Cooking St. Kitts Caribbean 2

In the second installment of Chef Cheviour Lake's menu from her Caribbean Cooks class at Fairview Great House and Botanical Garden we prepare Red Beans and Rice. It couldn't be easier, either.

Red Beans and Rice

 2 cups cooked white rice
1/2 cup red beans, soaked overnight and boiled with a pinch of cinnamon
1 medium onion, diced
1 stalk celery
4 small seasoning peppers
2 TBS unsalted butter
salt and pepper to taste
2 TBS vegetable oil

Saute onion, peppers and celery in olive oil until lightly brown. Add butter, salt and pepper to taste, add rice and peas on low heat and stir, adding vegetable oil.

That pinch of cinnamon in the rice is Chef Cheviour's secret for a tastier dish.


Next post: West Indian Steamed Fish

Cooking St. Kitts Caribbean

Fairview Great House, St. Kitts.

The view and the cooking lessons at Fairview Great House in St. Kitts are grand. Built in 1702, Fairview has sheltered French, Irish, Scottish, English, Portuguese, Spanish, American and West Indian owners in its long history.

The view is exceedingly fair.

Recently it welcomed American, Canadian, French and English visitors eager to learn more about Caribbean cuisine and how to prepare it.

After touring the home we took seats in the adjacent facility, a spacious, open, colorful room with raked seating and overhead mirrors so all could watch what the chef was doing at the stove top and prep area. Menu and recipe sheets were at each place making it easier to ask questions as the meal progressed.

Chef Cheviour Lake welcomed us and began to prepare the day's menu:

Jerk Chicken
West Indian Steamed Fish
Red Beans and Rice
Vegetable Escovitch
Coconut Butter Bread Pudding.

I will start where she did, the Vegetable Escovitch now, and feature each dish's recipe in the coming weeks.

Vegetable Escovitch

2 cups - cooked vegetables, your choice. Suggestions: carrots, butternut squash, green banana, pumpkin, chayote.
1 oz. olive oil or vegetable oil
1 onion diced
1/2 each green and red pepper, sliced
1 clove garlic
zest and juice of 2 limes
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cucumber peeled, seeded, diced or sliced
salt, pepper, thyme, pepper flakes to taste

Saute onions, peppers, garlic and thyme until lightly brown.
Add lime juice, cucumbers, wine and pepper flakes. Season to taste.
Add the vegetables and mix together.
Can be served hot or cold.

Serves six.