Trinidad Callaloo Recipe, The True Spirit Of The Islands. (2024)
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What would Sunday lunch (the biggest meal of the week on the islands) be without a healthy serving of Callaloo, rice, stew chicken, macaroni pie and slices of fried plantains? Not to be confused with Jamaican callaloo, callaloo is an actual dish and it’s not made from the bush/plant that our Jamaican friends call callaloo. The main ingredient in our callaloo dish is the tender baby leaves of the dasheen plant (also called dasheen bush) or in my case (couldn’t find dasheen leaves) I used tender baby spinach. Living in North America means there are times when we must find substitutes for traditional ingredients used in many of our dishes as it’s hard to source the ingredients normally used.
Though the recipe I’m about to share with you is not the traditional way of making callaloo, you’ll find that it’s very tasty, similar in texture and appearance to the real deal.
You’ll Need
2 cans (400 ml) coconut milk Water (see below for amount) 6 cloves garlic 2 lbs Spinach (baby leaves work best) 1 lb ochro (okra) 1/2 onion sliced 2 crabs (split into 2 pieces each) 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 3 sprigs of thyme 1 green habanero or scotch bonnet pepper (add any pepper you like) 1 teaspoon Goldenray butter (optional but makes a big difference)
Important: If doing this recipe gluten free please go through the entire list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free diet.
Before we get to the actual steps in making the callaloo I must mention that if you can’t source (like me) tender dasheen leaves, it’s important that you not use ordinary spinach leaves, but do try to get baby spinach. Not only is it tender, but it’s not as strong in flavour as normal spinach. Regular spinach may over-power the dish and you won’t achieve that wonderful taste that a good callaloo will have. I must also mention that crab meat or imitation crab will not give it the true unique savoriness as would actual crab in the shell.
Start by placing a deep pot on a medium heat and pour the 2 cans of coconut milk into it, then using one of the cans, add 2 cans of water as well (so you have 4 cans of liquid in the pot). As it comes to a boil, wash the spinach leaves and start adding to the pot. If it’s fresh harvested spinach, you may have to rinse a few times as they can have a lot of dirt/sand between the leaves.
It will seem that all the spinach will not fit in the pot at the start, but as it wilts in the hot liquid you’ll have tons of room. The next step is to wash and trim the ochro (okra) by removing the stems and discarding. Then slice each one into 1 inch pieces (see pic below). Add the sliced onions, garlic, ochro and hot pepper. Leave the hot pepper whole at this point. You can also add the salt, thyme and blackpepper to the mixture.
Cover the pot, bring the heat down low to a gentle simmer and allow to cook for about 1 hour or until everything is tender and starts to melt together. Be sure to stir every 15 minutes or so and check to ensure that it’s not sticking at the bottom of the pot. This will be an indication that your heat is too high.
Now that it’s been cooking for 1 hr, it’s time to add the crab to the pot. I usually season it a bit first with some green seasoning and allow it to marinate for about 15 minutes before adding it to the pot with the callaloo. After you’ve added the seasoned crab (seasoning is optional) allow the callaloo to cook for another 15 minutes.
The final step is to break everything down. Luckily enough I have a swizzle stick (wooden one) that someone from the islands sent for me a few years back. If you don’t have one you can use either a whisk or one of those electric puree sticks. If you are using an electric one, I suggest you pulse a few times and not use a continuous action or it will make the callaloo very foamy and it can harm the finished product.
If you’re using a whisk, simply whisk until everything is broken down into a soup like consistency. Before you whisk you can remove the pepper (remember I mentioned to put it in whole) if you’re worried about the heat content.
The very final step is to add the GoldenRay butter, stir it around and turn off the heat. Enjoy!
Side Note:There are many variations of cooking this classic Trinbagonian dish, but I assure you this is a great start that you can customize as you get better at preparing it.
* From the recipe above you should have enough left over to freeze and enjoy at a later time. Just pour into a freezer style bowl and it usually last a couple months in the freezer. To thaw, all you have to do is empty the contents of the bowl into a pot with a couple tablespoons of water on very low heat and allow to melt. Or stick in the microwave.
Callaloo first turns up in Jamaican records as early as 1696. Callaloo is widely known throughout the Caribbean and has a distinctively Caribbean origin, created by enslaved Africans using ideas of the indigenous people along with both African (okra) and indigenous (Xanthosoma) plants.
Aleho is the Yoruba word for edible amaranth greens in Nigeria. Much like our Jamaican and Trinidadian Callaloo, this plant is grown for its abundance of iron-rich, spinach-like leaves, which are cooked into flavorful stews.
The main ingredient of which is a leaf vegetable, traditionally either amaranth (known by many local names including callaloo or bhaji), or taro or Xanthosoma species (both known by many local names including callaloo, coco, tannia, or dasheen bush).
Trinidad's national dish is Crab and Callaloo. It's not just a mere recipe; it's a story told through flavors and ingredients steeped in history and culture. Let's explore its roots and the narrative it weaves about our island's past and present.
Callaloo, a native West African dish, came to the Caribbean during the triangular slave trade along along the Middle Passage. Its key ingredient—the heart-shaped leaves of the taro plant, known as Xanthosoma on the continent—continues to exert unparalleled influence on the Caribbean diet.
This delicious leafy green contains manganese, which promotes healthy skin, hair and bones and due to its magnesium content, callaloo improves blood circulation and helps regulate sugar levels. It's also important for prevention of muscle spasms.
During the transatlantic slave trade—from the 16th to 19th centuries—taro was frequently used in minimalist meal applications by enslaved Africans brought to the Caribbean islands as a labor supply. To this day, variations of callaloo abound throughout the West Indies.
Callaloo recipes may vary, but all include some form of leafy green vegetable. This provides the majority of the dish's nutritional benefits. Vegetables such as amaranth and taro are high in dietary fiber. Increasing your fiber intake helps increase the bulk of your stools to aid in digestion and prevent constipation.
Callaloo may sound like a fun dance move but it's actually a Caribbean superfood. This green leafy vegetable is really popular in Jamaica because of its nutritional benefits – packed with iron, high in fibre and has large amounts of vitamins A and C.
And Barbados hasn't disappointed on that front. Their national dish is flying fish and cou cou. It's a saucy, stew-like fish dish served on top of cou cou. Cou cou probably isn't something you're familiar with, but it has a texture similar to polenta, grits, or pap – depending where you're from.
Callaloo and or Chinese spinach (Amaranthus spp) is consumed in the Caribbean and in other areas of the tropics. The amaranth crop is grown extensively as a green leafy vegetable, or as spinach. In fact, the leaves are a good source of fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals.
Callaloo, by itself, does not increase blood pressure. It has to do with the salt, powdered seasonings, butter, oil or margarine, and the salted/smoked/cured or processed meats and fish that callaloo is usually cooked with. Eating high-fat and high-sodium foods have been found to increase blood pressure.
The Haitian Creole word for okra is also “kalalou,” or “gombo,” to give you an idea of how the names of plants are so deeply intertwined with the cuisine. Another important ingredient in traditional calalou recipes is crab, which is also a Pacific Northwest delicacy. Dodo titit!
Jamaica is a country in the northern part of the Caribbean. Trinidad and Tobago are two islands that form one nation, and are in the southern part of the Caribbean. The West Indies is a political association of islands and nations bordering the Caribbean Sea.
Pelau is a very popular rice-based dish in Trinidad and Tobago, as well as stewed chicken, breadfruit oil down, macaroni pie, ox-tails, dhal and rice, among many others. Trinidad and Tobago dishes are often curried, stewed, or barbecued.
Callaloo is the name used in the Caribbean to refer to the large green leaves of the taro, dasheen, tannia, amaranth, or yautia root. The Caribbean country you are in determines which vegetable is used as "callaloo." In most preparations, it is cooked as you would prepare turnip or collard greens.
English is the country's official language (the national standard variety is Trinidadian and Tobagonian English), but the main spoken languages are Trinidadian English Creole and Tobagonian English Creole.
Introduction: My name is Terrell Hackett, I am a gleaming, brainy, courageous, helpful, healthy, cooperative, graceful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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