← Nouns Cooking · Caribbean

Ingredients

• 300 g salted pig tails or salt beef, cut into pieces and soaked overnight
• 700 g bone-in chicken thighs or drumsticks, skin removed
• 1 Lime, juiced
• 1 firm breadfruit (about 1.5 kg), peeled, cored and cut into wedges
• 4 green (unripe) bananas, peeled and halved
• 200 g callaloo (dasheen leaves) or spinach, roughly chopped
• 2 Onion, sliced
• 4 cloves Garlic, crushed
• 3 Spring onion, chopped
• 2 celery sticks, chopped
• 4 sprigs Thyme
• 1 Scotch bonnet chilli, left whole
• 1 tsp Ground turmeric
• 800 ml coconut milk (2 cans)
• 1 tsp salt, to taste
• 200 g plain flour, for the dumplings
• 120 ml cold water, for the dumplings

Method

1. Drain the soaked salted meat, cover with fresh water and boil for 20 min to draw out more salt. Drain.
2. Rub the chicken with the lime juice and season with a little salt, half the garlic and some thyme leaves. Knead the flour with the cold water and a pinch of salt into a firm dough, then roll into short logs.
3. In a large heavy pot, lay the callaloo leaves on the bottom. Add the salted meat and chicken, then the breadfruit, green bananas, onions, celery, spring onion, remaining garlic and thyme.
4. Whisk the turmeric into the coconut milk with 1 tsp salt and pour it over; it should come about three-quarters of the way up. Sit the scotch bonnet on top.
5. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer on low for 30 min. Do not stir, just shake the pot now and then.
6. Lay the dumplings on top, cover and cook for 20–25 min more, until the breadfruit is tender, the coconut milk has been absorbed and only a little golden oil is left at the bottom. The chicken should reach 75°C (165°F).
7. Lift out the pepper and serve a bit of everything in each bowl.

Tips

• If the pot dries before the breadfruit is soft, add a splash of water down the side rather than stirring.
• Frozen breadfruit from Caribbean shops works well; potatoes and green plantains can stand in.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

196 flavors Simply Trini Cooking CaribbeanPot.com