Wendy Rahamut Modern Caribbean Cuisine (Macmillan Caribbean, 2006)
You may wonder what could be modern about the flavours in Caribbean food. Our territory is as old as our native Amerindians who first inhabited our land, planting cassava, followed by the Africans who incorporated it into a ‘metemgee’ or ‘oiled down’ or ‘run down’ as it is also known in other parts of the Caribbean.
The modern techniques and flavours are fully utilized in Wendy Rahamut’s Modern Caribbean Cuisine. Ms Rahamut explains through recipes how to incorporate flavours which are seldom used in the Caribbean, but which are popular beyond our shores. She blends them into curries, stews, and salads, as for example, “Sweet and Sour Caribbean Slaw.” She takes pasta which is not traditionally a Caribbean dish, and turns it into a meal which enhances our palate – “Caribbean Pasta with Mussels and Shrimp.” Herbs such as chandon beni also known as cilantro or coriander, are widespread in Thai and Indian cooking. Yet this flavour had limited use in Guyana and Jamaica, for instance.
The book is simple in its presentation and would appeal to persons who are not adventurous cooks, or who are resident outside the Caribbean. Examples which illustrate this are: “Stewed Chicken Trini Style with Ginger,” “Split Roasted Chicken with Guava Rum Glaze,” “Curried Shrimp with Lemongrass,” and “Carib-bean Seafood Quiche.”
Modern Caribbean Cui-sine starts with an introduction by the author, a native of Trinidad and Tobago. She explains her emphasis is on diversifying from the traditional high fat content of Caribbean cuisine and introducing a fresher, tastier cuisine which would still maintain a Caribbean flavour. Most important of all is that our ancestral heritage is still represented in African, Indian, Chinese and European-style dishes.
Unlike most West Indian recipe books this one does not list the islands and the various dishes indigenous to them. Apart from the map of the Caribbean, and the title on the cover, the reader would be left to imagine whether these recipes all derived from a particular culture. There are a few exceptions, such as, “Tobago Pigeon Peas Soup” and “Caribbean Shrimp Cocktail.” Perhaps it would have been more fitting to include the name Trinidad, since it is really a Trinidadian cook book similar to what we have done locally with our What’s Cooking in Guyana.
The general presentation is attractive for the entire 320 pages. There is a chapter for each category of seafood, meats and vegetables; desserts are separate from cakes and breads. However, pork has not been included. Each chapter has an introduction informing the reader how West Indian people like to eat their vegetables, or a brief outline describing how to “lighten up” a typical cow-heel soup by omitting the dumplings.
The photographic illustrations by Michael Bonaparte are excellent, and the corresponding recipe is placed on the opposite page. Ingredients are listed in point form so they are easy to follow. One of the distinct advantages is that all dressings and accompaniments are listed separately, but on the same page. For instance in the case of “Mexican Empanadas” (patties) the dough recipe is separate from the filling recipe for the sake of clarity.
The dessert chapter is fresh, full of fruit, chocolate and sweetness. There is “Creamy Guava Tart” which is guava stew with custard baked in a pastry shell; “Key Lime Cake,” a delicious cake with a sauce baked into it; the excellent “Sapodilla Mousse” with a hint of dark rum; “Sponge Roll with Papaya Lime Curd” (two fruits which complement each other); and “Passion Fruit Pie” just to name a few.
This book would be useful for hotels and restaurants and anyone who likes to entertain. This is especially so for persons who are health conscious, since deep fry methods find minimum use here. Modern Caribbean Cuisine is an exciting new cookbook. It offers a new twist on Caribbean food, and may even influence the way in which we approach cooking in the future.
It is available in Guyana at a price of $5640.00.