Oxtail Stew

Oxtail Stew

Ingredients:

4 lbs. oxtails

4 tbsp. vegetable oil

2 tbsp. sugar (brown or white)

2 large onions (chopped)

4 garlic cloves (chopped

2 tomatoes (chopped)

2 beef bouillon (crushed)

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 tsp. hot-pepper sauce (see recipe list)

6 sprigs of thyme

Water to cover (about 5 cups)

3 carrots (peeled & cut)

4 scallions (chopped)

*1 ½ tbsp. cornstarch (mixed with 3 tbsp. water)

Instructions:

Wash oxtails well. Heat oil and add sugar, stir until sugar is melted and caramelized. Add onions and garlic and slightly sauté. Add oxtails and brown for about 10 minutes, stirring continuously. Add tomatoes, beef bouillon, cinnamon, hot-pepper sauce, and continue to sauté for about 5-10 minutes, stirring continuously. Add water to cover and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer for about 1 hour until meat is tender. Add carrots, scallions and thyme and simmer for 15 minutes. Mix cornstarch with 3 tbsp. water to a smooth paste and add to stew to thicken. Stir constantly until stew in thickened (about 5 minutes). Serve hot over white rice or with peas & rice (cook-up rice). 

GUYANA BLACK CAKE (RUM) w/ icing recipe (see below)

Ingredients:

1 ½ lb. mixed dried fruit (chopped or grinned)

1 tsp. mixed spice

2 oz. mixed peel

8 oz. white sugar or soft brown sugar

4 oz. peanuts (chopped finely)

6 eggs

¼ tsp. baking powder

8 oz. flour

½ bottle wine

Guyana Black Cake

½ bottle rum

8 oz. margarine

1 lb. sugar (for caramel)

2 tbsp. wine (for caramel)

Instructions:

Wash and dry fruits then grind or chop fruits and nuts. Pour rum over the fruit and nut mixture and leave to soak for a day or longer (up to three months).

Make Caramel: heat sugar and when melted, add wine. Simmer until mixture turns dark in color.

Grease and flour an 8 inch cake pan and put aside. Cream the sugar and margarine together and add eggs on at a time. Add fruit mixture and stir well. Add enough caramel to make it as dark as desired. Sift flour, baking powder and spice together and slowly fold in. Mix to a soft dropping consistency using wine and/or rum to create consistency. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake in a 300 degree oven for 2 hours (on the middle shelf in the oven). Immediately after the cake is baked, pour a little more wine and rum over the cake and allow soaking in, repeating pouring rum and wine over cake three or four more times. Let cool.

ICING FOR BLACK CAKE

Ingredients: (icing for cake base) 

Marzipan-almond paste

2 egg whites

I cup. Ground almonds

1cup. Confectioners’ sugar

½ tsp. almond essence

Royal Icing:(cake icing)

2 egg whites

1 lb. confectioners’ sugar

Juice of 1 lemon

Instructions:

Beat egg whites to a stiff froth. Stir in ground almonds, sugar and almond essence to make a paste. Remove cake from pan, place on cake plate and cover the top of the cake with almond paste. Roll the rest of the paste thinly to cover the sides. Allow to dry 1 day before icing with Royal Icing.

Royal Icing:

Beat egg whites to froth and add sugar a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Add lemon juice and continue to beat until mixture forms a peak. Dip spatula into hot water and smooth the icing over the almonds paste. A second layer may be applied when the first has thoroughly dried. Decorate as directed. If cake is for a wedding, choose appropriate colors and decorations. If cake is for Christmas, colors chosen may be red and green on white.

MATAGEE (met-a-gee) (Metemgee)

Metagee (Metemgee)

Ingredients:

1 lb. salt fish (cod fish) (soak for 15 minutes)

1 lb. green plantains (cut into large pieces)

¼ lb. potatoes (cut into large pieces)

½ lb. cassava (cut into large pieces)

14 oz can of coconut milk 

2 1/2 cups water

1 large onion (chopped)

1 scallion (finely chopped)

4 sprigs of thyme 

4 cherry tomatoes (cut in half)

1 hot pepper (chopped)

1 tbsp. oil

Dumplings can also be added (see recipe below) 

Instructions:

Clean and soak salt fish for 15 minutes. Peel, wash and cut vegetables into large pieces. In a large pot, saute onions in oil. Add water, coconut milk, thyme, scallion and pepper and bring to a boil. Add vegetables and cod fish in layers starting with the plantains, cassava, potatoes, cherry tomatoes and cod fish (broken into big pieces). Simmer for about 40 minutes. If adding dumplings, add them to the top and cover to steam for 10 minutes so that dumplings can cook properly. After steaming, take out dumplings and put on the side. To serve, dish out vegetable mixture without the sauce, and add sauce over vegetables as desired. Serve hot dumplings on the side. 

Dumpling Recipe:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup milk

2 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. margarine or butter

1 tsp. baking powder

pinch of nutmeg

Instructions:

in a bowl, mix (dry ingredients) flour, salt, sugar, baking powder together. Add margarine or butter and milk and make a dough. Drop by spoonfuls into pot then cover pot to steam for 10 minutes.