Jamaican pork tenderloin

For ➍
500-750 g pork tenderloin, trimmed & cut into 2 cm slices*/**
2 dl orange juice
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 ts cornstarch***
2 tbs apple juice
2 large cloves garlic, minced
½ ts ground cayenne pepper
¼ ts ground cumin
¼ ts dried leaf thyme
¼ ts salt
2 tbs minced scallions

Place the pork* slices, a few at a time, between 2 sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap. Using a meat mallet or rolling pin, pound slices to 0.5 cm thickness.
Coat a skillet with a small amount of vegetable oil. Place skillet over medium-high heat until very hot.
Add slices to make a single layer in the skillet. Cook slices for about 6 m, or until the meat is cooked, turning once halfway through cooking time. Transfer the pork to a warm platter. Cover to keep warm. Repeat until all the meat is cooked.**
Add the orange juice to the skillet. Quickly bring to a boil, scraping bottom with a spatula to loosen any browned bits. Add the onion, green peppers, red peppers. Cook, stirring, for 5 m, until vegetables are tender.
Place the cornstarch in a small bowl. Add the apple juice. Stir until smooth. Add the minced garlic, ground cayenne pepper, cumin, thyme, and salt. Add to the skillet. Cook, stirring, for 3 m, or until the sauce thickens.
Serve over the meat. Sprinkle with the scallions.
Serve with oven-baked sweet potatoes.

*Or chicken fillets, sliced in 2 lengthwise.

**Or braise the meat in a traditional way: brown the complete tenderloin for a few m in oil, then braise for about 15-25 m in a skillet.

***Omit, if wanted.

Filets de rouget à l'antillaise (Antilles red mullet)

For ➍
6 fillets of fresh mullet/ redfish
1 small chilli (dried or fresh hot 'piment oiseau', 'bird's eye' , or Spanish chilli)
2 cloves of garlic
4 onion
½ can pineapple (no syrup), or a small pineapple, slices drained & chopped
1 lime
1 tbs grated coconut
4 tbs oil
salt

Heat 2 tbs oil in a skillet. Add the onions and chopped garlic, 3-4 m on low heat. Add pineapple slices. Sprinkle crumbled chilli over it and cook 5 m over medium heat.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a frying pan. Grill fillets 2 ms on each side. Salt and place them on the pineapple mix. Cover and cook for 2 m.
Off the heat, add the lime juice and the grated coconut.
Serve with riz créole.

'Piment oiseau' (birds' pepper) is called after the small birds who like to pick the small red peppers in Cameroun. It is one of the strongest chillies available (9 on the Scoville scale). One of the most common mistakes is to cut the peppers into 2 and put only half to make it less strong: the "spice" is in the seeds, it will have the opposite effect.
Attach a chilli to a string, soak in your dish, and remove it after a few minutes.

Riz créole (Creole rice)

For ➍
300 g long grain white rice
1 ts salt
1 onion, peeled*
1 branch parsley*
1 branch thyme*
1 carrot, peeled*
1 l water (or twice the quantity of rice)

(Soak the rice in cold water for 15 m and drain.)*
In a large saucepan, bring 1 l (or twice the quantity of rice) of water to a boil. Add salt, onion, parsley, thyme, and carrot. Add the rice and simmer over medium heat for 20 m.
Remove the onion, parsley, thyme, and carrot.
Drain the rice in a colander. Rinse under cold running water.
Drain again and turn into the saucepan.
Simmer over low heat for 5 m until the rice grains are completely dry.
Serve as a side dish. You might add the rice to the sauce of the dish.

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Lime marmalade

For ➑-➓ jars*
18 large Persian limes (-/+ 1.5 kg), peeled, zest cut into thin strips 5 cm long (or a mix of limes & lemons)
1.8 l water
3 kg sugar

Cut the peeled limes in half and squeeze the juice. Set the juice aside.

Scrape the pulp and seeds from the lime halves. Place in a cheesecloth bag. Place the cheesecloth bag, zest, juice and water in a large saucepan, then cover them and soak overnight, or for about 8 h.**

Bring the water mixture to a boil*** and cook about 2 h, until the peels are soft. Remove the cheesecloth bag. Add the sugar to the pan and stir to dissolve. Boil, stirring often****, until a cooking thermometer reaches 180°C.

Ladle slightly cooled marmalade into clean jars*****, leaving 0.5 cm of headspace. Cap and seal. Process for 10 m in a boiling-water-bath canner.

*Or for ➌-➍ jars: 6 large limes, 40 cl water, 750 g sugar, (a pinch of salt).
**Necessary to soften the zest.
***Limes can be reluctant to set. Add a small quantity of bicarbonate of soda to the mix before cooking: (less than levelled) 1 ts per 1 kg lime or lemons, or ½ ts for a 50/50 mix with orange or mandarine.
****Avoid stirring for 20 m after sugar is disolved for a clearer marmalade. Stirring might avoid burning though.
*****Sterilise the jars by placing them in the microwave on high for 6 m or about 12 m into the rolling boil. The jars should be hot when pouring the jam in, otherwise they will crack. Sterilise the lids by placing them in a saucepan of boiling water for 5 m.
******Use microwave for small quantities: 1 large piece of citrus fruit or 2 small ones (orange, lemon, tangerine, lime, etc). Wash it well and cut into chunks, skin and all. Remove all seeds and coarsly chop. Measure fruit and add equal amount of sugar to 2 l Pyrex measuring cup or similar size bowl. Stir to blend. Cook on 100% power for 8 m, stirring occasionally. Cook until thickened. Pour into jam jar, cover and refrigerate.

Lime marmalade was popularized by Rose & Co., a company that started preserving lime juice imported from the West Indies (Dominica) in 1867, to make alcohol free lime juice cordial, a concentrated drink to prevent scurvy, mainly in the British Navy. The peel and flesh that was left over from making the lime juice was soon used to make lime marmalade, as already practiced by West Indian cooks. The now world-famous Rose's lime marmalade was introduced as a luxury alternative to traditonal orange marmalade.

Tatin à la banane (Martinique reversed banana tart)

For ➑
1 sheet frozen puff pastry
2 tbs butter
10 cl rum sauce or caramel sauce*, spiced with cinnamon
3 bananas, cut crosswise into 1 cm slices

Preheat the oven to 220°C.
Working on a clean surface, roll the pastry dough into an 28 cm circle and chill.
Melt the butter in a 25 cm ovenproof skillet. Add the rum sauce and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and arrange the banana slices in a single layer in the hot rum sauce. Drape the pastry over the bananas, fitting the overhang up the sides of the skillet. Bake in the preheated oven for 22-25 m, until the pastry turns golden brown.
Cool the tarte tatin in the skillet for 30 m before inverting it onto a serving platter.**
Serve with dots of fresh (double) cream.

*Make a quick caramel sauce by mixing 150 g of sugar with 5 cl of water. Bring to the boil. Add the juice of 1 lemon. Cook until golden brown.
**When serving warm, wait 3 m.

Sauce au rhum (French rum sauce)

For ➍-➑
60 g sugar
10 cl heavy cream
60 g butter
2 tbs dark rum

In a saucepan, bring the sugar, cream, and butter to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently for 5 m. Remove from the heat and stir in the rum.
Serve over ice cream or use it to glaze a fruit tarte.

Creamy Caribbean chicken

For ➍
800 g chicken pieces
1½ ts Caribbean seasoning*
2 tbs oil
70 cl water
2 medium onions, cut into wedges
10 cl double cream

Heat oil in a pot. Add onions. Fry till onions turn golden. Place chicken in pot. Brown.
(Alternatively, put all ingredients in at the same time, and cook until onions turn golden.)
Add water and Caribbean seasoning. Cook covered till chicken is soft and only enough water remains to make a gravy. (about 60m).
Remove from fire, stir in cream.
Serve chicken with rice and some salad.

*A mix of coriander powder, cumin powder, ground cinnamon, garlic powder, ground ginger, black pepper and salt. The ingredients can be stored in an airtight container.
**Alternatively, brown the onion, add to the chicken, rubbed with spices (or push spices in cuts), with a little bit of water, and cook in the microwave.
See tip for timing.
***Or rub the chicken with spices (or push spices in cuts). Add to the fried onions and put in a 220°C preheated oven for 45 m. This recipe comes close to a quick version of a Jamaican jerk.

Caribbean pineapple salad

For ➋
1 small pineapple, chopped (catch juice)
2 sweet Caribbean peppers, seeded & minced (red or green, if possible)
1 bush coriander, shredded
1 large red onion, minced
2 tbs olive oil

Mix ingredients, some of the juice included, cover the dish and let stand for 2 h in a cool place, but not in the refrigerator.

Excellent with cold pork meat or grilled chicken.

*Add a dash of white balsamico, and a handful of chopped mint, and serve it with grilled white fish.

How to cut a pineapple!

Cuban bean soup

For ➏
500 g dry red kidney beans, soaked overnight, rinsed & drained
2 medium onions, cubed
1 whole medium garlic, crushed & peeled
2 tbs grape seed oil
2 l hot water
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
2 medium sweet red bell peppers, cubed
2 ts smoked paprika
3 large bay leaves
1 pinch Cayenne pepper or other chili powder
1 ts dried oregano
sea salt to taste
2 handfuls of freshly chopped coriander
lemon/lime wedges to serve
fresh bread to serve

Fry onions and garlic in oil until translucent on the bottom of large pot.

Add chopped peppers and fry some more.

Add water, then add beans, vinegar, hot water, smoked paprika, chili powder, bay leaves and oregano.

Bring the soup to boil over large fire, let it bubble for a while, then reduce the fire, cover and simmer for about 2,5 h.

Mash beans in the soup with potato masher, season with salt and cook 10 m longer.

Remove from fire, stir in coriander.

Serve with lemon/lime wedges on the side and some fresh, crunchy bread.

Peppered pineapple

For ➍
1 pineapple
40 cl water
4 tbs sugar
3 juniper berries*
5 Jamaican pepper berries (allspice)**
ground Jamaican pepper***

Cut pineapple into chunks or slices. Put water, sugar, the juniper and pepper berries in a pan and cook until the sugar is dissolved.

Add the pineapple chunks, cover and let simmer on low heat for 10 m.

Serve the chunks with a little juice and a turn of freshly ground pepper. Serve hot or cold as a dessert or with grilled chicken as a main dish.

*Use 1 ts of gin instead.
**Use allspice powder instead.
***Use white pepper instead.