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.
You’re Haitian? Interesting. We don’t mash food traditionally; more like pound tuber crops to eat with vegetable soups. I still cook traditional Nigerian foods and in fact made okra soup and ate with eba (dried cassava put in hot water and turned to a doughy, starchy substance). Some foods can be time consuming so I make them once a month. Heck, I’ve been soaking beans for 2 days to make moi-moi lol. That better last me 2 weeks. I’ve noticed that we have very similar foods, even down to the leaves. Different names, of course lol.
I would love to try that Okra Soup, Kemi. I have a lot of Nigerian friends, you bet, I am going to find the recipe and make it.
This meal seems full of flavours! I love caribbean cuisine
So do I, Chloe.
I’ve never had Haitian food before. This looks really good and the ingredients don’t seem hard to find. I’ll have to give your recipe a try!
Go for it, Diana!
I have never tried Haitian food before and would love to give it a go. Great recipe and looks good.
It’s truly flavorful, Melissa.
I have Never heard of or tasted such meal but definitely looks great and yummy. Would love to taste this some day
I wish you could taste mine, lol.
I have never tried Haitian food before, but this sounds delicious!! I am a food blogger, so I am always on the look out for more cuisines. Definitely going to save this to try out later 🙂
You should come by me to try the most flavorful dishes ever.
Wow, that sounds delicious and tasty! I love food with lots of seasoning 🙂
Same here, Esperanza!
That looks like a wholesome meal. Absolutely delicious and healthy looking.
It sure is, Kartika!
Ooh I’ve never had Haitian food before but this does sound delicious. I am from New Zealand do lamb is a big thing for us.
I love lamb but I don’t eat often. I have a lamb recipe that I usually make for Easter.
WOW the flavors sound outstanding, I bet your kitchen smells amazing when you are cooking it.
You got that right!
Legume’ is one of my favorite Haitian dishes; I have tried them all. Thanks for sharing your recipe, very much appreciated.
This is one of my kids’ favorite too.