Sauce chienHerb, lime and chilli sauce
No grill in Martinique or Guadeloupe is complete without a bowl of sauce chien: shallot, garlic, spring onion, parsley and Scotch bonnet chopped very fine, then 'cooked' with a splash of boiling water, lime juice and oil. Islanders spoon it over grilled vegetables, plantain, rice and beans, and accras, at beach picnics and family barbecues on Sunday afternoons. One story says it is named after the knife used to chop the herbs, whose handle bore a dog. Chef's tip: pour the water on just off the boil; it softens the raw onion and garlic and brightens the green of the herbs.















