Read The Sugar Mill Caribbean Cookbook Online
Authors: Jinx Morgan
The Sugar Mill Caribbean Cookbook (20 page)
Pasta with Conch in Parsley Cream
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Avocado Pasta Sauce
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Garden Patch Pasta
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Plenty of Pestos
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Linguine with Smoked Tuna and Red Caviar
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Lime Cream Pasta
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Tortellini with Spinach and Whelks or Clams
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Rasta Pasta
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Pasta with Sugar Snap Peas and Asparagus
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Penne with Hot Pepper-Vodka Sauce
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Seafood Lasagna
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Scallop-Filled Pasta Flowers
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Pumpkin, Black Bean, and Parmesan Lasagna
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Key Lime Pasta with Crab and Mustard Sauce
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Pasta with Tuna and Walnuts
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Pasta with Mushrooms and Blue Cheese
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Hot Pepper and Broccoli Pasta
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Pasta with Foie Gras
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Pasta with Sweet Peppers and Pine Nuts
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Pasta and shellfish are always a great alliance. We love this combination of conch, the queen of the Caribbean Sea, with bright peppers and delicate angel-hair pasta. If conch is not available, try the same recipe with shrimp, sauteing them briefly with the onion and peppers before adding the broth and cream.
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| 2 | tablespoons vegetable oil |
| 1 | onion |
| 1 | large garlic clove, minced |
| 1 | red bell pepper, cut into julienne strips |
| 1 | yellow bell pepper, cut into julienne strips |
| 1 | cup clam broth |
| 1 | cup heavy cream |
| 1 to 1½ | pounds peeled, tenderized, and cooked conch, cut into bite-size pieces |
| 1 | bunch parsley, finely minced |
| ½ | cup minced basil |
| Â | Salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste |
| 1½ | pounds spinach angel-hair pasta, cooked and drained |
In a skillet, heat the oil. Sauté the onion, garlic, and peppers very slowly until they are soft. Add the clam broth, cream, and conch, and simmer the mixture until it is thickened. Add the parsley and basil, and continue to simmer the sauce until the parsley has lost its raw taste. Season the sauce with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Serve it over the hot pasta.
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Makes 6 servings
The queen conch (pronounced "konk"), royally dressed in an elegant shell touched by shades of pink, gold, and cream, moves at a stately pace through the clear green waters of the shallows. By extending her foot and digging her sickle-shaped operculum into the sand, she moves through the waving undersea grasses to find the algae she'll dine on today.
The conch is treasured as much for her meat as for her beautiful shell. Cleaning conch is a laborious and messy process that is best left to local experts, who do it with such skill that they almost make it look easy. In the kitchen, the meat is tenderized; many Caribbean kitchens have pressure cookers to make short work of this process. Rubbing the meat with a papaya leaf also helps to soften it. Once your conch has been tenderized, you can prepare it in numerous delicious ways, from chowder to fritters, stews to conchburgers. Experiment with conch using recipes calling for scallops, abalone, or clams.
Conch is so popular in the islands that folklore has developed around it. Blowing the conch shell signals the setting of the sun in some parts of the Caribbean and southern Florida. Sailors keep a conch horn on their boat to use in fog or to signal that they need a bridge opened. Some claim aphrodisiac powers for conch meat (perhaps helping to explain its popularity), and dried conch is often called "Hurricane Ham," since it was much appreciated when other meats and fish were in short supply after storms. The conch even has taken its place alongside the Oscar and the Emmy: The Caribbean Hotel Association's annual award for Hotelier of the Year is a Golden Conch statuette.
Avocados grow in profusion in the Caribbean, but they are seasonal. We seem to be always waiting for a new crop to ripen or fighting off a green tidal wave of fruit that threatens to engulf us. When avocados are dangling from every tree, this simple pasta is a great way to enjoy them.
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| ¼ | cup butter, melted |
| 3 | green onions, minced |
| 1 | garlic clove, minced |
| 2 | tablespoons minced fresh basil |
| 1 | cup dry white wine |
| ¾ | cup minced parsley |
| 1½ | cups ricotta cheese |
| 3 | ripe avocados, mashed |
| Â | Salt and pepper to taste |
| 1 | pound linguine, cooked and drained |
| Chopped fresh tomatoes |
| Pitted black olives (preferably Greek or Italian) |
Heat the butter in a skillet, and add the green onions, garlic, and basil. Cook until the onions are tender. Add the wine and parsley, and simmer for 5 minutes longer. Stir in the ricotta cheese; blend it well and heat it through. Stir in the mashed avocado, season to taste with salt and pepper, and immediately spoon the sauce over hot cooked linguine. Garnish with chopped fresh tomatoes and black olives, and serve.
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Makes 6 servings
- Dollop it on baked potatoes.
- Spread it under the skin of poultry before baking.
- Toss it with hot pasta for a quick meal.
- Blend it with butter, and spread it on grilled fish.
- Spread it on slices of toasted French or Italian bread.
- Spoon a bit into scrambled eggs or omelets.
Most Caribbean homes have small gardens where eggplant, peppers, squash, and tomatoes are grown for family use. This delicious healthful pasta sauce takes advantage of fresh-picked (or freshly purchased) garden produce.
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| 1 | 1-pound eggplant, peeled and cut into ½-inch slices |
| ¼ | cup olive oil |
| 3 | medium onions, diced |
| 2 | tablespoons minced garlic |
| 1 | cup diced red bell peppers |
| 1 | cup diced yellow bell peppers |
| 2 | zucchini, diced |
| 2 | yellow squashes, diced |
| 12 | mushrooms, sliced |
| 4 | cups (1 28-ounce can) peeled tomatoes |
| ¼ | cup minced fresh basil, or 4 teaspoons dried basil |
| 4 | teaspoons salt |
| 2 | tablespoons minced parsley |
| ¼ | cup dry red wine |
| 2 | teaspoons dried oregano |
| 6 | dashes hot pepper sauce |
| 1 | bay leaf |
| 2 | cups (1 16-ounce can) cooked garbanzo beans, drained |
| ¼ | cup pine nuts, lightly toasted in a skillet |
| Â | Shaved or grated parmesan cheese |
| 1 | pound pasta, cooked and drained |
Sprinkle the eggplant slices with salt. Place them on paper towels, and leave them for 20 to 30 minutes.
Pat the eggplant dry, and cut it into ½-inch cubes.
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onions, garlic, peppers, zucchini, and yellow squashes, and stir-fry the vegetables over high heat for about 5 minutes. Rinse and dry the eggplant, and add it with the mushrooms to the pan. Reduce the heat, and sauté the vegetables for about 10 minutes, stirring them occasionally.
Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, salt, parsley, wine, oregano, hot sauce, and bay leaf, and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the garbanzo beans, lower the heat, and simmer until the vegetables are tender but not too soft. Taste, and adjust the seasoning. Remove the bay leaf.
Spoon the vegetables over hot cooked pasta, and sprinkle the dish with toasted pine nuts and parmesan cheese before serving.
This sauce can be made ahead and refrigerated or frozen, and then reheated before serving.
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Makes 6 to 8 servings
What began as a simple preparation of basil, olive oil, pine nuts, and cheese has been taken up by the foodies and kicked around until some of its descendants wouldn't be recognized at a family reunion. We draw the line at pesto recipes featuring sardines or hgs.
The first recipe here is for pesto as Italians usually make it. For a spinach pesto recipe, see
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This freezes very well if you leave out the cheese, and add it just before serving. We like to freeze pesto in ice trays, which make handy little portions to use later.
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| 3 | cups basil leaves, loosely packed |
| ¾ | cup olive oil |
| ¾ | cup pine nuts (or walnuts) |
| 3 | garlic cloves |
| 1 | teaspoon salt |
| ½ | cup grated parmesan cheese |
Whirl the basil, oil, nuts, garlic, and salt in a blender or food processor until the mixture is smooth.
This mixture takes considerable liberties with the original concept, but it is delicious on grilled fish, such as swordfish or tuna, and on toasted baguettes.
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| ¾ | cup Niçoise olives, pitted |
| ½ | cup basil leaves, loosely packed |
| ¼ | cup parsley leaves |
| 2 | shallots or green onions (white parts only) |
| 2 | tablespoons pine nuts |
| 2 | garlic cloves, mashed |
| ¼ | cup olive oil |
| ¼ | cup grated parmesan cheese |
Whirl all the ingredients except the oil and cheese in a food processor or blender until the mixture is smooth. Add the oil and cheese, and blend thoroughly.
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Makes about 1 cup
Our chef Rick Buttafuso has a wonderful way with Caribbean ingredients, but his heart and his heritage require a bit of pasta from time to time. This is one of our favorites of his creations, in which he uses locally caught and smoked tuna.
