Island Food

Hi everyone. It's been a long time since I updated which is a bummer. I think partly because I broke my wrist and it's been more difficult to cook (let alone type!) so I haven't been quite as active. However, last night I made something that I wanted to memorialize in the blogosphere, because I'll likely find myself craving this dish on the regular.

Caribbean Jerk Tilapia with Pineapple Jalapeno Relish

First, you must make the spice rub. I recently bought a spice grinder so I've been experimenting with using whole spices to make various types of rubs/seasoning mixtures/etc. This is a Caribbean Jerk mix. It's easy to make and it definitely tastes much better when you grind it up yourself.

1.5 TBL allspice berries
1.5 TBL black peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (very serious about freshly grated)
2 tsp light brown sugar
1.5 tsp salt
2 TBL dehydrated onion flakes
1 tsp cayenne

It's a good idea to toast the first 3 ingredients in a dry skillet. Just don't let them get too brown to the point of burning. Usually takes about 4-5 minutes.

Put all ingredients in your spice grinder (which can be a coffee grinder that you only use for spices) and grind into a powder.

Wasn't that easy? It tastes great and you really can use this stuff on a lot of things. This weekend I had it on a ribeye steak (see the post "Let Them Eat STEAK!!" for a recipe). And part of the fun is to play with the proportions of the different spices to make the perfect mix for you!

Pineapple Jalapeno Relish:
1/4 of a fresh pineapple
2 Jalapenos
2 Serranos
2 tsp honey
pinch salt
freshly ground black pepper

I like this relish to provide several different textures as well as sweetness, flavor, and spice. Cut the pineapple into 1/8" to 1/2" pieces so the textural variety will be there. The peppers provide a nice crunch when diced into 1/4" pieces.

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. It's best that you do this at least an hour before you plan on eating so the flavors can marry.

Tilapia:
3-4 fillets tilapia
2 TBL Caribbean Jerk Seasoning
pinch salt
2 TBL Butter

Season the fish with salt and sprinkle the caribbean jerk seasoning all over it. Be generous because you want a lot of those spices to play off of the salsa.

Put a pan over medium-medium high heat (maybe 6 1/2 if your stove goes from 1-10). Allow it to heat up for about 5 minutes then add about 1 TBL of butter. Once that melts, put the fish in the pan and cook for about 3 minutes per side. If it looks like the pan is getting dry, add more butter.

Serve fish with a generous pile of pineapple jalapeno relish on top. It's a great balance of sweet and spicy, but the fish isn't lost in the mix.

I hope everyone can give spice grinding a try. It's a lot of fun and you can make some really great food.

xo,
Levi