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.

Stoba di Cabrito (Curacao-Style Lamb or Kid Stew)

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This stew recipe includes a small amount of salted beef, another holdover from “the old days,” when that was the only way to ship beef, and it is an ingredient found in almost all the recipes for this stew. The usual meat for the Stoba is kid (goat or cabrito), but we have substituted lamb. If you have a source for goat, try it because it is delicious. The annatto oil is commonly called ruku.

Ingredients

  • 6 ounces salt beef, covered with water and soaked overnight in refrigerator

  • 4 cups fresh water

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 2 pounds young kid (cabrito) or lamb, cubed into 1/2 inch pieces

  • 2 cups diced onion

  • 2 garlic cloves, minced

  • 1 medium green pepper, seeded and chopped

  • 1 habanero chile, stems and seeds removed, minced

  • 2 cups tomatoes, peeled and diced

  • 1 teaspoon sugar

  • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

  • 2 tablespoons annatto oil (see Note)

  • 3 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

Instructions

Drain the soaked beef and place it in a heavy casserole with the 4 cups of water. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 1 hour. Remove the beef from the pot, cube, and reserve; strain the broth and reserve.

Heat the vegetable oil in the heavy casserole, add the lamb, and brown it. Add the onion, garlic, green pepper, habanero pepper and saute the mixture until the onion is wilted – about 3 to 4 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes, sugar, lime juice, nutmeg, annatto oil, the reserved cubed beef, and simmer the mixture for 20 minutes.

Add the reserved beef stock and the potatoes and bring the mixture to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

Iguana Stew

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It’s going to be difficult to find iguana at your local supermarket, so I suggest you substitute fresh tuna or chicken for the reptilian meat. Since the spices and other ingredients are the same as used in Curaçao, you will have rough approximation of the dish. Note: As this recipe cooks, you might have to adjust the consistency with more water or coconut milk.

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds iguana meat, or substitute tuna or chicken, in large chunks

  • Juice of 1 lime

  • 3 cups water

  • 1 cup coconut milk

  • 10 small potatoes, diced

  • 3 tomatoes, chopped

  • 3 bell peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces

  • 1 cup noodles, such as macaroni

  • 2 bay leaves

  • ½ teaspoon oregano

  • 1 sprig parsley

  • 1 sprig thyme

  • 3 stalks celery, cut into ½ inch pieces

  • 2 habanero chiles, seeds and stems removed, chopped

  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped

  • Salt and pepper to taste

  • 1 ounce whiskey of choice

Instructions

In a bowl, toss the meat with the lime juice. Cover and while the meat is marinating, combine all the remaining ingredients, except the whiskey, in a large pot or stock pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and cook over low heat for 45 minutes.

Add the marinated meat, adjust the consistency if necessary, cover and cook over low heat for the following times: iguana, 1 hour; tuna, 20 minutes; chicken, 40 minutes.

Just before serving, add the shot of whiskey and stir well.

Muzik di Zumbi

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In Papiamentu, the Creole dialect, musik di zumbi is “spirit music,” a combination of African rhythms, reggae, and South American music. This cocktail will get you into the spirit, alright!

Ingredients

  • 1 small ripe mango, peeled, cubed, and blended with ½ cup water

  • 3/4 cup water

  • 3 tablespoons white rum

  • 3 tablespoons Blue Curaçao

  • 1 tablespoon lime juice

  • 4 ½ tablespoons superfine (caster) sugar

  • 3 tablespoons Grenadine

  • Crushed ice

Instructions

In a bowl, combine the mango flesh with the water and strain into a blender. Add the rum, Curaçao, lime juice, 1 ½ tablespoons of the sugar, and blend for 1 to 2 minutes.

Place the remaining sugar in a saucer and the Grenadine in another saucer. Dip the rim of a glass in the Grenadine and then in the sugar. Fill the glass with crushed ice and pour the blended mixture over it.

Curacao Special

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Warning, warning! This is a powerful drink, so under no circumstances should you drink it and then attempt to capture an iguana.

Ingredients

  • ½ ounce light rum

  • ½ ounce dark rum

  • ½ ounce 151 proof rum

  • ½ ounce sweet vermouth

  • ½ ounce Blue Curaçao

  • 1 ounce orange juice

  • ½ ounce lime juice

  • ½ teaspoon Grenadine

  • ½ cup crushed ice

  • Slice of orange

Instructions

In a mixing glass, combine the rums, vermouth, Curaçao, orange and lime juices, and Grenadine and mix well. Place the ice in a goblet and pour the mixture over it. Garnish with the orange slice and serve.