Callaloo

Ingredients

Greens

• 500 gcallaloo, which is amaranth greens, about 2 bunches
• 1onion, sliced
• 2spring onions, sliced
• 2 clovesgarlic, crushed
• 1tomato, chopped
• 4 sprigsthyme
• 1whole scotch bonnet
• 2 tbspcoconut oil or butter
• 60 mlwater
• salt and black pepper

Optional

• 4rashers bacon, or 100 g salt pork, diced

Directions

1. Strip the leaves from the stalks. Keep the tender upper stems and cut them into short lengths, and throw the thick woody lower stalks away entirely, because they never soften and they are why callaloo sometimes arrives stringy.
2. Wash the leaves in several changes of water. Amaranth grows low to the ground and holds a surprising amount of grit.
3. Shred the leaves roughly with a knife.
4. Heat the oil in a wide pan and soften the onion, spring onion and garlic for about 5 minutes.
5. Add the tomato and the thyme sprigs and cook for 2 minutes more.
6. Add the chopped stems first along with the water, cover, and steam for 3 minutes, then pile the leaves on top and lay the whole scotch bonnet among them.
7. Cover tightly and steam for 5 to 7 minutes, turning the whole lot over once with tongs halfway through.
8. That is long enough. Cooked much beyond this the greens go olive-drab and slippery, and the point of the dish is bright leaves that still have some body to them.
9. Lift out the pepper and the thyme stalks, season with salt and pepper, and serve with ackee and saltfish, with boiled green banana, or stuffed into hard-dough bread.

Technique

• In Jamaica callaloo means amaranth. In Trinidad and much of the eastern Caribbean the same word means a soup made from taro leaves. Same name, different plant, different dish.
• Steam it, do not boil it. Sixty millilitres of water is all it needs, because the leaves release plenty of their own.
• The name and the dish both came with enslaved West Africans, and the versions across the Caribbean diverged from there.

Substitutions

• Spinach, which cooks faster and needs about half the time.
• Swiss chard, which is closer in stem texture and holds up better.
• Water spinach, which is common in Caribbean markets.

Variations

• With saltfish flaked through at the end.
• With coconut milk added, which pushes it in the Trinidadian direction.
• Served at breakfast with fried dumplings.

History

Steamed amaranth greens with onion and pepper; the name and the dish came with enslaved West Africans and vary across the Caribbean.

Frequently asked questions

What is Callaloo?

Callaloo is a salad & side from Jamaica: steamed leafy greens with onion and tomato. Steamed amaranth greens with onion and pepper; the name and the dish came with enslaved West Africans and vary across the Caribbean.

How long does Callaloo take to make?

Callaloo takes 15 min of preparation and 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Callaloo?

Yes, within limits. Spinach, which cooks faster and needs about half the time. Swiss chard, which is closer in stem texture and holds up better. Water spinach, which is common in Caribbean markets.

What is the most important thing to get right in Callaloo?

Strip the leaves from the stalks. Keep the tender upper stems and cut them into short lengths, and throw the thick woody lower stalks away entirely, because they never soften and they are why callaloo sometimes arrives stringy.