It is with a heavy heart that I write this week’s piece. Even though more than week has passed, the catastrophic earthquake which shook our neighbour Haiti still makes me shudder. Personally, I lost my friend Emmanuel, a French Haitian citizen whom I met in Paris. He had just moved back to share his skills in building back his country. Emmanuel was a brilliant human being with a kind spirit. May his soul rest in peace. I have another dear friend who has lost 11 family members. As you can imagine, she is an emotional wreck. Stories like these are resonating within the entire Haitian Diaspora.

We should be thanking Haiti for our independence as the first free nation in the Western Hemisphere. Haitian slaves defeated the mighty Napoleon to gain their freedom.

It’s sad that up until this point, even though Haiti lies just under 300 miles to the North-East of us, our knowledge of our neighbours outside of the common stereotypes were nil or negative with the drugs-for-guns saga, refugees on a boat images or their practice of voodoo lodged in our collective consciousness. Having lived in Miami and Paris, I became friends with many Haitians from all strata of their society and in getting to know them, I became aware of a culturally rich society. Haitian art is world renowned; compas (similar to Martinican zouk) and misik rasin are beautiful genres of music, not to mention the food, a blend of African and French influences from rustic to very elegant dishes.

That aside, it has been a joy to see the generous spirit of many Jamaicans who are donating clothes, money and food despite the fact we ourselves are going through a difficult time. It seems only right that I share today some typical Haitian dishes with their Creole/Kreyol names that I have enjoyed in the past so you can savour the taste of Haiti in your homes. Of course, it is humbling to consider that there are so many hungry people there currently. I implore you that whenever you go food shopping, even if it is only one extra tin of mackerel or a small bag of flour, rice or powdered milk that you can afford to donate, it will be a blessing to one of our Haitian brothers and sisters. Remember, we are on the same fault line, it could have been us, maybe it will be us the next time and they will be the ones to turn and help us in our time of need when they are rebuilt and stronger due to the international outpouring of love.

Griots

My first taste of Haitian cuisine came courtesy of a friend of my mother in Miami back in the 90s. She served it with a fiery sauce (Sauce Ti Malice, recipe below), green fried plantains and rice and red beans, cooked totally differently to our rice and peas and a huge salad for about 10 hungry international students. I felt as if I were in a Jamaican home albeit the language difference. The key to this dish is to marinate the pork overnight. The result – a tender meat with a crusty finish.

Ingredients:

2lbs pork shoulder, or pork loin, cut into cubes

1 onion, chopped

1 cup Seville Orange juice (substitute with 3/4 cup regular orange juice with 1/4 lime juice)

2 Scotch Bonnet peppers, deseeded and chopped

3 or 4 stalks of escallion, chopped

Salt to taste

Pinch of thyme

Water

2 Tbsps vegetable oil

Method:

Wash off the pork cubes with water and lime, pat dry.

In a bowl add pork and all of the other ingredients overnight

In a pan, add pork, marinade and water, enough to cover the pork

Cover and boil for 45 minutes or until all the water has evaporated.

In a frying pan, heat the vegetable oil over high and fry pork pieces until golden brown with a light crust.

Diri Ak Djon Djon (Haitian Mushroom Rice)

This recipe is taken from A Taste of Haiti by Mirta Yurnet-Thomas. It’s a dish from the Northern region of Haiti. I have adapted it slightly for Jamaican tastes, so I have put down the original recipe, with substitutions in the brackets. In Haitian Creole (Kreyol de Ayiti) rice is called Diri and mushrooms, Djon Djon. Djon Djons are a type of Haitian mushroom which are small and black in colour. I have no doubt in my mind that these are the same as what Jamaicans in the countryside call our local fungi “junjoh” which grow wild in the bush (forgive my phonetics, I am no good at patois, but I hope those more versed in our dialect know what I am referring to).

Ingredients:

2 Cups Djon Djon mushrooms (substitute with local non- poisonous “junjoh” or dried mushrooms)

2 Tbsps vegetable or olive oil

3 Garlic cloves, crushed

1 Small onion, chopped

1 Shallot sliced (substitute with 2 stalks of escallion, sliced)

2 Cups long grain rice, rinsed with cold water

2 Tsps salt

4 Cloves (substitute with pimento)

1 12oz can Lima Beans (substitute with green peas)

1 Tbsp Tritri, optional (Ok this one stumped me! Apparently it is a small fish in Haitian waters similar in taste to a sardine. I guess you could use one fillet out of a tinned sardine or an anchovy, but as you can see, it is an optional ingredient, so fret not)

1 to 2 Thyme Sprigs

1 Green Scotch Bonnet Pepper

Method:

In a small saucepan soak the mushrooms in 4 cups of water for 10 minutes then bring to a boil over low heat for a further 10 minutes.

Drain mushrooms and reserve liquid.

Add oil to a cast iron pot (perhaps this means a Dutch pot) and stir in onion, garlic and shallot for 2 minutes.

Add drained mushrooms, rice and stir for 3 minutes.

Add mushroom water, salt, cloves, cooked Lima beans, and Tritri (optional) and bring to a boil until water evaporates.

Lower heat, stir rice and add thyme and scotch bonnet.

Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Remove pepper and thyme.

Stir before serving.

Poule en Sauce (Haitian Style Chicken in Sauce)

When I lived in Miami, I loved when mes amies Haitiennes cooked their chicken in sauce. In French, I put poulet en sauce, but to keep it “kreyol” they told me to drop the’t ‘. I emailed a couple of them for the recipe. Each one varied as you can understand, so my recipe is in honour of them. I hope I do them justice! Basically the tomato sauce should have heat from the peppers and a tangy piquant flavour from the lime juice. This is great with simple white rice, and a side salad.

Method:

1 Chicken, washed in vinegar and cut into pieces

1 Onion, sliced

1 Large Scotch Bonnet Pepper, sliced

6 Cloves of garlic, minced

3/4 Cup Tomato Sauce (not to be confused with Ketchup, if you are using Ketchup, omit the sugar)

2 or 3 Tbsps Brown Sugar

Two limes, juiced

Salt to taste

Parsley and Thyme to garnish

Vegetable Oil, for frying

Method:

Preheat oven to 375°F

Rub chicken pieces with lime juice and leave for at least 30 minutes.

Fry chicken in vegetable oil in batches until browned.

In a bowl, combine tomato sauce, garlic, sugar, and salt.

Discard excess oil and sauté onions and scotch bonnet pepper for a couple of minutes.

Add back chicken pieces and tomato mixture and bring to a boil.

Transfer to a casserole and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, uncovered.

Sauce Ti Malice

This is a typical condiment with Haitian cuisine. It’s a great accompaniment to fish, chicken, and pork dishes.

Ingredients:

2 Tsps yellow Scotch Bonnet pepper, chopped

1 Onion, finely chopped

1/2 Cup escallion, finely sliced

2 Cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 Cup Lime Juice

1/2 Cup Vegetable or Olive Oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Marinate onions in lime juice for 2 hours.

Add to a pan with the rest of ingredients and bring to a boil.

Cool down and store in a jar in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Merci Beaucoup to Mega Mart, my wonderful sponsors

Contact Haiti Aid Jamaica at haitiaidja@gmail.com.

Contact me at info@juicychef.com

Maje Sa Bon! (Bon Appetit en Kreyol)