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Jamaican callaloo
Steamed callaloo greens with onion, tomato, garlic, thyme and a touch of scotch bonnet
In Jamaica, callaloo means the leaves and tender stems of a type of amaranth, sold in big bundles in every market from Coronation Market in Kingston to Santa Cruz in St Elizabeth. It's steamed down with onion, tomato, garlic and thyme into soft, savoury greens with a mild mineral sweetness, and eaten at breakfast with fried dumplings, boiled green bananas or hard dough bread, or as a side at dinner. Spinach or Swiss chard can stand in if you can't find callaloo. Chef's tip: peel the fibrous skin from the thicker stems with a small knife and slice the stems and leaves finely across, about 1 cm wide. That's how Jamaican cooks get callaloo that's tender all the way through rather than stringy.
- Total time
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Strip the leaves of 1 ⅛ lb callaloo (amaranth greens) from the thick stems. Peel the stringy outer skin from the stems by catching it with a small knife and pulling down. Soak leaves and stems in a big bowl of cold salted water for a few minutes to loosen grit, then lift out and drain.
5 minStep 2: Roll the leaves into bundles and slice stems and leaves across into ribbons about 1 cm wide.
Step 3: Heat 1 tbsp vegetable or coconut oil in a wide pan with a lid over a medium heat. Add 1 onion, 2 cloves garlic, 2 spring onions and 2 sprigs fresh thyme and cook for 2–3 minutes, until the onion softens and smells sweet.
3 minStep 4: Add 1 tomato and ¼ scotch bonnet pepper and cook for 1 minute, until the tomato starts to collapse. A quarter of a seeded pepper gives gentle warmth; for flavour without heat, lay a whole unbroken pepper on top instead and lift it out at the end.
1 minStep 5: Add the callaloo, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp ground black pepper and 2 tbsp water. Stir, cover and steam over a medium-low heat for 5–7 minutes, stirring once, until the stems are tender when bitten and the leaves are dark green and soft. Don't cook it to a grey mush; it should still look bright.
6 minStep 6: Taste for salt, take out the thyme stalks and serve hot.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 70 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 8 g
- Fat
- 4 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does jamaican callaloo take?
- About 20 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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