{"id":1448,"date":"2012-11-08T14:26:08","date_gmt":"2012-11-08T14:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/socamom.com\/w\/make-trinidadian-callaloo-fast-without-dasheen\/"},"modified":"2023-09-04T21:31:39","modified_gmt":"2023-09-05T03:31:39","slug":"make-trinidadian-callaloo-fast-without-dasheen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/socamom.com\/w\/make-trinidadian-callaloo-fast-without-dasheen\/","title":{"rendered":"Make Trinidadian Callaloo Fast without Dasheen"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of my favorite dishes that my mom makes is Callaloo.<\/strong> As a kid, I couldn’t stand it… it was slimy, green, and just not the easiest on the eyes. \u00a0Once I became a young adult, I began to really develop the taste for it. Do you love callaloo? You can make it at home with this quick recipe.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Trinidadian<\/p>\n

Callaloo means different things to different people.<\/strong> It originated with West African slaves in the West Indies, and is a common dish on most of the islands in the Caribbean. \u00a0In Trinidad, it is made with dasheen or taro with okra, and is kind of like a thick soup. \u00a0Jamaican callaloo is totally different. \u00a0I found this out the hard way. \u00a0I had my my mouth fixed for what I knew as callaloo – turns out the Jamaican version is similar to American collard greens in its look, but more finely chopped steamed leaves. \u00a0I’m sure it is good – but I was pregnant, mom wasn’t around to make it, and I wanted what I wanted. \u00a0Each island has its own way of making it. I’ll be sharing my mom’s recipe for the fast Trinidadian-American version of the dish.<\/p>\n

I love it with white rice, peas and rice (or rice and peas), potato, dumpling, cassava, macaroni pie – anything starchy is nice with it to tell you the truth.<\/strong><\/p>\n

My dad puts crab claws in it – but I don’t like to fight with anything in my food like that, so I like my mom’s best (sorry Dad). Sometimes she puts a little saltfish in it, but eating that is never a fight for me!<\/p>\n

Melanie Edwards from ModernMami.com<\/a> asked on Facebook if I knew of a good callaloo recipe, so I gave my mom a call, and she gave me her quick callaloo recipe. I’ll have to give it a try. \u00a0She didn’t mention adding pepper sauce, but I add it on my own plate after its done.<\/p>\n

So here it is… you don’t have to go hunt down dasheen – just hit the frozen vegetable aisle at the grocery store, and you can be done in 20 minutes, with just 7 ingredients (including water). <\/strong> As it is with a lot of Caribbean moms who give a recipe, everything is approximate – adjust it to your taste, and what your family will enjoy. Reading this from the front page? Be sure to click “read more” to get the recipe…<\/p>\n

My Mom\u2019s Quick Callaloo<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n