National Dish of Trinidad & Tobago Callaloo

Ingredients

Callaloo is the national dish of Trinidad and Tobago. It is a thick stew with the consistency of a soup. Callaloo is made from dasheen leaves and cooked with an assortment of herbs and spices. Traditionally, crabs are included in Callaloo, but meats such as chicken and salted pork can also be incorporated in the stew. Callaloo can be eaten alone but it is also commonly eaten with macaroni pie, a Caribbean pasta dish.

Directions for Preparing Callaloo Crabs Soup

1. Remove the skin from the dasheen leaf stalks and discard.
2. Rinse the leaves and stalks, then chop them into bite-sized pieces.
3. Place the leaves in a large pot.
4. Add the onions, garlic, thyme, pumpkin, coconut milk, and okras to the pot.
5. Pour a cup of water into the pot and add the whole habanero pepper.
6. Cover the pot and simmer over low heat for thirty (0:30) minutes.
7. Remove the lid, then add the crabs.
8. Stir the ingredients but do not puncture the habanero pepper.
9. Replace the lid on the pot and allow the Callaloo to cook for another thirty (0:30) minutes.
10. Remove the habanero pepper and discard it.
11. Season with salt and chives.
12. Use an immersion blender to puree the stew, excluding the crabs.
13. Stir well, then turn off the heat.
14. Serve the Trinidad Callaloo with macaroni pie.

Festival foods

Special Christmas foods include appetizers like pastilles (called hallaca in Venezuela where they originated), pholourie, saheena, baiganee, kachori, and chicken or pork pies. Entrees include garlic ham (carne vinha-d’alhos, a Portuguese dish), baked ham, baked turkeyor chicken, macaroni pie, fish pie, garlic roasted potatoes, grilled or barbecued meat (chicken, shrimp, fish, or lamb), corn, pigeon peas, Christmas (also called Spanish or festive) rice, fried rice, chow mein, lo mein, Chinese roast chicken, pepper shrimp, different types of curries (chicken, goat, duck, fish, shrimp, crab, baigan, channa and aloo), roti, and dal Bhat (rice).