The soul of Trinidadian cooking — dasheen leaves and okra simmered with crab and pigtail until silky and rich. Serve as a soup or ladled over rice.
Ingredients
- Dasheen leaves or callaloo bush: 1 bunch
- Ochroes (okra): 12
- Crabs: 2 medium or 3 small
- Pigtail: 1
- Ham bone: optional
- Chive or scallions: 1 bunch, chopped
- Onion: 2 medium, chopped
- Fine thyme: 2 sprigs, chopped
- Hot pepper: 1, green
- Garlic: 1 clove, chopped
- Seasoning peppers: 2, optional
- Celery leaves: a small piece, chopped (optional)
Instructions
Strip the stalks and midribs from the dasheen leaves, wash, and cut into fine pieces. Clean the crabs. Wash and cut up the ochroes and seasonings.
In a pot, put the crabs and pigtail first, then sprinkle the chopped seasonings (chive, onion, garlic, thyme, celery leaves, and chopped seasoning peppers without the seeds) over them. Add the chopped ochroes, dasheen leaves, and stalks with the whole hot pepper.
Pour 2 to 3 cups of boiling water into the pot and cook to boiling point. Simmer until everything is soft, about an hour.
Swizzle thoroughly until well blended. One tablespoon of butter may be added along with some black pepper. The hot pepper should not be allowed to burst and should be taken out of the callaloo before swizzling is done.
Notes: Chicken stock may be added instead of the water. The pigtail should be soaked first before cooking so that it won’t be too salty, and it should be cut into pieces. A ham bone would add to the flavour. Serve hot, either as a soup or over rice.
