
Fish tea is an endlessly flexible soup recipe found across the Caribbean, consisting of fish, starchy vegetables like pumpkin and yellow yam, and seasonings, which can all vary depending on the cook. Some prepare it with a helpful packet labeled "fish tea flavored soup mix," while others prefer making it from scratch with fresh fish heads. This weeknight version lands somewhere in the middle, showcasing tender-crisp summer vegetables like corn and green beans in a delicate broth scented with ginger, allspice and juicy hunks of snapper. If Scotch bonnet chiles are unavailable, habanero will work. Making a small puncture in the whole pepper will allow some heat to permeate the broth, but not an overwhelming amount. For a spicier soup, make a larger incision. To make this soup preparation even faster, you can cut the vegetables for the soup while the broth simmers.
West Indian Kedgeree (Coconut Curry Rice With Cod)
Rice plumped in spiced coconut milk, delicate steamed cod and fudgy egg yolks unite in this tropical take on kedgeree. A British derivative of South Asia’s ever popular khichdi, kedgeree keeps the golden spiced rice and swaps lentils for fish in a dish that’s one of many culinary byproducts of England’s former colonization of India. This interpretation begs for yet another leap across the ocean to the West Indies, where coconuts, scallions and curry abound. Traditionally, kedgeree calls for smoked haddock, but fresh cod is milder and requires less preparation, saving cleanup time. Salting the cod ahead of time lightly cures it, enhancing flavor and texture and giving a nod to salt cod, a popular ingredient in the West Indies.
Chicharrón de Pollo (Latin Caribbean Fried Chicken Bites)
This Latin Caribbean variation of fried chicken, generously seasoned with adobo, sazón,and a squeeze of lime, is the ultimate comfort food that pairs well with red beans and rice.
Pepperpot
Warm with sweet orange peel and spices like cloves and cinnamon, pepperpot, a stewed meat dish popular in Guyana and the Caribbean, is traditionally served on Christmas morning. But you could make this version any time you want to celebrate. What gives it its distinct taste is cassareep, a sauce made from the cassava root. There’s no substitute, so you’ll want to plan ahead and find some online or at a Caribbean grocer. If you can’t find wiri wiri peppers, Scotch bonnets will work. Whatever you do, don’t forget to serve this braise with thick slices of white bread, roti or rice to sop up that delicious gravy.
Whole Roasted Jerk Cauliflower
This stunning vegetable dish from the chef Gregory Gourdet of Kann in Portland, Ore., applies his interpretation of Jamaica’s enduring smoky and earthy jerk seasoning to the creamy texture of roasted cauliflower. A little sugar in his jerk glaze brings out the spices’ complexity and helps the cauliflower brown. At Kann, the cauliflower is served with a coconut sour cream which tempers the spicy heat of the Scotch bonnet chile and offers a cool contrast to the cauliflower. This works great as a side dish or as a main course served alongside a salad.
Pastelitos
When my mother, Rosa Fernandez, immigrated from the Dominican Republic to New York to be with my father, she brought her grandmother’s recipe for pastelitos along with her. Most Latin American countries have their own versions of a savory pie; stuffed with spiced meat and deep-fried, pastelitos are the Dominican Republic’s take. Variations on the filling exist throughout the island, the most common of which is ground beef (but you can swap in any ground meat of your choice). Street vendors and restaurants in the Dominican Republic and New York sell these savory pies year-round, but many home cooks save them for special occasions. Though dough is traditionally made from scratch, this recipe uses store-bought dough disks instead, for convenience and ease. Usually, one disk is folded to create half-moon shapes, but in this recipe the disks are cut in half and folded to create small triangles, which makes them the perfect bite to serve to guests.
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Jamaican Jerk Pork
For great Jamaican jerk pork at home, start with an intensely spicy and salty marinade then smoke it low and slow on a charcoal grill.
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Jamaican Stew Peas
This thick and hearty stew of red kidney beans, coconut milk, aromatics, meats, and doughy dumplings makes for an ideal comfort food.
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Jamaican Rundown
Sweet coconut milk balances the salty mackerel in this fish-forward breakfast.
Chicken Cook-Up Rice
Hearty and satisfying, this one-pot meal combines tender coconut rice and black-eyed peas with chicken. Marinated in a slightly spicy and herbaceous green seasoning, the meat ends up deeply flavorful. The term “cook-up” is a Caribbean expression for a dish that incorporates the ingredients at hand, so it changes from cook to cook. Different iterations vary among the islands, including the types of beans and meat used. This version of cook-up rice is inspired by a one-pot Guyanese rice dish generally made on the weekends and also on New Year's Eve. With a tradition similar to American Southerners preparing black-eyed peas for a lucky new year, this beautiful dish is hearty and satisfying.
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Jamaican Roasted Breadfruit
When roasted, this unique starchy fruit is transformed into a slightly sweet and tender treat.
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Jamaican Pepperpot
This hearty soup, rich with slow-simmered greens, is perfect for laid-back weekend entertaining.
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Jamaican Escovitch Fish
The combination of the savory fried fish and a tart and aromatic pickle makes for a quick and satisfying meal.
Caribbean Black Cake
Marva Adams-Miller has been perfecting her Caribbean black cake recipe for three decades and sells the cakes from her home in Brooklyn, N.Y. She adapts them based on customer preferences. Some years she has used Baileys Irish Cream or other liqueurs, but this version with rum is most common throughout the Caribbean islands. The cake is an evolution of the Christmas fruitcakes that English colonizers and Irish indentured servants brought to the Caribbean in the 17th century. The recipe was adapted to local ingredients, using grated tonka beans, a flavoring that tastes like a mix of pear, vanilla and almond instead of vanilla extract. Later the tonka was replaced with commercially made mixed essence, a flavoring that has a similar aroma and flavor. Rum was substituted for whisky or brandy. Burnt sugar syrup (also called browning) is integral to enhancing the deep, plummy flavor and appearance of this cake. The candied and dried fruits are traditionally soaked months in advance of baking — the longer the better, even up to one year — but, in a pinch, they can be heated with the alcohol and left to steep overnight before using.
Buss Up Shut (Paratha-Style Roti)
In Trinidad and Tobago, this roti is called buss up shut because it resembles a torn — busted up — shirt after the flaky layers of paratha roti are shredded during the cooking process. This version comes from Peter Prime, the executive chef of the Caribbean restaurant Bammy’s in Washington, D.C. Across the world, from the Indian subcontinent to the Caribbean Islands and East Africa, roti is used to describe several versions of flat, unleavened bread cooked on the stovetop. Here, the soft dough is brushed with a combination of butter or ghee and coconut oil for a toasted nuttiness that lingers faintly within the finished tender and chewy layers. The roti should be served while it’s still hot, but can also be cooled completely, wrapped in a sealed bag and frozen. Defrost and warm up by steaming gently for a few minutes.
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Salt Fish Fritters (Stamp and Go)
A winning combination of salt cod, thyme, Scotch bonnet pepper, and scallion makes these crisp, savory fritters irresistible.
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Jamaican Oxtail
This deeply flavorful Jamaican stew is loaded with tender oxtail, butter beans, and broth-thickening dumplings.
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Jamaican Pickled Herring
A vibrant, spicy, and savory snack, this classic Jamaican dish of salted herring and thinly slivered vegetables pairs beautifully with crackers, creamy avocado, and a glass of dark rum.