BAHAMIAN PEAS N’ GRITS
Boy dis one sweet pot here! There is nothing like a pot of peas n’ grits with fry fish, plantain and coleslaw on a Saturday afternoon. Talk about heavenly! You’ll be lickin’ ya fingers all day. Oh, please excuse me – just the thought of this dish brings out the Bahamian in me.
A word of warning: over indulgence in this delicacy will result in what we call here in the islands a ‘peas n’rice’ shape (very voluptuous buttocks). Too many cultures this figure is not appealing, but to our Bahamian men it is as delightful as the dish itself.
Ingredients:
3 cups Grits
2 0z Cooking oil
1 sml Onion, chopped
1 tsp Browning
½ tsp Thyme leaves or 2 twigs of fresh thyme
½ tsp Black pepper
Salt to taste
1-1 ½ cup Pigeon Peas (a.k.a gondules)
1 ½ cup Ripe tomatoes, canned tomatoes or 2 tbsp Tomato paste
¼ lb Salt pork, chopped in small cubes, bacon drippings or ham skin/fat and
meat . Alternative to pork vegetable cooking oil and 1 cup beef or
chicken stock
Preparation:
Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat place until very hot. Carefully add ham skin/scraps and allow to cook until crispy brown. Add onion, thyme and black pepper cook until onions are tender stir frequently. Then add tomatoes (ripe, canned or paste) and browning allow to cook down for 2 – 5 minutes (with tomato paste fry to a caramelized colour). Add peas and cook for 2 minutes then add 3 cups of water and salt to taste, bring to a boil. Add grits stirring to distribute grits evenly in pot. Ensure that water is 2 inch above level of rice. Allow to boil over med-low heat with lid on until water has evaporated and is not visible above grits. Cook for 25-40 minutes
Peas n’ grits can be served as an accompaniment to many dishes such as: fry fish, steam fish, cracked conch, steam conch, steam chicken, stew beef to name a few.
