The main images that come to mind when I think of The Bahamas are those amazing scenes in Casino Royale, the great blue ocean and the white sandy beaches.. and the closest I've come is my trip to St Lucia in 2017. It came as a small shock to me to find out that The Bahamas is actually made up of over 700 islands and over 2000 rocks and cayes, in fact 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago is part of The Bahamas.
The Bahamas suffered greatly during colonial times, with the Spaniards shipping it's entire population off to work as slaves, leaving the islands deserted. Later the British settled there, eventually brining over American loyalists and their slaves, and starting plantations. With the abolition of slavery in The Bahamas in 1834 it became a haven for slaves, and today 90% of its population is Afro-Bahamian. Today it is an independent Commonwealth Nation and the third richest country in the Americas when compared by GDP per capita.
While researching what to cook for this week I came a across a few recipes that called for whole allspice and my mind was blown! I had always assumed allspice was a blend of spices for some reason and finding out it's a spice in and of itself was the best thing I discovered last week! The recipe I chose for this week was a guava duff - essentially a boiled rolled cake served with a butter rum sauce. It sounded strange but I was all up for the adventure and it was actually rather nice. If you can't find fresh guavas you can use tinned or guava pulp or jam so don't be put off by the though of an exotic fruit! I mainly used this recipe but I have made a few small adaptations from other recipes - also the rum sauce seems to vary quite a lot, there are some which used whipped egg whites as well, but I chose to stick with a simpler version which worked out fine.
Serves 4-5
Ingredients
For the filling
4 fresh guavas
50g sugar
water
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
If you can't find fresh guavas see my tip below.
For the dough
270 g of flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
75g of butter - softened at room temperature
190ml cups milk
1 egg, beaten
For the sauce
50g of butter - softened at room temperature
60g of icing sugar (or more to taste)
1 tsp boiling water
1tbsp rum - if you don't have any you could substitute for vanilla
Method
Tip: You will need quite a large saucepan for this as the duff is boiled.
1. If using fresh guavas peel, seed, and dice the guavas. Put the seeds in a strainer and try to get as much of the pul out as possible. Add the guava (including pulp) to a small saucepan.
note: guavas can come white as pictured - or they can also come with a green skin and pink on the inside. While the spices will add a bit of colour, get the pink ones if you have an option - the end desert will look much nicer.
2. Depending on the amount of pulp you got out you will need to add some water. Make sure that there is enough liquid in the saucepan to stew the guavas. Add the sugar and spices and boil until the guavas are soft. Remove from the heat and cool.
Tip: If you're not using fresh guavas the simply mush the tinned ones, or the pulp with a fork and add the spices.
3. In a bowl mx the flour, baking powder, salt and butter. Work the butter into the flour. Add the milk and egg and mix well until you have a smooth dough - you may need to knead a bit to get a smooth dough.
4. On a well floured surface, roll the dough out into a rectangle. It should be about 5-8mm thick.
5. Spoon on some of the guava mix and begin rolling. Note how I have left the edges free of paste. As you roll seal the edges by pinching them shut.
6. Wrap the dough in parchment paper, and use some kitchen string to tie it. Then wrap it in foil and make sure you fold all the edges so it's as sealed as possible.
7. Bring a large pot of water to the boil and add the foil parcel. Boil for 1 hour. Note: Don't worry if the parcel will only go into the pot vertically, this is exactly why we sealed the edges. While it boils make the sauce.
8. Cream the softened butter and sugar together. Add the boiling water and rum and mix until smooth.
9. Remove the parcel from the hot water carefully. The foil might have turned a strange colour but don't fret - the parchment parcel inside should be unscathed.
10. Cut into 2cm thick slices and serve warm with the rum butter sauce. Note: the edges will likely be unsightly and won't have jam, you can discard them.
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