16
UWI TODAY 100
TH
ISSUE
– SUNDAY 17 DECEMBER, 2017
AT HOME WITH NOVECK
One of my fondest memories growing up
was the tradition
of Christmas at Grandma’s house.It probably started with my
mother and her four siblings coming together at Grandma’s
house on Christmas day for a late lunch, and staying well past
dinner time. Fast forward thirty-something years, and now
it’s grown into a four-generation get together (a zoo) with my
parents, uncles and aunts and cousins with their better halves,
a couple of children, and last but not least, my grandma at the
centre.
These were the people who started my love affair with
food and cooking.
The menu is usually a spectacularly diverse spread that
would bewilder any spectator, but there was always method
to the madness.
The first conundrum was to guarantee a meal to those
who were abstaining from meat for some reason or another.
The second challenge was a question that had to be
Serves:
4-6
Estimated Prep Time:
1 hour
Ingredients
2 YELLOW BELL PEPPERS, DICED
1 GREEN PEPPER, DICED
2 WHOLE PAPRIKA PEPPERS, DICED
3 PIMENTO PEPPERS, DICED
1 HABANERO PEPPER, DICED
2 CUPS GRANULATED SUGAR
7/8 CUP HEINZ APPLE CIDER VINEGAR
(PEPPER PERFECT)
1 TBSP FRESH MINCED GINGER
1 TSP SALT
Method
Add peppers and vinegar to a heavy pot
and bring to a rolling boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low.
Add salt, sugar and ginger.
Cook uncovered on medium-low heat for 30-40
minutes or until most of the liquid has cooked off.
Stir frequently to avoid sticking/burning.
Allow to cool in pot, spoon into a sterile glass jar.
Keep refrigerated.
Grandma’s House is Bursting
PEPPER
JELLY
answered: What would X eat? X would be the individual on
some new-fangled diet or who had some preference or aversion
to any particular dish. Grandma always has the uncanny knack
of keeping track of who eats what. The bottom line was that
everyone would always have an option of something to eat, and
then some. No one went hungry.
Brace yourself for a meal so inherently complex, that I can
only attribute it to the wonderful culinary and cultural diversity
that is quintessentially the soul of Trinidad and Tobago.
There’s usually some sort of rice, macaroni pie, provision
pie, red beans or peas, stewed chicken, pepper shrimp, curried
duck, curried ex-layers or goat, dhalpuri and/or paratha roti,
chunky vegetables, ham, turkey, potato salad, fresh salad and
a thing or three more. You’d notice distinct themes here, but
we never really stuck to one. In the truest Trinbagonian sense
of douglarization, you might find a little of everything on one
plate, or someone combining macaroni pie with red beans and
curried goat, but judge ye not. To each their own.
After that culinary bombardment that would leave anyone
stuffed like a sausage-filled teddy bear, there’d come a slew
of dessert options; all homemade: sponge cake, black cake,
flan, coconut ice cream. This is in addition to the snack table,
covered with what I personally consider Christmas themed
snacks: an assortment of cookies including the wildly popular
fruit centres, nuts, channa, potato chips and other sweet and
savoury treats to keep everyone busy putting things into their
face for most of the day.
The drinks table would have something for everyone, but
alcohol was never the focus of the day, it was more of a formality
for guests than the family.
Amidst the exchange of gifts, the parang and soca music
on my uncle’s DJ setup, the running and screaming of adults
and kids alike, there was never a shortage of love and laughter.
And clearly, food.
(Noveck Gowandan)
Hi, my name is Noveck
and I have a pepper problem.
I adore ‘em in all shapes and forms, and I went a little crazy
the other day whenThe UWI’s Faculty of Food and Agriculture
had its weekly fresh produce sale. The sheer abundance and
variety was like a pepper carnival and I foundmyself immersed
in the parade of bands.
Alas, I went overboard and bought far toomuch. Revelling
in my insanity, I decided by vaps that I should make a pepper
jelly, having never made anything of this nature before in my
life.
Now the basic food scientist in me knows that pectin is
usually required for jellies as the thickening agent, and this
particular ingredient was sorely lacking frommy arsenal – so I
was forced to Google. As a result, tip of the hat to Averie Cooks
who managed to make some amazing looking pepper jelly on
the stove, sans pectin.
So after the research and pilfering some granulated sugar
from my mother’s kitchen, I had ingredients and a plan. I
decided that I’d play it safe and hold back on my initial plan of
dumping some select herbs in there in the event that it killed
the jelling process. Zero regrets, and I learned a thing or two.
This stuff was deliciously viscous, thick and sticky,
wonderfully tart and sweet with a punch-to-the-throat
backdraft heat. The impeccable paradox of starkly contrasting
flavours seems to win. I figure this can be a substitute for chow
chow on the meats this year. It’s excellent as a cracker topper,
with cheese, or even to incorporate into other dishes such as
stir-fried noodles or vegetables. I would know. I’ve been eating
it all week.
Give it a go!
Note: the collection of peppers amounted to about 4 cups
in this recipe. You canmix andmatch as many different peppers
as you like, once it works out to 4-5 cups max.This recipe yields
about 1 pint (16 oz) or 2 cups of Pepper Jelly.
Pepper Jelly
or
Chow Chow?
