September is a time of new beginnings. It’s back-to-school time, and there’s still post-Gustav clean-up going on. Our banana industry, which was on the rebound, was severely compromised. That’s bad news. Our farmers and fishermen work so hard to feed this nation, it saddens me whenever I listen to the news and hear their afflictions.

Remember, buying local helps our island’s economy in a variety of ways. Recently, I saw that the Ministry of Agriculture, through RADA, is now selling starter packs to grow your own vegetables. I think it is a brilliant concept and I encourage those of you with a little green space to utilise an area and start planting! Get the children involved so that they can have a positive extra-curricular activity, aside from homework. It’s the rainy season, so it’s a good time to start sowing those seeds.

Juicy Chef and Rainforest Traders

You know I’m always championing local food as well as food companies that I admire. Red Stripe and Arosa were the most recent. Today I will be sharing with you a little background of another remarkable Jamaican food company: Rainforest Traders, based in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Other local companies, look out, I’m out there sampling your wares to share with Thursday Food readers!

Rainforest is one of the largest seafood distributors on the island with a state-of-the art 20,000 square-foot property that houses the company’s head office, a storage facility, distribution centre and a deli. This large company supplies the hotel industry and many supermarkets across the island using their 18 freezer trucks for fast delivery.

I find the quality of their frozen seafood products to be excellent, and whenever it isn’t possible for me to get fresh fish from my fishermen friends in the country, due to rough seas or lack of transport, I grab a couple of Rainforest seafood packages, thaw them as soon as I get home, and get cracking on a recipe. There are so many foreign labels available on the market, so it gives me great satisfaction when a local-based company can match any of the best you can find overseas. Personally, my diet is more fish- than meat-based, so the convenience factor is a major plus.

Under the Rainforest brand, you will find shrimp, snapper, tilapia, mahi mahi, calamari (squid), and crabmeat, all originating from our beloved Caribbean Sea. Here are a couple of recipes I’ve created using their products, herbs from my garden and other local ingredients (except the white wine and canned diced tomatoes).

Juicy Chef’s Rainforest Tilapia and Callaloo Stew

Tilapia is a great all-round fish. Many tilapia are grown sustainably. As some of you may be aware, globally, there is a serious problem of over-fishing and specific species are under threat. Therefore, some of them are being bred in conditions that allow for their continued survival. Tilapia happens to be one of the success stories. This recipe serves four.

Ingredients:

1 package Rainforest Tilapia, cut into chunks

1 chopped onion

1 carrot, diced

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 sweet green pepper, diced

1 can diced tomatoes

1 bunch of callaloo, stripped and chopped

1 cup fish stock

1 glass white wine

1 Scotch bonnet pepper

Couple sprigs of thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp olive oil

Method:

Sauté onion and carrots in 1 tablespoon of olive oil for a few minutes over a medium heat.

Add the garlic, sweet peppers and sauté for another couple of minutes.

Pour in wine, stock and bring to a boil and reduce by half.

Reduce heat to a simmer and add the tomatoes, Scotch bonnet and thyme, salt and pepper, then check the seasoning.

Mix in the callaloo and give a good stir until wilted.

Add the fish and cook for 5 minutes.

Serve in soup bowls with bread on the side to sop up the goodness.

Juicy Chef’s Rainforest Mahi Mahi and Sweet Potato Salad with Chunky Tomato Relish

Mahi Mahi is also known as dolphin. But fret not, it is not our adorable fellow mammal that you are consuming, but rather, the Dorado fish. Like tuna and salmon, it is quite a meaty and flavourful fish. I like it grilled or sautéed.

Ingredients:

1 package Rainforest Mahi Mahi, skinned and cut into cubes

1 large sweet potato, peeled, sliced, cut into chunks and parboiled

A few leaves of Romaine lettuce, roughly torn, or any other dark-leafed green

Couple sprigs of dill, roughly chopped

Couple sprigs of oregano, roughly chopped

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Tomato Relish

2 large tomatoes, deseeded and diced

1 stalk of escallion, chopped

1 Lime, juiced

2 tbsp honey (mine is from White Horses in St Thomas)

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tbsp white cane vinegar

1 tbsp cilantro, chopped

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method:

Mix the relish ingredients together and allow the flavours to come together while you prepare the rest of the dish.

Season fish with salt, pepper, dill, oregano and olive oil and marinade for 30 minutes, then grill for 3 to 5 minutes per side.

In the meantime, sauté the parboiled sweet potatoes until crisp.

On a platter, place the romaine leaves in a layer, then scatter the sweet potatoes, then the mahi mahi pieces, then top with the tomato relish.

Please feel free to contact me aboutr these and previous recipes, plus any other food questions at info@juicychef.com

Bon Appetit!

Jacqui Sinclair is a Cordon Bleu-trained chef/food stylist & hotelier. She has worked in the world of food photography and film in Europe. A bon vivant, she is passionate about sharing her food secrets with enthusiastic home cooks.