Green Peas and Beef Pelau

You simply cannot approach the topic of good Trini food without mentioning Pelau. Like with any other foods, there are variations based on the cook. For example some like their pelau wet some like theirs dry. Even the ingredients can sometimes vary: you can use dried pigeon peas or fresh green peas (you can also use both of these types of peas canned.) You then have your meat choices; smoked bones add that extra flavor, you can use pork, beef or chicken etc in your one pot, you can stew the meat separately or you can opt to have it meatless. Whatever mix you choose, all you must do is follow these steps to ensure that you have a delicious pot of food. Throw in a fresh salad, coleslaw or a beautiful slice of ripe avocado and a cold drink and voila. Here's my recipe I hope you enjoy.

INGREDIENTS

3 lbs Beef cubed

4 tbsp Green Seasoning

1 tsp Ginger Powder

1/2 tsp Chili Flakes

1 tsp Black Pepper

2 tsp Salt

3 cups Rice (washed)

1/3 cup Brown Sugar

2 1/2 cups Green Pigeon Peas

1 med Carrot (cubed small)

1/2 cup Celery Stalk chopped

2 cups Coconut Milk

2 tbsp grated Ginger

3 cloves Garlic (crushed & chopped)

4 cups Water

1 cup Pumpkin (cubed)

1 small Onion (chopped)

3 Pimento (chopped)

Salt and hot pepper to taste

METHOD

●Wash beef with lime/lemon or vinegar water, drain and place in clean bowl.

●Add green seasoning, ginger powder, chili flakes, black pepper and salt. Toss well, cover and set aside to marinate.

●Place a large saucepan or dutch pot on high heat add add brown sugar. Keep a watchful eye on sugar while allowing it to melt gradually.

●When all the sugar is liquefied and a light caramel brown begin stirring with spoon allowing sugar to become frothy and slightly darker in color (do not let it become too dark or it will be very bitter)

●Toss in beef and stir well very quickly add one cup of water, cover with lid and allow to cook for 5-6 mins.

●To pot add rice, peas, carrots, hot pepper and ginger. Stir well then add coconut milk and cups of water stir well. Bring to a simmer and then lower heat to medium and cover.

●Allow rice to steam for approximately 15 mins before adding the remaining ingredients and ensuring that they are well incorporated before lowering heat to low and placing lid back on.

●Allow to steam for a further 15 mins, once the rice is soft and almost all the liquid has been absorbed remove lid and allow the remaining liquid to reduce then remove from heat and serve hot with your desired salads but most importantly enjoy.

Thank you for joining me for another great session of Food Therapy. I sure do hope to see you soon.❤