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185 recipes

Mayi moulen ak sòs pwa

Across Haiti, from Port-au-Prince markets to farms in the Central Plateau, mayi moulen is the everyday alternative to rice: coarse cornmeal cooked with epis, thyme and a whole hot pepper until thick enough to mould, then served under a ladle of smooth black bean sauce called sòs pwa. It is filling, cheap and quietly savoury, and many families eat it at midday a few times a week. The usual mistake is tipping the cornmeal into the pot all at once, which gives lumps that never cook out; rain it in slowly while you whisk. Use a fine-to-medium cornmeal or polenta labelled gluten free if that matters to you. Chef's tip: press the hot cornmeal into an oiled bowl, wait a minute and turn it out onto the plate for the neat dome you see on Haitian tables.

60 minHaitianRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Poul ak nwa

Cap-Haïtien, Haiti's northern port, claims poul ak nwa as its own: chicken braised in a tomato and epis creole sauce and finished with toasted cashew nuts, which grow on the northern hillsides and are sold in paper cones by the roadside. The nuts soften slightly in the sauce, giving it body and a buttery sweetness, and the dish is a favourite for Sunday lunch with white rice and fried plantain. The common mistake is adding the cashews at the start, so they turn soggy; they go in for the last 15 minutes. Contains tree nuts. Chef's tip: dry-toast the cashews until golden before they meet the sauce; it deepens the whole dish.

75 minHaitianChickenGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Haitian kasav

In Cap-Haïtien and the hill towns of the north, kasav is made from nothing but grated, pressed cassava, toasted on a wide griddle into a flat, pale round that is crisp outside and chewy within. People break it over soup, spread it with peanut butter for breakfast, or buy the sweet version studded with grated coconut and sugar from roadside sellers. At home the key is getting the cassava truly dry: wet pulp steams into a gummy pancake, the most common failure. This recipe uses frozen grated sweet cassava, which is sold ready to use. Chef's tip: rub the dry pulp through a coarse sieve before cooking; the fine, even crumbs bind into a lacier, crisper bread.

90 minHaitianBreads & ParathasVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pwason gwo sèl

Fishing villages on Haiti's southern coast make pwason gwo sèl, "big-salt fish", when the catch is fresh: whole snapper rubbed with lime and coarse salt, then gently poached in a peppery broth with onion, peppers, thyme and a whole scotch bonnet. The fish stays moist and clean-tasting, and the light broth is spooned over boiled plantain or rice. The common mistake is boiling it hard, which breaks the flesh; keep it at a gentle shiver. Ask for the fish scaled and gutted. Chef's tip: slash the fish twice on each side and push epis into the cuts so the flavour reaches the bone.

45 minHaitianFishGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sòs ti malis

Sòs ti malis, "Ti Malice sauce", takes its name from a trickster of Haitian folk tales who made it fiery to keep a greedy neighbour away from his meat. In Haitian kitchens it is spooned over griot, tasso and fried plantain, a hot, tangy tangle of soft onions, sweet pepper and scotch bonnet sharpened with sour orange or lime. The mistake to avoid is frying the onions brown; they should stay pale and just yielding so the sauce tastes bright rather than sweet. It keeps well, so make it ahead of a fried feast. Chef's tip: add a little of the vinegar from a jar of pikliz for an extra layer of heat.

20 minHaitianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pate kòde with smoked herring

Pate kòde are the crisp, bubbly turnovers sold hot from oil drums on Port-au-Prince street corners in the early morning and after school, wrapped in paper with a squeeze of pikliz. The filling might be chicken, beef or, most traditionally, smoked herring (aransò) fried with onion, tomato and pepper, salty and smoky in a blistered shell. The usual mistake is overfilling, so the edges split in the oil; leave a clear border and press with a fork. Soak the herring to tame its salt. Chef's tip: roll the dough very thin; that's what gives the pate their signature blisters.

75 minHaitianSnacks & Starters
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Espageti ayisyen

In Haiti, spaghetti is a breakfast food, and Saturday mornings in many homes start with a big pan of espageti: thin pasta tossed with sliced hot dogs fried in epis, tomato paste and a little hot pepper, often eaten with a boiled egg or a slice of avocado. It is quick, salty, savoury and loved by children. The mistake to avoid is boiling the pasta fully, then frying; it turns mushy, so cook it just short of done. Fry the hot dogs until piping hot all through (71 °C), as with any sausage. Chef's tip: save a cup of the pasta water; a splash of it turns the tomato and epis into a glossy coating.

30 minHaitianBreakfast & Brunch
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Haitian lambi in creole sauce

Along Haiti's coast, from Jacmel to Les Cayes, lambi is the treat of beach shacks and holiday tables: conch meat pounded tender, simmered until soft, then stewed in a hot, tomato-rich creole sauce with peppers and lime. Its flavour is sweet and clean, somewhere between squid and clam. The great mistake is rushing it; conch is tough as rubber unless it is beaten thin and then simmered long enough to relax. Buy frozen cleaned conch meat from a trusted fishmonger, discard any that smells strongly of ammonia or fish, and cook it through fully. Chef's tip: simmer the pounded conch with lime and a little vinegar first; the acid helps tenderise it.

90 minHaitianFishGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Haitian bouyon

Saturday in Haiti means bouyon: a big, thick soup of beef, root vegetables, greens and little flour dumplings, simmered all morning and ladled up at midday as a meal in a bowl. Every family has its own mix of yam, malanga, potato, carrot, plantain and watercress or spinach, with a whole hot pepper for perfume. The common mistake is adding the roots all at once at the start, so the softer ones disintegrate; the dense ones go first. It feeds a crowd and tastes better reheated. Chef's tip: squeeze a little lime into the soup bowl just before eating, as many Haitians do, to brighten the rich broth.

150 minHaitianSoups
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chiktay aransò

Chiktay is a breakfast and snack dish from Haitian homes and street stalls: smoked herring shredded very finely, then tossed with onion, sweet peppers, garlic, hot pepper and lime in hot oil, served with boiled plantain, bread or cassava bread. It is salty, smoky, sharp and fiery, so a little goes a long way. The common mistake is skipping the soaking, which leaves the dish too salty to enjoy; two quick soaks in boiling water fix that. Pick out the fine bones carefully if your herring isn't boneless. Chef's tip: shred the soaked herring with two forks until it looks like fluffy threads; it absorbs the dressing far better.

30 minHaitianFishGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tablet pistach

Street vendors in Port-au-Prince sell tablet pistach from glass cases and trays balanced on their heads: roasted peanuts (pistach in Kreyòl) set in a dark brown sugar caramel warmed with fresh ginger and cinnamon. It snaps cleanly, is chewier at the edges than a European brittle, and is eaten as an after-school treat or with coffee. The usual mistake is pouring before the syrup is dark enough, which gives a soft, sticky slab. Keep pieces away from very young children, as whole nuts are a choking hazard, and note this contains peanuts. Chef's tip: grate the ginger straight into the syrup and squeeze in a few drops of lime; the acid keeps the caramel from crystallising.

25 minHaitianDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tasso kabrit

Tasso kabrit is festival and Sunday food all over Haiti: chunks of goat soaked in sour orange and epis, simmered until tender in the marinade, then fried hard until the edges turn crisp and dark. It is piled onto platters with fried plantain (bannann peze), pikliz and sòs ti malis, and is a must at first communions and New Year gatherings. The mistake many people make is frying the goat before it is fully tender; the long simmer comes first, or the meat stays tough however crisp it looks. Ask the butcher to cut bone-in goat shoulder or leg into pieces. Chef's tip: boil the simmering liquid down to a sticky glaze and toss the fried goat in it at the end.

120 minHaitianMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Haitian tchaka (vegetarian)

Tchaka is a deeply rural Haitian stew of dried hominy corn, red beans and pumpkin, cooked low and slow until the corn bursts and the beans melt into a thick, sweet-savoury porridge. It is linked with harvest gatherings and Vodou feast days, and the classic pot usually holds smoked pork or pig's feet; this version leaves the meat out and builds depth with epis, smoked paprika and coconut oil instead. Soak the hominy and beans overnight, because skipping the soak is the main reason tchaka stays chalky. Serve it on its own in bowls, with pikliz on the side. Chef's tip: mash a cupful of the pumpkin against the pot wall near the end; it thickens the stew far better than flour.

150 minHaitianCurriesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Haitian lalo with beef

In the rice-growing Artibonite valley, lalo means jute leaves, and the stew made from them is the region's pride: chopped leaves cooked down with beef (and often crab) until they turn dark, silky and slightly slippery, like a richer spinach stew, served over white rice. Fresh jute is hard to find abroad, but frozen chopped jute leaves (sold as molokhia in Middle Eastern shops) work very well. The common mistake is adding the leaves too early; they turn bitter and grey if they boil for an hour, so the beef is cooked first. Marinate the beef in the fridge. Chef's tip: a squeeze of sour orange at the table cuts the richness beautifully.

130 minHaitianCurriesGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Haitian konparèt

Jérémie, at the far western tip of Haiti, is the home of konparèt, dense round loaves of spiced bread made with grated coconut, fresh ginger, nutmeg and vanilla, baked until firm and golden. They are a Grand'Anse travelling food, carried home from the coast in baskets and eaten with coffee or hot cocoa in the afternoon. They are meant to be firm and close-crumbed, not fluffy, so the mistake is adding extra liquid to make the dough soft. Use freshly grated coconut if you can, as it gives the moistest crumb. Chef's tip: grate the ginger on the fine side of the grater and squeeze its juice into the dough too; that heat is the signature of a good konparèt.

55 minHaitianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bonbon siwo

Bonbon siwo, "syrup cake", is the moist, dark gingerbread that Haitian families bake for birthdays, church sales and an ordinary Sunday, sliced into squares and eaten with a cup of sweet coffee. The siwo is molasses or cane syrup, which gives it a slightly bitter, smoky sweetness alongside ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. The common mistake is overbaking: take it out as soon as a skewer comes out clean, or the edges dry and turn crusty. It contains egg, wheat and dairy. Chef's tip: mix the bicarbonate of soda into the hot water before adding it to the batter so it fizzes and lifts the cake evenly.

60 minHaitianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Dous makos

Petit-Goâve, on Haiti's southern coast, is famous for one sweet: dous makos, a soft milk fudge set in three bands of cream, pink and cocoa brown, sold wrapped in paper to travellers passing through. It is made by slowly cooking milk and sugar with cinnamon and lime peel until it turns thick and pale toffee, then colouring and layering it in a tin. The common mistake is stopping too soon; undercooked fudge stays sticky and won't slice, so cook until it leaves the pan sides cleanly. A heavy pan and a long spoon make all the difference. Chef's tip: add a pinch of bicarbonate of soda with the milk; it stops the milk from catching and splitting during the long boil.

75 minHaitianDessertsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sorrentinos de calabaza

Mar del Plata claims the sorrentino, a big round stuffed pasta about the size of a jam-jar lid that Italian-Argentine cooks made their own in the mid-20th century; despite the name, you won't find it in Sorrento. Every fresh-pasta shop in Buenos Aires province sells them by the dozen on Sunday mornings, and the squash version, with roasted calabaza, ricotta and nutmeg, is the most loved. The filling is sweet and soft, the pasta thin but sturdy, and the sauce is either brown butter with sage or a plain tomato filetto. The classic mistake is boiled squash: it carries too much water, the filling weeps and the parcels burst in the pot, so the squash is roasted until dry and caramelised. Grated hard cheese is usually made with animal rennet; choose a vegetarian hard cheese if needed. Chef's tip: chill the filling until firm before you shape it; a cold, stiff filling is far easier to seal without air pockets.

100 minArgentinianPasta & Noodles
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bizcochitos de grasa

A paper bag of bizcochitos de grasa sits next to the mate gourd in kitchens, offices and roadside service stations across Argentina, from Buenos Aires to the Andes. These little rounds, a couple of bites each, are layered with beef fat, so they flake and crumble, salty and plain enough to eat by the dozen with bitter mate in the afternoon. The fat is rendered beef fat (grasa vacuna), so they are not vegetarian; ask your butcher for dripping or render suet yourself. A dough worked too warm is the mistake that robs them of their layers; the fat melts into it instead of staying in sheets. Chef's tip: chill the dough for 10 minutes between folds whenever it starts to feel greasy, and prick each round right through so it puffs in flakes rather than domes.

60 minArgentinianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Zapallitos rellenos

Round green zapallitos, the size of a tennis ball, pile up at every verdulería in Buenos Aires from December to March, and stuffing them is how home cooks turn a cheap summer vegetable into a main course. The shells are blanched, hollowed and refilled with their own flesh fried with onion and red pepper, bound with egg and melting cheese, and topped with breadcrumbs that bake to a crunchy lid. Expect a soft, savoury, slightly creamy filling under a golden crust; serve two per person with a tomato and onion salad or white rice. Overcooking the shells in the first boil is the trap: they collapse in the oven and leak water, so they only get 4 minutes. Round courgettes, eight-ball squash or short fat courgettes all work. The cheeses are usually made with animal rennet; swap in vegetarian versions if needed. Chef's tip: squeeze the chopped flesh in a clean cloth before frying it; drier filling means a firmer, tastier stuffing.

60 minArgentinianVegetarian
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chivito al asador

Malargüe, in the dry south of Mendoza, holds a goat festival every summer, and the star is the chivito: a milk-fed kid opened flat, wired to an iron cross and planted at an angle beside a fire of jarilla or other hardwood. It cooks from the side, never over the flames, basted with a garlicky salmuera until the skin turns glassy and crackling and the meat pulls apart. Serve it straight from the cross with salad, bread and chimichurri. Order a whole kid of 5–7 kg dressed weight from a specialist or halal butcher, and check the cross fits it before the day. Most failures come from setting it too close to the fire, which burns the outside while the thick legs stay raw. Kid is lean, so cook it right through, as in Mendoza: the thickest part of the leg should reach at least 70 °C. Chef's tip: cook bone side to the fire for two-thirds of the time; the ribs protect the meat, and the skin goes on last so it crisps instead of scorching.

240 minArgentinianMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mejillones a la provenzal

On the Atlantic coast around Puerto Madryn and the Golfo Nuevo, mussels from cold Patagonian waters are farmed and gathered in quantity, and seafood places along the rambla steam them a la provenzal, which in Argentina means lots of garlic and parsley. A splash of dry white wine goes into the pot; the alcohol mostly cooks off, but you can swap it for fish stock with a little lemon for an alcohol-free pot that tastes just as good. Serve with bread or chips to mop up the briny juices. Cooking mussels too long is the usual slip: they shrink and turn rubbery, so lift the lid as soon as most have opened. Before cooking, throw away any mussel with a broken shell or one that stays open when tapped; after cooking, discard any that stay shut. Chef's tip: keep the garlic in gently warm oil until it just smells sweet; brown garlic turns bitter and dominates the mussels.

25 minArgentinianFishGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bife a caballo

On the chalkboard of any neighbourhood bodegón in Buenos Aires you will find bife a caballo, steak "on horseback": a thick bife de chorizo (sirloin) or rump seared hard in a hot pan, crowned with two fried eggs whose yolks run into the meat juices, and served with a pile of chips. It is the plate for hungry taxi drivers at lunch and for anyone recovering from a long night. Cook the steak to your taste; Argentines usually ask for it jugoso (medium rare, about 55 °C in the centre) or a punto (medium, about 60 °C). Use eggs fried until the whites are fully set, and cook the yolks firm for anyone vulnerable. Crowding a pan that isn't hot enough is the classic mistake, which stews the steak grey, so let the pan smoke first. Chef's tip: rest the steak while you fry the eggs in the same pan; the beef juices in the fat give the whites crisp, savoury edges.

25 minArgentinianMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Empanadas de pescado

Along the coast of Santa Fe, especially during Lent and Holy Week, fishmongers' stalls and riverside kiosks sell fried empanadas filled with sábalo or surubí. The fish is poached, flaked and folded through soft onion and sweet pepper, then sealed in a thin oil-based dough and fried until blistered and crisp. Squeeze lemon over them and eat them warm, with a green salad or just a paper napkin. Any firm white fish works: hake, cod or a farmed catfish. The mistake people make most is skipping the bone check; river fish such as sábalo hide fine bones, so run your fingers through every flake. Chef's tip: keep the filling quite dry and cold before you fill the discs; extra liquid turns to steam in the hot oil and bursts the seams.

90 minArgentinianSnacks & Starters
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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