Cook traditional Caribbean cuisine to mark Black History Month

La-toya Fagon, a chef who runs Twist Catering, offers three of the recipes she will be making at Kuumba, a festival being held in Toronto to celebrate Black History month.
Ingredients can be found in some supermarkets or Caribbean specialty grocery stores.

Stew Chicken
1.5 kg (3 lb) chicken pieces
2 limes, cut in half
Salt and pepper, to taste
15 ml (1 tbsp) browning
2 cloves garlic
125 ml (1/2 cup) oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 bell pepper, coarsely chopped
5 sprigs thyme
1 scotch bonnet pepper, sliced, stems and seeds removed
1 ripe tomato
30 ml (2 tbsp) ketchup
30 ml (2 tbsp) vinegar
10 pimento seeds, crushed, or 1 ml (1/4 tsp) allspice
Rub chicken with cut side of limes, pat dry and place in a bowl. Discard limes. Season chicken with salt, pepper, browning and garlic.
Into a deep pan, pour oil and heat on high until smoking level. Reduce heat to medium and fry chicken. When chicken is fried, add onion, bell pepper, thyme, scotch bonnet pepper and tomato.
In a small bowl, mix ketchup, vinegar and pimento seeds. Pour over chicken and mix in with vegetables. Cover pan and let simmer on medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes.
Serve with rice and peas.
Makes 4 to 5 servings.
Note: Browning is a combination of water, caramel and salt and is a condiment used to bring the sweet crispness of caramel to dishes.
——— Johnny Cake
125 ml (1/2 cup) oil
500 ml (2 cups) flour
125 ml (1/2 cup) water
2 ml (1/2 tsp) non-ionized sea salt
10 ml (2 tsp) baking powder
15 ml (1 tbsp) butter
In a skillet, heat oil on high until smoking level, then reduce heat to medium-low.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine remaining ingredients and mix together with hands to create a dough. Break dough in pieces and shape into balls and flatten. Fry for 3 minutes on each side.
———
Ackee and Saltfish
This is one of Jamaica’s national dishes. It is usually served for breakfast. Ackee is a bright red tropical fruit that, when ripe, bursts open to reveal three large black seeds and a soft creamy white flesh.
500 g (1 lb) deboned saltfish
75 ml (1/3 cup) vegetable or canola oil
1 large white onion, sliced
1 scotch bonnet pepper, sliced, stems and seeds removed
6 sprigs fresh thyme
1 tomato, chopped
Black pepper, to taste
1 can (540 ml/19 oz) ackee
In a pot of boiling water, place saltfish and boil for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain off water, add fresh water to pot, return to a boil and boil saltfish again for another 8 to 10 minutes.
In a saucepan, heat oil. Flake saltfish, add to pan and cook for 5 minutes. Add onion, scotch bonnet pepper, thyme and tomato. Fry for another 5 minutes or until pepper is softened. Sprinkle with black pepper.
Place ackee in a strainer, pour boiling water over it and add to pan. Toss lightly as you don’t want to mash the ackee too much.
Serve with Johnny Cake.
Makes 4 to 5 servings.