5 Must Try Bajan Recipes

Known as the land of flying fish, the wonderfully unique
Bajan cuisine is a balance of African, English and Indian fusion. Surrounded by
tropical waters, many popular Bajan dishes contain seafood as well as locally
sourced vegetables including okra, cassava, sweet potatoes, breadfruit and
spinach. Though there are many amazing Bajan recipes to try, we’ve boiled it
down to 5 must-try recipes to try out at home (or to taste when you come visit)!

1. Barbadian Rum Punch (via TotallyBarbados.com)

1 measure of lime juice, freshly squeezed

2 measures of sugar syrup

3 measures of dark Caribbean rum, the older, the better

4 measures of water

Dash of Angostura Bitters and freshly grated nutmeg

Place two measures of sugar in a saucepan with a little water and cook
until the sugar has dissolved and add to the juice. Add the rum and water. A
good quality passion fruit juice can be used instead of water but reduce the
syrup slightly. Serve with plenty of ice, a dash of bitters and a grating of
nutmeg.

1. Bajan Chicken (via Tyler Florence)

1 (4-pound) chicken, cut into 10 pieces

1 tablespoon whole allspice

1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

1/2 cinnamon stick

1 medium onion, chopped

2 red bell peppers, chopped

4 scallions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 scotch bonnet or habanero pepper

4 fresh thyme sprigs

1/4 cup fresh lime juice, about 5 limes

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus 3 tablespoons for frying

1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened

Rinse and dry the chicken pieces and put them into a shallow glass dish.

Put the allspice, peppercorns, and cinnamon stick into a spice grinder
and grind to a powder. To a full sized blender add the onion, peppers,
scallions, garlic, scotch bonnet, thyme, lime juice, olive oil, butter, and
ground spices. Blend to a puree; add some water if it is too thick. Pour this
over the chicken, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Remove the chicken from the refrigerator 1/2 hour before you cook it.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Put the remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a large, oven-proof sauté pan over
medium-high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and season it with salt.
Brown the chicken on both sides, then place the pan in the oven and roast until
the chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Serve garnished with cilantro
leaves.

Bajan Cou Cou and Flying Fish

Cou Cou

• 1 lb corn meal
• 8 okras
• 16 ozs water
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 ozs chopped onions
• ½ tsp chopped garlic
• 2 tsp chopped herbs
• 2 ozs butter

Soak corn­meal in cold water for five min­utes. Com­bine okras,
salt, onions, gar­lic and herbs in saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce
heat and let sim­mer for 10 min­utes. Strain off okras and
hold. In a thick bot­tom saucepan, over a low flame put the
soaked corn­meal and half of the okra liq­uid. Stir con­stantly with
a coucou stick. Add in stages the remain­ing okra liq­uid. Con­tinue to
stir and allow to steam until corn meal is totally cooked. Add okra and but­ter.
Mix well and serve with the steamed fly­ing fish.

Steamed Flying Fish

• 8 fly­ing fish fillets
• 3 limes
• 1 tbsp salt
• 3 tbsp Bajan Seasoning
• 1 large onion sliced
• 6 cloves gar­lic minced
• 1 green bell pep­per cut in juli­enne
  strips
• ½ oz fresh thyme
• ½ oz fresh marjoram
• 1 tsp pars­ley chopped
• 1 large tomato chopped
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 2 cups water
• ½ tsp hot pep­per sauce
• ½ tsp curry powder
• 3 tbsp margarine

Mari­nate the raw fish in the salt and lime juice for 10 min­utes.
Rinse the fish and pat dry with paper tow­els, then rub in the Bajan Sea­son­ing
and leave to mar­i­nate for 1 hour. Roll each fish into
a sausage shape, start­ing with the tail. Heat the mar­garine in a saucepan and sauté the onion and gar­lic
until the onions become trans­par­ent. Add the tomato and pars­ley and con­tinue
to cook for 2 min­utes. Tie the thyme and mar­jo­ram together and add
to the pan together with the remain­ing ingre­di­ents. Place rolled fish on mix­ture
in pan, reduce heat, cover and sim­mer for 10 min­utes until fish is
cooked.

Cornmeal Cake with Raisins and Cherries (via All Easy Recipes)

• 1 tablespoon plus ½ pound butter
• softened 2 cups yellow cornmeal
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, preferably freshly
  grated
• A pinch of salt
• 6 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons light rum
• 1 cup seedless raisins
• ¼ cup candied cherries, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a pastry brush, spread 1
tablespoon of softened butter over the bottom and sides of an 8-inch springform
cake pan.

2. Sift the cornmeal and flour together. In a deep bowl,
cream the remaining ½ pound of butter, the sugar and 2 tablespoons of the
cornmeal mixture together by beating and mashing them against the sides of the
bowl with a large spoon until they are light and fluffy.

3. Add the vanilla, nutmeg and salt and, beating constantly,
slowly pour in the eggs in a thin stream. Beat in about 1 cup of the cornmeal
mixture, then ¼ cup of the milk, and continue adding alternately until all the
cornmeal and milk have been combined.

4. Stir in the rum, raisins and cherries, and pour the
batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 1½
hours, or until the top of the cake is golden and a cake tester or toothpick
inserted in the center comes out clean.

5. Let the cake cool for 4 or 5 minutes before removing the
sides of the springform. Then, with the aid of a large metal spatula, slide it
off the bottom of the pan onto a cake rack to cool completely.

Macaroni Pie 

Ingredients:

• 16 ounces elbow macaroni
• 16 ounces Cheddar cheese, grated (about 4 cups)
• 2 cups milk, evaporated milk or half & half
• 3 eggs
• salt and pepper to taste

Method: Grease a 2 quart baking dish. Preheat the oven to
350 degrees F. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add a pinch of
salt to the water and pour in the macaroni shells. Cook the macaroni according
to the manufacturer's instructions, for about 10 minutes, or until soft. (The
macaroni will continue to cook in the oven.) You can use either the large or
small elbow macaroni. Drain the macaroni shells well in a colander, and then
pour it into a large bowl. Add the grated cheddar cheese to the pasta and stir
to combine the two thoroughly. Break the eggs into a medium sized bowl and
whisk them lightly. Add the milk to the eggs and whisk them together. Pour the
milk and egg mixture over the macaroni, add salt and pepper to taste and stir
to combine all ingredients well. Pour the macaroni mixture into the greased
baking dish and bake it in a preheated oven for about an hour, or until a knife
inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow the pie to rest for 15 minutes.
Cut into squares and serve. Note: If the top begins to brown too quickly, add a
piece of foil over the top of the baking dish.