This is not something I thought I would be writing this year. But alas it is! I started a seed to table kitchen garden during quarantine and today I was able to get my first harvest! By the way, I have documented the entire journey on my YouTube channel.
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This has been a labour of love as I literally have been slowly transforming my gravel and concrete yard into a food forest. It is early days out and I have faced MANY hiccups growing food on a tiny desert island, but these challenges only reinforce how critical it is for me to persevere. And today, I had a major win!
Callaloo is perhaps my absolute favourite vegetable. It is one linked fondly to my childhood in Jamaica and as an expatriate for over 12 years, it has been the one thing that seems to anchor me when I get homesick for my country and my Mama.
It’s no coincidence that my mother also grows and sells her own callaloo in Jamaica nor that this plant was given to me by a Jamaican man residing here whose wife was kind enough to invite me over for a plant after I saw her post her own homegrown harvest. He actually used to live in my mother’s village in Mocho, Clarendon so to say that this is a taste of home is true on every level!
Here is another great callaloo recipe and a little more about this super green that you ought to be growing and eating now.
I paired it with Fried Ripe plantains that I also fried in coconut oil. Here is how to peel and cook them to get them like mine.
Jamaican Callaloo Recipe
This takes the humble callaloo or amaranth greens and turns it into a scumptious, nuttruionally dense side dish or vegan main.
Ingredients
- A bunch of callaloo thinly sliced
- Half a brown onion thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic diced
- Freshly ground black pepper lots
- Heavy pinch of salt
- Two tablespoons cold pressed coconut oil
- Pinch of Ajinomoto MSG
Instructions
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Place all ingredients into a pot and turn on medium heat.
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Stir to distribute ingredients and coat all the leaves.
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Add 1-2 tablespoons water and continue stirring. In about 15 minute taste for tenderness and once tender, remove from heat.
I have been pretty active on Instagram, as well as on my Pinterest where I was selected as an early account to publish story pins so join me there to see fabulous food photos. I would love for you to subscribe to my YouTube channel and turn on notifications for weekly video uploads as well. Chef and Steward is back with gusto baby and we want you along for the ride!
If you want to learn to grow your own food, join my fast growing group on FB.
Have you ever had Callaloo? How do you like it prepared? Let me know in the comments. I also have an amazing recipe for Callaloo Quiche that you might just want to check out!
What you need:
This is a complete seed to table recipe. I have listed the items needed for this recipe right from the seeds to grow your own Callaloo at home (so easy to do in pots on balconies or inside if you don’t have space or outdoors in ground. By purchasing through these links, you help to support this site. Thank you in advance for your patronage. These are also great ingredients and utensils to have, period.
This plate is gorgeous and I love the story behind your recipe!
Aww thanks ever so much.
I love plantain dishes. They are so yummy and irresistible. This plate is calling my name
Lol happy to hear! Make it and eat!
I too am growing a garden in my new home in Georgia and it has had it setbacks. A late frost killed my first round and the deer ate most of my second round. But I’ll persevere like you and win this battle in the end. I’ve never tried callaloo but it looks similar to a spinach. And garlic and onions are always good with that. Good luck with your garden going forward.
Yes it such a labor of love Lindan. Happy to hear we have this in common. Sorry for your losses. Callaloo grows quickly so you should be able to start harvesting 3-4 weeks in.
Congratulations!! I’m a firm believer in the power of knowing where your food comes from and growing your own when you can. It’s so satisfying! I wonder if callaloo would grow up here in Canada?
Yes it is so important to grow our own food and what I have learnt in this process is that we all can, to various degrees but we can all grow something.It does grow in Canada Bernice! It likes warm weather and is ready to start harvesting in about 4 weeks so you can have it grow in the spring as it warns up until the frost takes it out.
This looks so flavorful and delicious! I will be adding to my list to make- thank you for the recipe!
Great too know!
What a delicious callaloo recipe, and that’s so fun you got to harvest your own food! I’m really excited to bring these Caribbean flavors to my kitchen, especially during the summer months.
It was such a joy Amanda! Tomorrow my little one will be picking his first vine ripened tomato from this garden. I used to grow cherry tomatoes for him as a toddler and now he bites into tomatoes like an apple.
I’ve never had this before, but it sounds absolutely delicious! I love your garden! Growing our own food is so important!
You should trying it. And yes growing our own food is important. This pandemic has made that even more obvious.
What a beautiful dish! There’s just something about those recipes that take you back home and/or to your childhood. I’ve never tried callaloo but I do love plantains!
I used to be a Rasta and callaloo was what sustained me. I wish I would’ve thought to pair it with plantains.
Wow! You have an amazing garden. I love who you used your own garden vegetables to make this Jamaican Callaloo!
I love that you used ingredients from your own backyard! Definitely gives it an extra level of freshness!
It does! Both the little one and I enjoyed the process.
What a great recipe!!!! I loved how it turned out. Congrats on the garden too. Looks so nice.
Thanks very much
I’ve never tried callaloo before but it looks absolutely delicious! This is great that you can make food from your own garden!
It was such a wonderful feeling and I look forward to many more of these harvests.
I’ve never really seen a callaloo recipe before, but then again, I haven’t searched for one. This looks extremely appetizing!
You are going to love it.
It’s so exciting growing your own food and getting to show it off too as a food blogger! I’ve not had callaloo before but this plate looks so delicious!
I wanted to do it myself from a gravel yard and no experience to show that it is indeed possible to thrive and bloom in the desert. A prophetic declaration in challenging times.
So much fun in harvesting from your own kitchen garden! That always tastes better too. This callaloo looks perfect with tons of flavor, just the way I like it.
It is! It is hard consistent work but we get to eat our reward!
I love sautéed greens and this recipe did not disappoint! It’s an easy and healthy way to get in more veggies. Yum!
You need to add this one to your diet.
I ts the most amazing thing growing your own vegetables. I do not have the option but I really want to do it someday may be in the future in another house. The callaloo looks quite intriguing to try.
I have grown veggies on a balcony in the UAE in the middle of the gulf desert. It is possible. Even with no space. SOme can even grow indoors.
I haven’t heard of callaloo. But this recipe looks awesome with minimal ingredients. It will be feeling and tasting awesome with homegrown produce.
It’s the same as Amaranth greens, which I am sure you have a lot in India. We love it in the Caribbean.
I hadn’t heard of callaloo before, though we do have amaranth that grows as a weed here. What a great idea to pair the greens with the sweetness of the plantains.
This is a cultivated amaranth, which is not like the tough weeds and you keep on harvesting young leaves.
Your garden looks beautiful! You have totally inspired me! Love the contrast of flavors between the greens and the plantains. YUM!
Thanks much Gail. As a food stylist and food photographer, both items can be very hard to style so I was excited to have scored a double win.
Isn’t it amazing what we have found time to do while home. I hope gardening make a big comeback, since it is so important to understand how food is grown. You dish looks so fresh and delicious. Good luck with your garden and can’t wait to see what else you harvest.
Yes! This pandemic has been a blessing in very many ways as much as it has been the most intense and challenging times ever.
First of all, awesome presentation. I loved it! This is definitely a great food recipe that’s easy to prepare and cook. Thanks for sharing this to us.
Thanks so much Amy!
Oh wow, that harvest looks absolutely amazing. I bet it tastes extra delicious, too. Homegrown produce always tastes best!
Yes! HOmegrown and fresh and yummy!
Love your beautiful vegetable garden! I wish I had a green thumb :)! Your recipe reflects your love of gardening!
Thank you Lesli, it is a work in process.
I didn’t before now either. I am learning as I go along. You are welcome to join my FB group link on the right
Congrats on your first garden harvest! This recipe is a lovely way to use it, we love sauteed greens as a simple side dish, so I’m excited to try out your version, thanks for sharing!
This recipe sounds absolutely delicious! My family loves jerk and jamaican flavors, they are going to love this.
I’m a vegan and I’m really excited about this recipe. I never used some of the ingredients but I am always on the lookout for new flavours so this is perfect
That’s what great about food blogs, the opportunity that they provide for us to expand from our own personal borders. Happy that you are open to do just that!