Caribbean Recipes – Old Year’s Night Cook-Up Rice

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Mon. Dec. 31, 2018: In the CARICOM nation of Guyana, a New Year’s Eve or Old Year’s Night tradition is ensuring a pot of Cook-Up Rice is on the fire and ready before midnight. Guyana Cook-Up rice is similar to rice and peas and pelau but has its own unique characteristics and is often referred to as a one pot meal since you can literally ‘cook up’ almost anything. Here is the standard recipe but you can substitute any meat or also eliminate the meat and turn it into a vegetarian meal with ochro, tomatoes and callaloo or spinach cooked into the beans and coconut milk and rice.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 pound of salted beef

1 pound of fresh beef

½ pound of salted pig’s tail

½ pound of tripe

2 cups rice

1 can black eye peas

1 can kidney beans

1 can of coconut milk

1 scotch bonnet pepper (optional)

1 onion

3 stems basil

6 stems scallions

2 leaves of broad thyme

1/2 tbsp. cook-up seasoning

4-6 ockras (optional)

1 bunch spinach

2 chopped tomatoes

1 bunch fine thyme

2 tablespoons of cassava cassareep

Salt to taste

METHOD

Cut the meat and trip into chewable pieces and place in different bowls.

Wash the excess salt off the salted beef and pigs tail.

Wash beef and trip separately with vinegar and rum or lime juice and rum.

Season all meat with some of the fresh thyme and set aside.

In a pressure cooker, add pig tail and pressure half way.

Remove pressure from stove and place under tap to ensure all steam is released before opening.

Add salted beef, tripe and fresh beef and return to stove and pressure for about 10 minutes or until all meats are tender and pigtail is soft and chewable.

Remove pressure from stove and place under tap to ensure all steam is released before opening.

Remove all meat and add to a big pot and place on the stove.

Wash rice and add to pot along with coconut milk, canned beans, rest of the chopped seasoning, a whole scotch bonnet and the cassareep.

Let ingredients come to a boil then place cover on pot and turn heat down to medium.

When rice seems almost cooked add spinach, tomatoes and whole okras with edges trimmed and let steam ensuring rice is loosed but fully cooked. (firm, not soft ).
Bon Appetite and Happy New Year!