Exotic Foods You've Never Heard Of: Callaloo and Dasheen
Written By: Anonymous on Thu, Aug 28th 2008
I still remember my first trip the grocery store when I first arrived on the island. There were so many different fruits and vegetables that I had never seen or heard of before. The first thing I saw that interested me the most was this huge green leaf vegetable called callaloo that resembled a huge mustard green leaf. I did some research and learned that Callaloo is basically Caribbean spinach. The plant is quite prolific and can be found growing just about anywhere on the island. It is mainly used in soups and is one of the main ingredients in Grenada's most popular dish, oil-down. The root of the plant, called dasheen, is another important component used in Caribbean cuisine. Both parts of the plant have to been cooked for a great length of time before they can be eaten, especially callaloo. If you make the mistake of not cooking your callaloo for the correct amount of time you will get a very irritating scratchy feeling in the back of your throat, and it is not pleasant. When done correctly it is a wonderful leafy green and of course very good for you. On our menu at Verandah, we utilize both parts of the plant to create several dishes. One of them being our callaloo parmesan risotto which can be ordered as an appetizer or main course. Folding the callaloo into a traditional risotto with grated parmesan creates a hearty dish with a great texture. Callaloo holds up great to heat and does not fall apart like spinach, so you actually taste the green. As for Dasheen, it's much like a potato but more dense and creamier. Dasheen makes a wonderful soup and can also be sliced off very thin and fried to make dasheen chips. We use crispy shredded dasheen also as a garnish on our tuna trio appetizer that features ceviche, tartare and a mini tuna burger. When fried, the dasheen has a crisp and firm texture that is far better than any potato chip I have ever had. If you live in big city with international markets, you may be able to find callaloo and dasheen. If so, play around with them, they make great dishes and are great alternatives to boring potatoes and spinach.
