Keshi Yena (Stuffed Cheese)

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Numerous variations on this dish appear throughout the ABC islands, but this is the one most commonly served on Curaçao.

Ingredients

  • 1 small Edam cheese

  • 3 tomatoes, chopped and peeled

  • 2 onions, sliced

  • 1 clove garlic, minced

  • 1 bell pepper, chopped

  • 1/4 cup sliced olives

  • 1 tablespoon capers

  • 1 tablespoon parsley

  • ½ habanero chile, seeds and stem removed, minced (or more to taste)

  • ½ cup raisins

  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste

  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

  •  tablespoons ketchup

  • 2 tablespoons mustard

  • 2 pounds. shredded chicken or ground meat

  • ½ cup vegetable oil

  • 5 eggs

  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Slice the top of the cheese and preserve. Gently scoop out the inside, leaving a 1/4 to ½ inch shell. The cheese should resemble a hollowed out pumpkin.

In a large skillet, saute the vegetables, seasonings and meat in the vegetable oil; simmer for about 20 minutes. Beat 4 eggs and stir into the mixture. Spoon into the cheese shell, replace the top and spread remaining beaten egg on top to seal. Grease a shallow baking dish and fill it with about 1 inch of water. Set the cheese in the dish and bake for 1 to 1 ½ hours at 350 degrees F. The cheese will expand and flatten slightly but keep its basic shape. Serve hot, cut into wedges.

Habanero Lasagne

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This is not a lasagne to be taken lightly as it has with the robust flavor of habaneros and black olives–a real taste combination. As you bite into this luscious layered delight, you are temporarily lulled into the garlic-infused sauce when all of a sudden, the habanero layer hits your mouth and then it melds with the taste of the tomato and the vegetables. This recipe requires 3 days of prior preparation–marinating the olives and peppers, and then some steaming and shuffling on the day of preparation. But, making good lasagne has never been easy, or neat. Note: This recipe requires advanced preparation.

Ingredients

  • 1 16-ounce can of whole black olives, drained and rinsed, and thinly sliced

  • 3 habanero chiles, seeds and stem removed, minced

  • ½ cup white wine

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • 1 cup chopped onion

  • 1/4 cup grated carrots

  • ½ cup finely diced celery

  • 3 cloves garlic, minced

  • 8 ripe tomatoes (2 pounds) peeled, seeded, and chopped; or substitute 1 28-ounce can of whole tomatoes, crushed.

  • 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, rehydrated in white wine, then finely chopped

  • 1 8-ounce can of tomato paste

  • 2 tablespoons chopped dried basil or 4 tablespoons fresh

  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano or 4 tablespoons fresh, chopped

  • 1 bay leaf

  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley

  • ½ teaspoon crushed rosemary

  • 1 teaspoon sugar

  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

  • 2 cups vegetable stock

  • 1 or 2 frozen packages artichoke hearts, cooked
    or substitute 4 fresh zucchini, peeled, sliced horizontally, and steamed for 1 minute

  • 1 bunch fresh spinach, cleaned and steamed for 1 minute

  • 1 pound lowfat ricotta cheese

  • ½ cup grated parmesan cheese

  • 1 cup shredded low fat mozzarella cheese

  • 1 pound cooked lasagne noodles

Instructions

Combine the black olives and the habanero chiles in a glass jar with the white wine. Place the jar in the refrigerator for 3 days, and, once a day, turn the jar upside down and shake gently.

In a large, heavy Dutch oven-type casserole, heat the olive oil. Add the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Then add the tomatoes, the sun-dried rehydrated tomatoes, and the tomato paste and mix thoroughly.

Bring the tomato mixture to a low boil and add the basil, oregano, bay leaf, parsley, rosemary, sugar, balsamic vinegar, and 1 cup of the rich stock. (Reserve the second cup of stock to use for thinning, if needed, later on in the cooking.) Cover and simmer the mixture for at least one hour, stirring occasionally. If the mixture becomes too thick, thin with the reserved stock.

Remove the bay leaf from the tomato sauce and discard. Spread ½ cup of the tomato sauce in a 13 by 9 inch baking dish. Place some cooked lasagne noodles on top of the sauce. Thoroughly drain the olive-habanero mixture, and spread 1/3 of it over the noodles. Top the olive mixture with 1/3 of the sliced artichokes (or zucchinis), and 1/3 of the steamed spinach leaves. Mix the three cheeses together and spread 1/3 of this mixture over the spinach.

Pour 1 cup of the tomato sauce over this mixture, and then cover with more lasagne noodles. Repeat the whole process for two more layers, ending with the noodles and topping off with the tomato sauce.

Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes. (Or, cover and refrigerate and bake later; just allow the dish to reach room temperature before baking.)

 

Spicy Rasta Pasta with Chicken and Hot Chiles

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Originally served at the restaurant Barbacoa in Newport Beach, California, this pasta has the flavors of the Caribbean.

Ingredients

For the Pasta:

  • 12 ounces assorted color peparodelle pasta (wide cut noodles)

  • 1 ½ pounds skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/4 inch by 4 inch strips

  • 2 tablespoons jerk seasoning

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic

  • 1 cup diced tomatoes

  • 1/2 pound zucchini and yellow squash (cut very thin lengthwise)

  • 2 cups Spicy Marinara Sauce 

  • 1 habanero chile, stem and seeds removed, minced

  • 1 cup chicken broth

  • ½ cup white wine

  • Chopped cilantro for garnish

 For the Sauce:

  • ½ teaspoon crushed hot dried red chile, such as piquin

  • 1 small white onion, diced

  • 1 tablespoon garlic, minced

  • 1 tablespoon dried basil

  • 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

  • 6 ounces tomato paste

  • 3/4 pound whole tomatoes, peeled and chopped

  • 1 teaspoon white pepper

  • Salt to taste

  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

 

Instructions

For the Pasta:

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water with a little olive oil until cooked, about 5 to 8 minutes.

Dust the chicken with the jerk seasoning spice and saute in the olive oil in a large frying pan for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, tomatoes, squash and saute for an additional minute. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the cilantro, and boil for 1 minute.

Mix the pasta with the chicken sauce, garnish with the cilantro and serve.

 For the Sauce:

In a pan, saute the chile, onion, garlic, basil, and oregano in the oil until soft. Add the tomato paste and whole tomatoes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and simmer for 10 minutes.

Place the sauce in a blender and blend for 30 seconds. Add salt to taste.

Chill the sauce and add the fresh basil.

 

 

Blue Corn Fettucine with Chorizo and Smoked Chicken

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This recipe was served at the Spoon River Charcuterie in Charlotte, North Carolina. At Spoon River, John Wysor, says, “We smoke our own bacon and chicken, and we make about five kinds of chorizo, including a chorizo borracho, made with Jose Cuervo Tequila, that we use in this dish. Any flavorful Mexican-style sausage will be wonderful, however, and smoked turkey can be used in place of the chicken.”

Ingredients

  • 10 ancho chiles, stems and seeds removed

  • 1/4 pound smoked slab bacon

  • 1 12-ounce package blue corn fettuccine

  • 1 1/2 cups chopped onions

  • 2 tablespoons chopped garlic

  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin seeds

  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano

  • 1/4 cup tequila

  • 3 cups chicken stock or water

  • 1 pound ripe tomatoes

  • 1/2 pound Mexican-style chorizo, in links

  • 1/2 pound smoked chicken meat, chopped or shredded

  • 1 or 2 cups grated queso blanco or Monterey Jack cheese

Instructions

Place the anchos on a baking sheet in a 200 degree oven for about five minutes until you can smell them roasting. Take care that they do not burn.

Saute the bacon in a saucepan over medium heat until it renders some of its fat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are soft. Add the cumin and oregano and cook for three minutes, stirring. Add the tequila and the stock or water and bring to a simmer. Add the roasted ancho chiles, remove from the heat, and steep for five or ten minutes. Cut the tomatoes in half and roast them in a heavy skillet, cut side down, over medium heat, until blackened.

Puree the ancho mixture with the tomatoes in a blender or food processor until quite smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the blender and adding more liquid as needed. Return to the sauce pan and simmer for about 1/2 hour. The sauce should be smooth but not too thick. Add more liquid as needed.

Add the chorizo, taking care not to boil the sauce at this point, lest the sausage burst. Simmer about twelve to fifteen minutes, remove the sausage, slice it, and return it to the sauce, along with the smoked chicken, and simmer 5 to 10 minutes more.

Cook the pasta according to the instructions, drain it, and divide it between four plates. Ladle the sauce on top and garnish with the grated cheese.

East Indian-Style Samosas

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Similar to empanadas, traditional samosas are conical shaped filled pastries that are a popular snack throughout the sub-continent. Although they are typically fried, I prefer the filling in a baked empanada pastry. Potatoes and peas are common ingredients in samosas and I like to add a little yogurt so the mixture isn’t too dry.

Ingredients

  • 1 onion, finely chopped

  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped

  • 3 serrano chiles, stems removed, chopped

  • 1 tablespoon chopped ginger

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 1/3 to ½ cup plain yogurt

  • 2 small potatoes, boiled and cut into ½ -inch cubes

  • ½ cup frozen peas, defrosted or if using fresh, cooked

  • 1 tablespoon curry powder

  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds

  • ½ teaspoon ground cayenne

  • 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds

  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint or cilantro

  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice, fresh preferred

  • Salt to taste

Instructions

In a heavy skillet or wok, heat the oil and saute the onion, garlic, serrano, and ginger until the onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in the yogurt. Add the potatoes and peas, curry powder, fennel seeds, cayenne, and cumin seeds and continue to cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the mint and lemon juice, stir well and salt to taste.

Cool slightly before filling the samosas.