The Culinary Institute of America

In Port of Spain’s markets, ingredients from Europe, Africa, and the Indian subcontinent come together on vendor tables. Culantro here is known as shadow benny or chadon benni – a corruption of the French chardon benit or “blessed thistle.” It is a part of the green seasoning that is a Trinidad and Tobago culinary basic. Chef Debra Sardinha-Metivier of DSM Creative Cuisine, gives us our first look at the diversity of the Trinidadian market basket.
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The dual island nation of Trinidad and Tobago is a must stop on any Caribbean journey. Both Trinidad and Tobago were once prosperous sugar islands with enslaved Africans laboring under the oversight of Europeans. The Indian, African and European cultures that make up the islands’ histories gave birth to a unique multi-cultural cuisine.
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Chef Wilo Benet joins us to demonstrate some of the island’s classics. He starts with the sofrito, the foundation for many Puerto Rican recipes. His sofrito is made with culantro leaves, peppers, onions, garlic, olive oil and aji dulce.
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No Puerto Rican culinary voyage would be complete without a sample of the soupy rice and chicken stew that is a hallmark of the island’s cooking – asopao. Like a soupy paella, it can be made simply with few ingredients or glamorized with additions such as fresh asparagus spears and julienned pimientos. Chef Alfredo Ayala demonstrates how to make chicken asopao.
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It’s time to head into the kitchen, but before beginning to cook, we need a crash course in the tubers that abound in the cooking of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. There’s true yam that comes in multiple varieties. And then the fun starts. One man’s yucca is another’s cassava. And another’s yautia might also be called tannia, cocoyam, taro, dasheen, or malanga! Chef Alfredo Ayala walks us through the many varieties of tubers and tells us how each is used.
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At a beachside stand in the area of Piñones, we find fried tidbits known as bacalaitos and alcapurrias. Bacalaitos are fritters prepared from the salt codfish that is part of the island’s sea-faring heritage. The torpedo-shaped alcapurrias are made from either meat and taro, or taro alone. They are fried in cauldrons of bubbling lard, and served up piping hot. Fritters like alcapurrias and bacalaitos are found all over the island, but they are especially relished by beach-goers.
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Pique is traditional Puerto Rican hot sauce. Chef Alfredo Ayala explains how hot peppers are pickled in pineapple water, salt, sugar, and culantro.
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Pasteles are a traditional Puerto Rican Christmas dish. Chef Alfredo Ayala explains that pastels are similar to tamales, but stuffed with pork stewed with rich sofrito. They are wrapped inside a banana leaf and boiled.
Get Recipes and watch the full series with closed captioning at:
www.ciaprochef.com/WCA7