Eating the Caribbean Way

Aruba

Pastechu is traditionally served for breakfast but can be eaten as a snack. This delicious dish is prepared with deep-fried, crescent-shaped dough that is filled with various ingredients like chicken, beef, tuna, vegetables, or cheese. The key ingredient is usually combined with finely chopped onions, green peppers, celery stalks, and raisins. It is flavored with cumin, nutmeg, and hot peppers.

Bahamas

Fire engine is a traditional breakfast dish and has also been adopted as a local hangover cure. The dish is made with canned corned beef, thyme, tomato paste, onions, celery, bell peppers, tomatoes, oil, salt, and plenty of black pepper. The ingredients are cooked in a large frying pan. The dish is served with grits or rice.

Conch fritters are a delicacy of Caribbean and Creole cuisine. It is the national dish of the Bahamas. The dish consists of pounded, tenderized conch meat mixed with tomatoes, onions, celery, bell peppers, and peppery seasonings. Then the mixture is formed into balls and fried in hot oil.

Cuba

Pizza cubana is a pizza that is made with dough a little thicker than for other pizzas and a sauce that is a bit sweeter. Once the dough is prepared it is topped with ham, chorizo, pepperoni, shrimp, ground beef, lechon asado, lobster, picadillo, bell peppers, and sliced bananas. Along with the tomato sauce and cheese usually gouda in Cuba.

Pan con bistec is a traditional Cuban sandwich. It is made with toasted Cuban or French bread topped with sliced beef steak, grilled onions, tomatoes, potato sticks, and lettuce. Mayonnaise and ketchup can be used in the sandwich.

Picadillo is a spicy dish that is made with ground meat, tomatoes, and onions. Raisins can be added for sweetness and olives for saltiness, potatoes are added in the Philippines, and lime juice, honey, or chili peppers in Mexico.

Dominican Republic

Chapea is a hearty stew that consists of beans, rice, and vegetables like plantains, anyama squash, onions, green peppers, carrots, and garlic. The stew is flavored with coriander and sour orange juice or lime juice. Usually, it is served with langaniza sausage.

Ninos envueltos literally translates to wrapped children. It is a traditional dish that is made with rice and ground beef wrapped in cabbage leaves and cooked in tomato sauce. The dish is flavored with garlic, basil, bell peppers, and onions. The tomato sauce consists of olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, oregano, sugar, salt and pepper. The cabbage rolls are simmered in the tomato sauce until tender and fully cooked.

Chimichurras is a delectable hamburger prepared with a ground beef patty flavored with oregano, garlic, parsley, and red pepper flakes. The burger is placed on a bun and topped with mayonnaise, shredded cabbage, tomatoes, and onions.

Chivo guisado is a delectable goat stew. It is made with pieces of goat meat, onions, bitter oranges, garlic, and tomatoes. The stew is flavored with wild oregano and Scotch bonnet peppers.

Haiti

Diri ak pwa is the national dish of Haiti consisting of rice and beans. It is prepared with a variety of beans like pinto, red kidney, and black beans. Combining the beans with rice makes a very nutritious dish.

Makawoni au gratin is prepared with larger types of pasta like rigatoni and penne. The dish is seasoned with mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and white pepper. The pasta along with all the other ingredients is placed in a baking dish and sprinkled with grated cheese like cheddar or Parmesan and baked until the top is golden and the cheese melted. Additional ingredients can be added like ham or shredded chicken.

Grigot is a dish that is made with pork meat cubes simmered in a sweet, spicy, and tangy marinade. The marinade consists of chili peppers, onions, and orange, lime, or lemon juice. After the pork is tender it is fried in a skillet.

Jamaica

Mackerel rundown is a classic dish that is made with salted or pickled mackerel. Topped with a thick sauce prepared with coconut milk and boiled with seasonings till it turns into a custard. The sauce is flavored with garlic, black pepper, scotch bonnet peppers, scallions, and thyme.

Escovitch fish is a classic dish that is prepared by seasoning, marinating, and frying fish with a peppery, vinegar-based dressing that includes bell peppers, carrots, and onions. The fish can be red snapper, mullet, or kingfish.

Puerto Rico

Pavochon is the star dish on every Puerto Rican table on Thanksgiving. The name of the dish is a combination of two words – pavo meaning turkey and lechon meaning roast suckling pig. Basically, the dish is a turkey that is seasoned and cooked like roasted pork. The turkey is stuffed with monfongo, a combination of pork rinds, garlic, plantains, and peppers.

Tripleta is a popular sandwich that is filled with three types of meat – grilled steak, lechon pork, and han. The meat is placed on a loaf of bread and topped with fries, ketchup, mayonnaise, cheese, and vegetables like cabbage, tomatoes, and onions.

Trinidad and Tobago

Saltfish buljol is a spicy dish prepared by soaking and boiling salted fish pieces and mixing the fish with tomatoes, hot peppers, sweet peppers, onions, and oil. It is usually served for breakfast spooned into a bread called bake, making it into an open-faced sandwich.

Curry duck is a popular Caribbean dish. It is made with Muscovy duck, raised by villagers. The duck meat is marinated with salt, pepper, cumin, curry powder, hot peppers, cilantro, scallions, onions, and garlic. It is served with rice or roti on the side. This flavorful dish was influenced by Indian cuisine.

Curried crab and dumplings is a traditional dish. The crabs are cleaned and soaked in lime water and then drained. They are seasoned with celery, pimento peppers, onions, garlic, and chives. Once marinated the crabs are placed in a pot with curry powder paste, coconut milk, and hot peppers. The dumplings are prepared with flour, grated cassava, sugar, salt, and water then added to the pot with the crab and simmered until the sauce thickens.