Page 22 - GR_March_2017_web

FOOD
22 Glebe Report March 10, 2017

Add some water if the mixture is too
thick. It should have the same con-
Photos: marisa romano well in the fridge.
sistency as chutney. The sauce stores
We marinated three thick tuna
steaks (about 600 gr) in 2 – 3 table-
spoons of Bajan seasoning for about

ing just before cooking the meaty fish
Sweet potato pie Tuna steaks cooked in Bajan Christophines or three hours and added more season-
seasoning chayotes, cooked in in melted butter in a frying pan until
coconut milk the fish was just done. Once on the
Taste of the Caribbean from a Bajan kitchen plate, the fish was drizzled with the
pan juices.
We served the fish with vegetables
by Marisa romano children with special needs. She loves from nearby districts, my grandmother picked up at the market earlier that
to cook Bajan food with a modern included, would make their way to the day. The typical white sweet potatoes
Like many who escape our cold twist. Her mom makes and sells banana beach to purchase fresh fish.” were mashed and whipped with butter
Canadian winters, I too had the oppor- bread and conkies – sweet treats made Later in the day we marinated the and apple juice (orange is good too),
tunity to feel the hot sun on my skin with corn flower, coconut and raisins, fish in a traditional Bajan sauce made levelled into an oven dish, sprinkled
when I visited an Ottawa friend in steamed in a banana leaf – at a small with herbs and spices. “This season- with breadcrumbs and fresh thyme
Barbados this winter. When the plane farmers’ market. She gave me Tamara’s ing,” Tamara pointed out, “was and is and briefly broiled in the oven. We
touched down on the tarmac at Mac- telephone number when I told her that still used to add flavour to meats of all prepared a green salad and added
donald-Cartier airport a few days I was looking for someone who could kinds, including fish.” This is the flavour finely sliced raw christophine that
later, I had a tan, bones fortified by teach me how to cook a real Bajan of Bajan cuisine that I brought home. gave a fresh crunchiness to the dish.
a full load of vitamin D and a few meal. A quick phone call later and I Better known as chayote or vege-
recipes with the Bajan flavour that I knew I was in for something special. bAJAN SEASONING by TAMArA TAyLOr table pear, christophine is native to
enjoyed while on the island. Tamara arrived at our meeting place Mesoamerica and related to cucum-
Bajan cuisine stems from African in her white van at the same time as a INGREDIENTS ber and squash. It is usually cooked
and British traditions that echo the his- swift Caribbean rainstorm and greeted 1 small onion like summer squash, just until ten-
tory of Barbados. The English claimed me with a sunny smile. Our first stop 1 cup chives der, to retain its crispy consistency.
the island for the British crown in the was at the fish market in Oistins where 1 small green pepper We also cooked some – peeled, pitted
early 1600s. The first settlers arrived Tamara showed me how to choose a 1 jalapeno pepper and halved – in coconut milk and sea-
with a few Africans brought to the large piece of fresh albacore tuna that 2 tsp paprika soned with salt and pepper.
island to work as slaves on sugar plan- we later sliced into thick steaks. Her 2 tbsp fresh thyme We ate our meal on the terrace. “A
tations. Nowadays about 90 per cent of familiarity with fish goes back to her 1 ½ tbsp fresh marjoram beautiful evening,” I remarked. It was
Bajans have an Afro-Caribbean herit- childhood. She recalls the summers 1 tsp yellow mustard pointed out to me that there are no bad
age and in 2016 Barbados celebrated spent with her grandmother in the 2 tbsp fresh Thai basil evenings in Barbados – the weather is
its 50th anniversary of independence. fishing village of Silver Sands. “When 1 tsp salt not a topic of conversation.
“Slavery is a part of our history that the fishing boat came in, the fisher- Juice of 1 lemon
we, black Bajans, are told to forget,” men would blow a conch shell to let Marisa Romano is a foodie and former
says Tamara Taylor, my culinary guide. the village know of their arrival,” she METHOD scientist who was a prime instigator of
Tamara is a young mother of two tells me. “The sound of the shell could Chop all ingredients in a food pro- the Glebe Report’s Kitchen-to-Kitchen
who works as a nanny, specialising in be heard from miles away and people cessor or blend until nearly smooth. recipe exchange.

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