British Virgin Islands - Winter
Banana, plantain, papaya, and mango grow in abundance and are available in most markets. When in season, you can find sugar apple with its armor-like skin and custard-like interior, genips that grow in bunches like green grapes, dasheen (taro) which is a root like a potato, caribbean pumpkin, a mottled green and yellowish gourd primarily used in soup, and christophene (chayote) a light green, pear shaped vegetable with a hard skin over while meat which is served as a vegetable side dish.
Favorite Markets
LaBaguette, Tortola - the only French bakery in Tortola specializing in French breads (we particularly enjoyed the Pain Campaillou, a rustic style sourdough bread). LaBaguette has outstanding cheeses and deli meats among many other products like par-baked & frozen dough, pastries, chocolates, and cakes. Located in Road Town, Wickams Cay II.
Tico's, Tortola - great place for wines and liquor. Located in Road Town, Wickams Cay II (across from LaBaguette)
Bobby's, Tortola - Bobby's is a large chain and can be found at several locations on Tortola. My favorite Bobby's was in Road Town.
RiteWay and Buck's Markets are complete grocery stores and adequate for provisioning. RiteWay can be found on Tortola and both can be found on Virgin Gorda.
Farmers Market
There is a farmers market in Road Town, Tortola, on Saturdays, located just above Wickham's Cay at the round-a-bout, with locally grown farm products.
Recipes
Based on our cruising schedule, we were generally closer to small scale grocery stores where I commonly found heads of romaine lettuce, thyme, potatoes, onions, garlic, shallots, green onions, sweet potatoes, leeks, bananas, mango, plantain, yellow, red and green peppers and citrus like limes, oranges and lemons. Even with this seemingly limited selection of produce, we always ate very well and had fun preparing a variety of different side dishes, two of which are described below.
Vegetable Medley
Serves 4
This is a seat of the pants recipe. Measurements and quantities are estimates.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 ea red, yellow, orange bell pepper, top and seeds removed, cut in quarters length wise then across in 1” pieces
1 russet potato pealed and cut into 1” pieces
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon salt depending on use of stock vs broth
1/2 cup vegetable or chicken stock (broth works ... it won’t be as salty once the liquid reduces)
Directions:
In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and slowly saute until the onion is golden brown and beginning to caramelize. Add the garlic and stir until aromatic, about 1-2 minutes.
Stir in the potatoes, peppers, thyme and salt until coated with onions and oil. Add broth, reduce to low heat and cook, covered, until the potatoes are tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and serve.
Sometimes I add grated Parmigiana to this dish depending on what else is being served.
Coconut Rice with Black Beans
Adapted from Sharon O’Connor’s Pleasures of the Caribbean
Serves 6
I typically served this with fish such as Wahoo.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove minced
1 1/2 cups basmati rice
3 green onions, chopped
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 15 oz can black beans, drained
Directions:
In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion is golden, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir until coated, about 3 minutes.
Stir in the green onions, thyme and salt. Add the coconut milk and broth and bring to a boil. Stir in the beans, cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook until the rice is tender the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes.