A Night In The Caribbean

"Carribean Food". That's what I promised for my next poker evening. So now I've got to work out exactly what that is, before I go to the supermarket in a few minutes, to inevitably realise that supermarkets don't have yukas, plantains or any other carribean items that my recipes call for!

So far my research is leading me to some kind of rice and beans combination as being a fairly traditional. Apparently the trick to this kind of dish is in the "sofrito", which is a sauce made from frying together finely chopped onions, garlic, pepper, corriander and oregano in olive oil, for around 15-30 minutes. Mix that with some precooked kidney/black beans, and serve mixed into some plain rice, and thats that. Dish #1.

Allspice seems like an essential flavour too, the spice of the carribean. So does rum. But how can I incorporate those things with the quinesential plantains and pineapples to create some kind of stew to go with the rice? Sounds more like a cocktail so far! (Well, that's certainly one way to make sure I win the poker!)