Dear LPG,

I hope that a few readers got brave and followed my lead into the culinary culture of France last month.  As promised I planned and undertook a virtual visit to the other side of the world for this month’s bit of research.  You will remember my promise to learn a little about the tastes of the West Indies this month and today is the day that Trinidad and Tobago celebrate their coming of the independent age. In preparation, I attempted to produce a recognisable plate of Callaloo and Crab, one of their national dishes.

My first challenge was the crab.  When I went to the west Indian fishmongers and asked I was offered a bag of small blue crabs, but the reality that I would have to dress them myself led me to ask if there was a bigger one I could choose.  They then showed me one big crab which was not blue and, in the knowledge that I would only have to deal with it once I nearly opted for that one, but as he was about to put it into a bag for me it moved and I decided that the dead ones would be more manageable.  Later, I found instructions on YouTube, and with some trepidation, I managed to make mine look like the one on the video.   I am a bit squeamish I suppose, and that said, I think you will be able to imagine the mini-screams, and many facial expressions that accompanied my attempts to get that bit right.  I could not find taro leaves and made do with spinach and I replaced the Habanero pepper with a simple scotch bonnet in the end but, once the crab was ready, so was I. 

The rest of the instructions were very straightforward, and after last month’s rather large portion I halved all the quantities which worked quite well I think.  It was then just a case of waiting for the half hour to pass, and adding the crab

There was only one other thing I forgot and that was the ‘step 3’ instruction to remove the habanero.  Unfortunately, I had already chucked everything but the crab into the liquidiser and set it going before I remembered the instruction to remove the pepper, and it was then too late.  I did my best to produce an authentic dish but whether I succeeded is a question that I am not really sure of. 

When it came to the eating, I have to admit that I have never been a fan of okra and could have left them out, but I added it in an attempt to maximise the authenticity of taste.  I can now confirm that I still have not acquired a taste for it yet, although pepper has never been a problem for me which is a very fortunate thing.  You could say that my version of the dish had serious ‘KICK’.

Moving on… Did you know that the Maltese celebrate their independence on September 21^st?  I have to be honest; neither did I until I looked it up.  So, in my continued ‘around the world cooking bonanza’, I have chosen a national dish which can be a vegetarian meal in its own right or, as the English would say’ a substitute for your ‘two veg’. This month’s aim is to reproduce a national dish called Kapunata

How could I possibly get that wrong?  I will let you know…

CB, Lewisham.

CB shares her research in case any readers would like to have a go at experiencing a taste of Malta with her…

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