Chop up

Ingredients

Vegetables

• 2aubergines, about 700 g, peeled and cut into chunks
• 300 gokra, topped and tailed
• 400 gspinach or callaloo leaves, washed and chopped
• 300 gpumpkin, peeled and cubed, optional
• 1 litrewater
• 1.5 tspfine salt

Seasoning

• 50 gbutter
• 2 tbspcoconut oil or olive oil
• 2onions, finely chopped
• 4garlic cloves, chopped
• 4 sprigsfresh thyme, leaves picked
• 3spring onions, finely sliced
• 1whole scotch bonnet chilli, left uncut
• 0.5 tspblack pepper

To serve

• fungee (cornmeal and okra dumpling), or boiled dumplings and provisions
• extra butter, for the top

Directions

1. Bring the salted water to the boil in a wide pot and add the aubergine and the pumpkin, if using.
2. After 8 minutes add the whole okra and the whole scotch bonnet, and cook 7 minutes more.
3. Add the greens and cook 5 minutes, until everything is completely soft and the okra crushes with no resistance.
4. Drain in a colander, keeping 150 ml of the cooking liquid, and lift out the chilli whole before it splits.
5. Let the vegetables steam dry in the colander for 5 minutes; wet vegetables give a sloppy chop up that will not hold on a fork.
6. Meanwhile melt the butter with the oil in the empty pot and cook the onion 8 minutes until soft and golden, then add the garlic, thyme and spring onion and cook 2 minutes.
7. Return the drained vegetables to the pot and mash them into the seasoning with a wooden pestle or a potato masher, working from the middle outwards.
8. Keep mashing over low heat for 5–8 minutes, adding splashes of the reserved liquid, until you have a thick, dark green, faintly ropy mash. It should be coarse, with pieces still identifiable, not a smooth puree.
9. Season with salt and plenty of black pepper, and stir a last knob of butter through off the heat.
10. Serve hot in a mound beside fungee, with more butter melting on top.

Technique

• Chop up gets its name from the chopping and mashing, and the okra is what holds it together: its mucilage binds the aubergine and greens into a single glossy mass rather than a pile of separate vegetables.
• Cook the chilli whole and remove it. Antiguan cooks use a scotch bonnet for perfume, not heat, and a burst pod will make the whole pot inedible for most of the table.
• Mash by hand. A blender turns chop up into baby food and destroys the coarse texture that is the point of the dish.
• It is a side, always eaten with something starchy: fungee is standard, but boiled dumplings, green banana and provisions all appear beside it.

Substitutions

• Callaloo, the traditional green, can be replaced by spinach, chard or amaranth leaves, all cooked the same way.
• For a dairy-free version, use 3 tbsp of coconut oil in place of the butter; the dish is slightly sweeter and just as rich.

Variations

• Chop up with pumpkin, common when it is in season, giving a sweeter, oranger mash.
• A version seasoned with a spoon of coconut milk stirred through at the end.
• Served for breakfast beside fungee and fresh butter bread.

History

Boiled eggplant, okra and spinach chopped together with butter, served alongside fungee and saltfish.

Frequently asked questions

What is Chop up?

Chop up is a salad & side from Antigua and Barbuda: mashed eggplant, okra, and spinach medley. Boiled eggplant, okra and spinach chopped together with butter, served alongside fungee and saltfish.

How long does Chop up take to make?

Chop up takes 25 min of preparation and 35 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings as a side. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Chop up?

Yes, within limits. Callaloo, the traditional green, can be replaced by spinach, chard or amaranth leaves, all cooked the same way. For a dairy-free version, use 3 tbsp of coconut oil in place of the butter; the dish is slightly sweeter and just as rich.

What is the most important thing to get right in Chop up?

After 8 minutes add the whole okra and the whole scotch bonnet, and cook 7 minutes more.