A typical Sunday in our house started with a very simple breakfast that left you thinking about the great feast around the dinner table later which for some reason was always ready by 2 in the afternoon which meant we didn't have to wait very long at all, with so much food we didn't have to worry about there being leftovers for Supper.
For breakfast, a classic Jamaican staple, Cornmeal Porridge. Every body and the baby will love a bowl of this creamy starter. Dinner comes in next with the mouth watering Pot Roast and Rice and Peas. I added a few unconventional ingredients and substitutions like deglazing the roasting pot with red wine and beef stock instead of water, and adding baby carrots, mushrooms, and pearl onions, then finished my Roast in the oven. My Rice and Peas got a flavorful Smoked Ham Hock instead of the typical Salted Pig Tail and I opted for a can of Coconut Milk rather than breaking open, pegging, and grating a dry Coconut.
Creamy Cornmeal Porridge
Ingredients
1 cup fine cornmeal
3 1/2 cups milk
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon (I prefer 1 cinnamon stick or real cinnamon leaf, for a richer flavor)
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg along with the mace
Have a medium sauce pan ready to combine the cornmeal and milk just before heat.
Turn to medium high heat adding the other ingredients. Stir constantly to avoid clumping. The mixture will become thick, you may add more milk if needed, I add more spices if this happens.
Continue stirring until mixture coats the spoon and cornmeal is tender. Your porridge is ready. Pour into your serving bowl or cup. We like to use condensed milk as the sweetener but you can use any sweetener you prefer. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg and enjoy.
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Baby approved.....
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It's Dinner Time
Sometimes the dinner pots were bubbling along with the breakfast on the stove, the Peas and the Salted Pig Tail would be simmering and the Pot Roast was waiting its turn. Sundays in our house is typically for cooking, lounging, and of course eating with the occasional stray guests who are fans of my Mother's cooking. Marinating your protein is essential in developing great flavor, a day in advance will be perfect for my Pot Roast.
The Marinade
6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 oz ginger, roughly chopped
1 stalk green onion, roughly chopped
About a handfull of parsley, stems included
2 oz light teriyaki sauce
1 oz olive oil
Garlic Salt
Black Pepper
Ground Jamaican Allspice
Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend just enough to coat meat. Cover meat tightly in a container or ziplock bag and rest flat in your refrigerator overnight. This marinade can be used on meats, chicken, seafood or even on your veggies.
Cooking your Roast
Marinated Chuck Roast
7 cloves garlic
1 stalk green onion
5 baby onions cut in half
1 oz whole pimento
1 cup baby carrots
1 cup crimini or white button mushrooms cut in half
1/2 cup red wine12 oz beef or vegetable stock
Olive Oil for browning beef
garlic Salt and pepper if needed
Place a large pot or Dutchie on high heat and pour in olive oil.
Add the garlic cloves and whole pimentos, when garlic begins to brown, add your meat that has been marinating comfortably in your refrigerator. Brown on both sides.
As soon as this roast hits the hot pan, the intoxicating aroma always reminds me of what Sundays should smell like.
Remove browned roast to a stand by plate and deglaze the pot with the red wine, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot to get all that flavored goodness incorporated.
Return roast and add all the other ingredients to the pot just enough stock to submerge the roast. Cover pot with Aluminum Foil and Place in a 350 preheated oven until beef is fork tender. Remove from heat and let stand for at least 10 minutes before carving.
Rice and Peas
A Sunday without Rice and Peas is simply unheard of, as my Mom would say, and i will admit that even with a hearty alternative, you're somehow still left wanting.....so i did a lovely pot of Rice and Peas with my Pot Roast, substituting the typical Salted Pig Tail with a just as flavorful Smoked Ham Hock.
Rice and Peas calls for Red Kidney Beans not peas and Pigs Tail which is another staple in any Jamaican household that consumes pork, other alternatives are Salted Beef (a cured brisket) and the Smoked Ham Hock or Smoked Turkey are
quite decent alternatives when traveling to the USA and you just have to have your Rice and Peas.
1cup red kidney beans
2 cups brown rice
1 salted pig tail
4-5 cups water
1 cup coconut milk
4 cloves garlic
1 medium piece ginger, pealed and slightly pounded
1 large stalk green onion
1 bay leaf
1 medium onion pealed and cut in quarters
4 thyme sprigs
1 oz whole pimento
1 whole scotch bonnet pepper
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After washing beans, add to a medium stock pot along with the salted pig tail, fill pot 3/4 ways with water on medium to high heat, when beans begin rising to the surface add another cup of cold water to sink beans and let cook until fork tender.
Add coconut milk and other ingredients, season with garlic salt and black pepper to taste. PLEASE DO NOT open the Scotch Bonnet Pepper or remove the stem while it's still in the pot.
Let pot simmer for about 7 minutes before adding the rice. Stir and cover pot, reducing to low heat until rice is tender. You can remove the onion, ginger and green onion, pepper and thyme which has surfaced. Remove pot from heat. Spoon into a serving bowl and enjoy. Don't forget the pig tail, that's become a whole other dimension of flavor and is now considered a treat in the pot.
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