‘The Passionate Foodie’
A weekly column
St. Maarten, St. Martin is an amazing island to live on. Not only are there countless beautiful beaches, lovely scenery and an incredible variety of restaurants but there are also an amazing mix of wonderful people.
Folk who have arrived on this island over the years have brought with them the foods from their home countries. From way back when the Arawaks and Caribs lived here to present day, when we have visitors from all over the world making their vacation homes here, the island has seen a huge variety of different dishes and foods being prepared and consumed.
Today we are most fortunate to have some of the best supermarkets, delis, provisioning stores and fresh food markets to be found anywhere in this region. All these stores supply to the needs and demands of the different ethnic groups that have found their way to St. Maarten, St. Martin.
The ‘Passionate Foodie’ has taken on the task of recording recipes from all ethnic groups on SXM so that everyone can have the opportunity to share, prepare and delight in the favourite dishes of those that live amongst us.
Caribs;
They are a group of people who live in the Lesser Antilles islands. They are an Amerindian people whose origins lie in the southern West Indies and the northern coast of South America. The Caribbean Sea was named after them.
Since cassava and fish were the foundation of their diet, their methods of obtaining food and cultivating were the same as the Arawaks'. They fished in the rivers with their hands, with nets, or with herbs that anesthetized the fish. They also fished in the ocean, where they showed great courage in their pirogues, which were very large boats, that could carry up to fifty men. The square sail they used is identical to the one used on today's gomiers.
Arawaks;
The Arawak Indians were the first tribe of indians that Christopher Columbus saw when he came to the Americas.
The Arawak peoples were considered primitive because they could neither read nor write.
But in fact when you consider the following they actually appear civilized;
• Arawaks made significant contributions to the outside world by the crops they grew. They introduced guava to the islands.
• Arawak words are still used today; maize, potato, cassava and tobacco.
• They had marks of complex societies (civilizations) such as: their religion, other leisure activities and their ball games.
• They formed communities and had a form of government
• They used herbs for medicine and pleasure.
• They used seasonings when cooking.
• They cultivated their plots.
• They had well built strong canoes and highly polished artifacts.
St. Maarten.
The first recorded groups of people who lived on SXM were the Caribs and the Arawaks whose diet consisted of mainly seafood, ground provisions, wild birds and some smaller animals like the agouti.
Some of these dishes are still around today although, with the introduction of newer varieties of plants, the end result would probably not be totally recognized by these earlier peoples. Their cooking method was mainly over an open fire and when not actually roasting over the coals they often wrapped their food in leaves instead of the tin-foil we have today.
I went to I love My Ram in Colombier again this year and had a ‘conkie’ wrapped in Almond Tree leaves. To die for! I wish I had that recipe.
Conkies;
Conkies surely must have been around almost forever although the refined sugar used today instead of palm sugar or perhaps just the sweet juice from sugar cane would make the flavour very different. Conkies are also a lot of work.
Cassava;
Also called yucca or manioc. Cassava is grown for its enlarged starch-filled roots. The roots are prepared much like potato. They can be peeled and boiled, baked, or fried. It is not recommended to eat cassava uncooked, because of potentially toxic concentrations of cyanogenic glucosides. Cassavas was carried to Africa by Portuguese traders from the Americas
Very simple and tasty cassava bread is made in Jamaica and is called ‘bammy’. This must be much the same recipe used since time immemorial by the Arawaks.
RECIPES:
Simple Cassava Bread Recipe:
Peel the cassava very carefully making sure the entire outer thin brown skin comes away with the purple coloured skin underneath.
Slit the cassava lengthwise into 4 and remove the centre tough strings if there are any.
Put these pieces through a food processor grater (or grate by hand).
Collect the grated cassava into a double layer of cheese cloth and squeeze out the juice.
Pat a small handful of cassava into a thin round disc and fry this in a pan wiped with a little vegetable oil.
Fry one side till browning around the edges and turn to brown the other side. This takes only a few minutes.
Serve this bread with stew or as a side.
Caribbean Marinade:
This West Indian marinade has been made for generations, although the wine, vinegar, orange juice and soya sauce must be more recent additions. It is suitable for fish, game, poultry and pork. Allow meat to marinate for at least an hour or overnight before cooking. Remember to adjust the amount of chili peppers to your taste. Be very careful of the hot Habanera or Scotch Bonnet peppers.
Ingredients:
6 green onions, chopped
3 tablespoons minced shallots
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 scotch bonnet chili peppers, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup red wine
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon molasses
Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine the green onions, shallots, garlic, ginger, allspice, ground black pepper, chili peppers, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, brown sugar, orange juice, vinegar, wine, soy sauce, oil, and molasses.
Mix well, cover and allow to sit for one hour to allow the flavours to meld.
Stir again before using with fish or meat.
Discard any remaining sauce.
A weekly column
St. Maarten, St. Martin is an amazing island to live on. Not only are there countless beautiful beaches, lovely scenery and an incredible variety of restaurants but there are also an amazing mix of wonderful people.
Folk who have arrived on this island over the years have brought with them the foods from their home countries. From way back when the Arawaks and Caribs lived here to present day, when we have visitors from all over the world making their vacation homes here, the island has seen a huge variety of different dishes and foods being prepared and consumed.
Today we are most fortunate to have some of the best supermarkets, delis, provisioning stores and fresh food markets to be found anywhere in this region. All these stores supply to the needs and demands of the different ethnic groups that have found their way to St. Maarten, St. Martin.
The ‘Passionate Foodie’ has taken on the task of recording recipes from all ethnic groups on SXM so that everyone can have the opportunity to share, prepare and delight in the favourite dishes of those that live amongst us.
Caribs;
They are a group of people who live in the Lesser Antilles islands. They are an Amerindian people whose origins lie in the southern West Indies and the northern coast of South America. The Caribbean Sea was named after them.
Since cassava and fish were the foundation of their diet, their methods of obtaining food and cultivating were the same as the Arawaks'. They fished in the rivers with their hands, with nets, or with herbs that anesthetized the fish. They also fished in the ocean, where they showed great courage in their pirogues, which were very large boats, that could carry up to fifty men. The square sail they used is identical to the one used on today's gomiers.
Arawaks;
The Arawak Indians were the first tribe of indians that Christopher Columbus saw when he came to the Americas.
The Arawak peoples were considered primitive because they could neither read nor write.
But in fact when you consider the following they actually appear civilized;
• Arawaks made significant contributions to the outside world by the crops they grew. They introduced guava to the islands.
• Arawak words are still used today; maize, potato, cassava and tobacco.
• They had marks of complex societies (civilizations) such as: their religion, other leisure activities and their ball games.
• They formed communities and had a form of government
• They used herbs for medicine and pleasure.
• They used seasonings when cooking.
• They cultivated their plots.
• They had well built strong canoes and highly polished artifacts.
St. Maarten.
The first recorded groups of people who lived on SXM were the Caribs and the Arawaks whose diet consisted of mainly seafood, ground provisions, wild birds and some smaller animals like the agouti.
Some of these dishes are still around today although, with the introduction of newer varieties of plants, the end result would probably not be totally recognized by these earlier peoples. Their cooking method was mainly over an open fire and when not actually roasting over the coals they often wrapped their food in leaves instead of the tin-foil we have today.
I went to I love My Ram in Colombier again this year and had a ‘conkie’ wrapped in Almond Tree leaves. To die for! I wish I had that recipe.
Conkies;
Conkies surely must have been around almost forever although the refined sugar used today instead of palm sugar or perhaps just the sweet juice from sugar cane would make the flavour very different. Conkies are also a lot of work.
Cassava;
Also called yucca or manioc. Cassava is grown for its enlarged starch-filled roots. The roots are prepared much like potato. They can be peeled and boiled, baked, or fried. It is not recommended to eat cassava uncooked, because of potentially toxic concentrations of cyanogenic glucosides. Cassavas was carried to Africa by Portuguese traders from the Americas
Very simple and tasty cassava bread is made in Jamaica and is called ‘bammy’. This must be much the same recipe used since time immemorial by the Arawaks.
RECIPES:
Simple Cassava Bread Recipe:
Peel the cassava very carefully making sure the entire outer thin brown skin comes away with the purple coloured skin underneath.
Slit the cassava lengthwise into 4 and remove the centre tough strings if there are any.
Put these pieces through a food processor grater (or grate by hand).
Collect the grated cassava into a double layer of cheese cloth and squeeze out the juice.
Pat a small handful of cassava into a thin round disc and fry this in a pan wiped with a little vegetable oil.
Fry one side till browning around the edges and turn to brown the other side. This takes only a few minutes.
Serve this bread with stew or as a side.
Caribbean Marinade:
This West Indian marinade has been made for generations, although the wine, vinegar, orange juice and soya sauce must be more recent additions. It is suitable for fish, game, poultry and pork. Allow meat to marinate for at least an hour or overnight before cooking. Remember to adjust the amount of chili peppers to your taste. Be very careful of the hot Habanera or Scotch Bonnet peppers.
Ingredients:
6 green onions, chopped
3 tablespoons minced shallots
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 scotch bonnet chili peppers, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup red wine
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon molasses
Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine the green onions, shallots, garlic, ginger, allspice, ground black pepper, chili peppers, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, brown sugar, orange juice, vinegar, wine, soy sauce, oil, and molasses.
Mix well, cover and allow to sit for one hour to allow the flavours to meld.
Stir again before using with fish or meat.
Discard any remaining sauce.