Bunny Salad & Bajan Seasoning

Bunny Salad
So we got back from Barbados on Wednesday and Lady Sally goes off to work on Thursday. Mid-day, I get an email from her “There's an Easter-themed lunch tomorrow, can you fix something?”

Well, of course I can fix something. But I want something special, right? So after bit of data-mining, I found a recipe for an Easter Bunny Pear Salad. Shades of Watership Down!  Pear halves decorated to look like browsing rabbits on a bed of greens. Perfect! 

Don't do what I did! Do not go out and buy two large cans of Pear Halves. The cans lie! They do not contain complete halves, but rather the 'neck' parts are chopped off and stuffed in with the rest. You simply can't make bunny-looking goodies with canned pears. Go buy fresh, whole pears and poach them yourself in a covered skillet. It's easy, fast, and fun.

Peel the pears and halve them lengthwise. Place cut side down in a deep skillet with a lid. Add water to cover the pears. 

Now doctor that 'courtbouillion'.  Start with a cup of sugar. Now add fresh grated nutmeg, whole cloves, whole allspice berries, star anise, cardamon – whatever you like to flavor the sugar water. Bring the liquid to a bare boil. 

Cut a disk of parchment paper and lay it on top the pears to help keep them submerged (un-submerged parts will turn color).  Cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the pears are soft-but-firm, if you know what I mean. 

Speaking of colors... If I'd thought about it, I'd have used red or blue berry juice, or grape juice, or red wine instead of water. The pear bunnies would have soaked up the flavor and color as they poached! Remove pears from the liquid and let them cool, drain, and dry for say an hour before proceeding.

Other things you'll need – whole cloves for noses, slivered almonds for ears, dried currants or very small raisins for eyes, and either small curd cottage cheese (my preference), Greek yogurt, or something similar for the fluffy tails. A bag of Spring Mix lettuces, chopped, for a bed. I also used tiny snack carrots and parsley bits to make bunny-sized nibbles.

Lay down the chopped lettuce, then arrange the pear halves. Add ears, eyes, and noses, using a small knife and/or skewer tip to prepare slits and holes for the detail bits Add dollops of cottage cheese or whatever for the tails. Decorate with tiny snack carrots, if desired.  I also like dusting the bunnies with freshly grated nutmeg.

The keys, IMHO, to making these look like rabbits rather than mice, are that the ears have to face sideways, not forward; and the tails have to be white and fluffy rather than a string of limp spagetti or something curled around!

Watership Down Salad

Bajan Delights

“Bah-zhan” or Bay-zhan” – the pronunciation seems to vary with age.  The older natives abbreviating the formal term “Barbadian” to “Bay-zhan”.

Funny -- the one thing we didn't see there were Barbados Cherry bushes, fruit or products. 

Lovely island, fantastically blue seas. Wonderous “caverns measureless to man...” and collapsed caves which have formed steep-sided jungle-filled Gullies including feral-native green monkeys, nutmeg forests, and giant bamboo. The stone carved lion memorial at Gun Hill Station is worth the trip both for the statue and the views from the top of the island. If you ever get the chance to visit this tropical paradise, be sure to schedule time away from the beaches for a visit to Harrison's Cave and Welshman's Gully.

View across the island from from Gun Hill Station.

See what happens when you're in a foreign place with too much time on your hands?

The food is pretty darn good, too! In a week I managed to sample many of the island's traditional dishes including cou-cous, flying fish prepared several ways, tamarind balls, souse and pepperpot. I also managed to taste cassava pone, pickled cucumber, breadfruit and banana salad, fish cakes, coconut bread and a 'black cake' wedding cake covered in Bajan blue fondant.  Inside was traditional black cake (similar to a fruit cake but with minced, not diced or chopped fruit).  If you get the chance to go, do not miss the Brown Sugar Restaurant in Bridgetown.  They have a daily lunch buffet that features a lot of classic Bajan dishes:

Top:  Fish Cakes.  Left: Souse.  Right: Pickled Cucumber with breadfruit & banana.  Bottom: Pepperpot beef.

Many of the Bajan dishes border on bland. It's the endemic Bajan Seasoning and Bajan Hot Sauce that give dishes like Pigeon Peas & Rice their distinctive flavors. If you're very lucky your local megamart or Caribbean ethnic market will carry Delish(tm) brand Bajan Seasoning. Chances aren't too good in that department though. So before I take you any further on this Bajan Food Odyssey, you'll need to make a batch of Bajan Seasoning.

This stuff is a lot like a pesto. Everybody's grandmother has her own family secret recipe. A dollop is added to many many dishes as an all around seasoning. That dollop can range from mild to 'rip yer face off' hot depending on how much of what kind of peppers you include. Here's a recipe for a mild version:

Bajan Seasoning

3 bunches of green onions/shallots, coarsely chopped

1 scallion, sliced

1 garlic clove

1/2 small jalapeno, seeded and chopped. Use more jalapeno or a Scotch Bonnet for hotter flavor.

1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1/2 teaspoon fresh marjoram leaves

1 pinch ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1-2 tablespoons cider or mild white vinegar

Fresh basil, parsley and a tiny bit of fresh dill are optional additions. If you use them, add a bit more vinegar.  For "sissy mild" substitute about 3 square inches of minced green bell pepper or cubano pepper.  For "very mild" use the same amount of green poblano pepper.

In a food processor, combine shallots, scallion, garlic, jalapeno, ginger, thyme, marjoram, cloves, salt, and pepper. Pulse to mince. Add vinegar and pulse until all ingredients are finely minced and vinegar is well distributed. Bajan seasoning should have a paste-like consistency.

A little data-mining may garner you on-line sources for both Bajan Seasoning (get Delish or other pesto-like product, not dried spices) and Bajan Hot Sauce (an intense Scotch Bonnet pepper concoction).