Kathleen Bennett

Uncommon Caribbean is unabashedly Crucian, though we’re also very proud of our Trinidad & Tobago heritage. This pride is most evidenced by our strong and unending appetite for Trini food. Can you blame us? Trini cuisine blends Amerindian, European, African, Creole, Indian, Chinese and Lebanese influences yielding uniquely yummy flavors that are often as hot and spicy as the twin-island nation’s Carnival. Okay, nothing’s quite that hot, but you get the idea. Here’s a quick and easy recipe for one of our favorite Trini dishes, Callaloo.

Directions:

Clean the dasheen leaves, wash and cut up the ochroes, then soak and cut the meat. Next, scald and clean the crabs (lump crab meat works well too). Put all ingredients into a pot with boiling water and simmer until soft. Finally, blend everything with a mixer until somewhat creamy (see image above). Quick tip: add the crab meat last so that it stays chunky. Swizzle, add butter and serve over macaroni pie or rice.

Enjoy!