Split Pea Soup

My wife loves soups because they're a quick and easy meal filled with all the nutrients she needs. I'm going to say my wife loves my soups, not because she's my wife, but because it taste better then any soups she's ever had (there, I said it!).

I regularly make this simple split peas soup which gives her about 4 1-litre jars to freeze for later.  Reheated from frozen or fresh, it taste the same every time.  The key is to soak the split peas ahead of time to soften them (I usually do overnight).  This recipe takes about an hour to make.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 clove garlic finley diced
• 3 cups dry yellow split peas
• 5 cups water
• 2 stalks green onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 an onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup sweet potato, cut into cubes
• 1/2 cup pumpkin, cut into cubes
• 1 tbsp thyme
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp black pepper
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1 pinch of ginger
• 1 tbsp brown sugar

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, cover 3 cups of dry split peas with water.  Let stand for at least 3 hours (overnight is fine)
2. Drain the split peas.
3. In a large pot (that can hold at least 4 liters),  add olive oil and heat on medium.
4. Once oil is hot, add garlic to the pot. 
5. Once the garlic is golden brown, add the split peas to the pot.  Stir in the water.
6. Add green onions, onions, salt, black peper, brown sugar, thyme, and ginger to the pot.
7. After 5 minutes, add the coconut milk, sweet potato, and pumpkin.
8. Cover the pot and turn the stove down to low and cook for 40 minutes. 
9. Check the pot and stir every ten minutes to avoid letting the peas stick to the bottom. 

Serve with your favourite side like fresh french bread or corn bread.

Rice & Peas T&T Style

 

Rice & peas with fried fish and plantains

I grew up in a household where rice and peas was a staple to most of our meals.  It's a great compliment to beef, chicken, goat, or fish (like in the picture).

The good thing with rice and peas is you can use any type of peas you have in stock and you can make a large batch and freeze some for later.  In my house we use two types, red beans (kidney) or dry pigeon peas.

Here's how I make mine.  It takes about 30 minutes to make.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 cup of peas (dry or can)
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 green onions
• 1 1/2 cups rice (white or brown)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp finely grated scotch bonnet pepper
• 1/4 cup coconut milk

Steps:

1. Add olive oil in the pot of your choice
2. Mix the garlic with the oil in the pot.  Burn the garlic until it turns dark brown.
3. Add the peas to the pot while the garlic is still burning.  Stir the garlic and peas together.
4. Mix in the onion and the green onion.  
5. Stir in the water, salt, thyme, black pepper.  
6. Let the pot simmer on the medium heat for 5 minutes.  
7. Turn the stove down to low and stir in the rice, the coconut milk,  and the butter.  
8. Add the scotch bonnet pepper. 
9. Cover the pot and let it dry down until the rice is cooked (about 20 minutes).  You may have to add water more water if it starts to stick.  It really all depends of what type of rice your using.  



Golden Accra



Accra ( Fish Cake)

Every Carribean household near and far knows about these light, spicy, and flavourful fried puffs of dough.  There are many names for them: some call them

fish cakes, saltfish fritters.  In my Trinidadian house, we call them accra.

Accra is basically salted cod fish mixed with chopped vegetables and heavily seasoned with spices and pepper.  They take minutes to make and are full of nutrients.  You can vary the ingredients to give it different flavours and textures. Most recently, I had one that was made with curry and celery - different, but tasty.

Give my simple recipe a try and let me know what you think.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of salted cod fish boiled out 3 times and broken into small pieces
• 1/4 cup of flour
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1/2 onion finely chopped
• 1green onion finely chopped
• 1/2 a red pepper diced
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 tsp finely grated scotch bonnet pepper

Steps:

1. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together until you get a thick paste.  
2. Pre-heat a frying pan with 1/4 cup of cooking oil.
3. Using a tablespoon, scoop some of the mixture into the pan.  Fit as many scoops as the pan allows.
4. When the side is golden brown, flip the cake.  Brown the other side and remove from pan.  
5. Cool in a bowl lined with paper towels to soak up the excess oil.   

Enjoy!