St. Kitts & Nevis Cuisine

Saint Kitts and Nevis, officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis (or the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis), located in the Leeward Islands, is a unitary island nation in the Caribbean and the smallest nation in the Western Hemisphere. The capital city and government for the federated state is mainly on the larger island of Saint Kitts. The smaller state of Nevis lies about 3km southeast of Saint Kitts. Historically, the British dependency of Anguilla was also a part of this union, which was then known collectively as Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla.

St. Kitts & Nevis Recipes

Boiled Fish with Creole Sauce

Ingredients

500 grams red snapper or other white fish

2 or 3 lemons

Garlic

Salt

4 chives

2 or 3 tomatoes

Thyme

1 small piece hot pepper

Method

Clean the fish and cut it into several pieces. Marinate for about 1 hour in a mixture of lemon juice, hot pepper, garlic, and salt.

Lightly fry the chopped chives and tomatoes (peeled and seeded) in hot oil. Add the marinated fish. Brown on both sides.

Cover with water and add the thyme and hot pepper. Cover and simmer for 14 to 20 minutes. Top with two cloves of crushed garlic mixed with the juice of 1 lemon.

Serve hot.

Buccaneer's Turtle Steak

Ingredients

2 pounds turtle steak, cut into 4 to 6 pieces

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

3 tablespoons coconut or vegetable oil

2 medium yellow onions, sliced

1 large sweet green pepper, seeded, cored & sliced

1 seasoning pepper, diced

1 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 large sprig fresh thyme

2 14.5 ounce cans stewed tomatoes

2 teaspoons Season All or seasoning salt

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons Pickapeppa Sauce

3 tablespoons Tortuga Gold Rum

Method

Tenderize the turtle steak, pounding both sides well with a meat mallet, until pieces are only about an inch thick.

Sprinkle with lime juice, 2 teaspoons garlic powder and black pepper and refrigerate for an hour. Heat oil over medium high heat in a large heavy skillet or Dutch oven until hot and brown the turtle steak on each side.

Add onions and sweet peppers and cook until vegetables start to soften, stirring frequently so they don't scorch. Add remaining ingredients and stir well, reduce heat to low and simmering and cover.

Cook for an hour or until turtle is fork tender and sauce is reduced and thickened. Serve with hot white rice or rice and peas.

Chef’s Note: Except for prime cuts of "fillet," which are not easy to come by, turtle steak must be well tenderized before cooking-like beef round steak. Use the toothed side of a meat mallet and pound both sides, breaking all sinews, until each piece is only about an inch thick.

Caribbean Island Cuisine