This Friday is about Haitian Legume

Since a little girl, Haitian-Legume remains one of my favorite dishes.  I still remember my grandmother making it for us back in Haiti. This dish consists of mashed vegetables with a variety of meat and seafood.

Everyone can prepare legume differently.  It is one of the most flavorful Haitian dishes ever. This how I prepared mine.

Ingredients

2 eggplants

4 chayote

1 bunch of fresh watercress

1 head of cabbage

1 green bell pepper

4 medium carrots

2 tbs tomato paste

3tbs of olive oil

2lbs beef cubes

Crab legs

Shrimps

Thyme and parsley

½ tbs of lime juice

Salt, pepper, pepper flakes

2 tbs of Haitian spice (A blend of garlic, pepper, vinegar, scallions, cloves, parsley leaves)

Preparation

Season the meat with the Haitian spice, set aside.

Peel the chayote and split them in half and remove the core.

Peel and wash the carrots and cut them into 2 or 3 pieces.

Peel the skin off of 2 large eggplants and cut them into 3 or 4 pieces.

Cut the cabbage

In a large pot, add 3 tbs of olive oil, add the marinated meat.

On top of the meat, place the crab legs, carrots, eggplants, chayote, and watercress. As the meat cooks and produces its own juices, the vegetables absorb some of the flavors. After 50 minutes to 1 hour, the meat should be cooked and tender.

Once the vegetables are cooked, remove the carrots (as much as you can), and the watercress.

Remove the eggplant, chayote, and cabbage.  With a potato masher mash them until it’s the consistency of a paste.

Return everything back to the pot (meat, crabs’ legs, shrimp, watercress, carrots)

Season to taste, add in the juice of ½ lime.  Add in thyme and parsley tied together with cooking string, sliced bell pepper, and the tomato paste. Stir the pot (be careful not to mash the meat) to mix all of the ingredients together. Cook on medium-low heat until all the liquid has dried.

This dish is served with white rice and bean sauce

This dish is served with white rice and bean sauce

I am a Haitian and enjoy my cuisine, I only wish you could taste my dish.  Do you have any dish that reminds you of your childhood or your hometown, share with me, I would love to hear from you.