Jamaican recipes

[Alex]

A friend came back from vacation in Jamaica, and he loaned me a copy of
“Jamaican Cookery, recipes of old Jamaican grandmothers.” It begins with
Drinks:

Jamaican Rum Punch
One of sour (lime or lemon juice)

Two of sweet (two parts clear sugar syrup)

Three of strong (rum)

Four of weak (four parts water and crushed ice)

Mix all together. Add orange and pineapple wedges.

Ginger Beer
1/4 lb. green ginger

1 large lime

1/2 gallon water

2 lbs granulated sugar

Scrape ginger, wash and pound it. Put it in a large bowl and pour
boiling water over it. Stir in the sugar until dissolved. Peel the lime
and add both the lime and the rind to the liquid. Cool and pour in a
glass or earthen-ware jar. Cover and let stand for 6 days, stirring with
a wooden spoon every other day.

When ripe, strain, pour off into bottles which may be placed in the
refrigerator to chill. Bottles may be kept at room temperature and
allowed to ripen for a further 2 or 3 days before using.

Soups

Hot Banana Soup
1 qt. mutton stock

12 green bananas

1 jigger white rum

1 stalk escallion

1/2 hot pepper [that would probably be a scotch bonnet]

1 cup grated coconut

Peel and grate bananas. Mix with stock and pass through seive. Add
rum. Chop escallion and pepper finely, combine with grated coconut.
Saute and add to first mixture. Serve piping hot with croutons. Serves
6.

Pepper Pot Soup
2 quarts cold water

1 lb. soup meat or 1 lb. ham hock

1 pkg. spinach (frozen)

6 okras or 1 cup frozen okra

1 large potato diced

1 onion diced

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon salt/salt to taste

1 chili pepper diced

Pour water in large soup pan. Bring water to a rapid boil, add meat,
spinach, okra, and potato. Cook until tender. Stir and simmer an
additional 15 minutes. Add diced pepper, onion, thyme and salt. Stir and
simmer for final 15 minutes. Serves 6 or more.

Banana and Fish Tea
1 doz. green bananas

2 onions

5 lbs. fresh fish

1 hot pepper

Escallion and thyme

Salt to taste

Peel bananas. Place bananas, fish and other ingredients in boiling
water to cover. Keep pot tightly covered. Cook for one hour. Serve hot.
Serves 6.

Ironoh Broth
7 green bananas

1 pound fresh shrimps (peeled and deveined)

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 sprig thyme

2 bird peppers (or 2 tsp. chili powder)

4 tsp. Pickapeppa sauce

1 cooking tomato

1 onion

Peel 4 bananas and let 3 remain unpeeled. Cut banana in two. Put
shrimps in 1 1/2 quarts boiling water, add salt and let boil for one
minute. Skim. Add unpeeled bananas and let boil for 2 1/2 minutes. Add
peeled bananas, chopped tomato, onio, peppers, thyme. Add sauce. Allow
to cook for 15 minutes.