The day of love may have passed, but if your Valentine's Day did not go as planned, then a "make-up" meal should be on your agenda right about now, according to Sandals Royal Bahamian Hotel Executive Banquet Sous Chef Jamal Petty. But if you really need to "make-up" he says forget a meal and plan a day's worth of decadent dining to spoil your significant other.
For the chef who is a fan of fusion cooking, he takes classic dishes like French toast and New England clam chowder and puts a twist to them with the addition of Bahamian ingredients.
To start things off right he suggests his Coconut Bahamian Toast with Dilly Yogurt for breakfast. For a delicious lunch or to end the day, his Coo Coo Soup he says is delicious enough to satisfy any palate. And rather than sip on champagne, he says the perfect option is a glass of his Sexy Switcher.
Even though Valentine's Day may have passed, he says chocolate is always fashionable so presenting a plate of chocolate covered strawberries, although simple, he says is perfect for any occasion.
"I love to play with flavors in my mind, and I wanted to create a breakfast that would take your taste buds on a journey ... almost like overexcite it in a comfort kind of way, which is how I came up with the Coconut Bahamian Toast with Dilly Yogurt," said Chef Petty who also hosts the Island Flare cooking show. "I wanted to infuse flavors of The Bahamas into dishes that are internationally recognized." He actually made his Coconut Bahamian Toast with Dilly Yogurt for a tourist who he says proposed to him after tasting it.
The toast is made similar to French toast with the addition of Bahamian flavors. But the one thing you must do the chef says is to always use bread that's at least an inch thick. The end result he says is so delicious it's a treat you'll want to recreate again and again. If you're not a fan of dilly, he says you can easily substitute mango in the recipe.
The toast is topped with a coconut syrup which is made of maple syrup infused with toasted coconut, cloves, cinnamon and star anise.
If you start off the day with his Coconut Bahamian Toast with Dilly Yogurt he says to take it all the way and make the coconut syrup as well. "When you're going to splurge, you should just go all the way, so if you're going to make this toast, then you might as well put the syrup on it. As real maple syrup is costly, he says you can purchase the imitation maple syrup, because the addition of the spices jazzes it up.
Coming up with his Coo Coo Soup, a riff on New England clam chowder also wasn't difficult. He added conch and goat pepper into a classic New England clam chowder recipe to give it a Bahamian flair.
"The conch does two things - conch is the Bahamian version of the oyster and one of the most powerful Bahamian aphrodisiacs, and I wanted that in there. The conch also has more chew to it, so people who like a bite will appreciate it."
That special heat that only goat pepper can give to a dish he says also comes through.
Since fresh clams aren't readily available, the chef says canned and even frozen clams will work well in this recipe.
"When I cook, I try to see where I can add Bahamian influence into what I'm preparing. When I thought about these flavors, I married them together in my mind and because just thinking about it got me so excited, I knew they would make sense when I put the dishes together. They exceeded my expectations."
A pairing of lemonade and mango rum is what makes up his Sexy Switcher. But he says to beware as the mango rum makes for a drink that sneaks up on you.
As chocolate never fails, to end the evening, he says a plate of chocolate dipped strawberries is a simple yet decadent end to make up for a ruined Valentine's Day.
 
COCONUT BAHAMIAN TOAST WITH DILLY YOGURT

Coconut batter
2 tsps cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp finely ground nutmeg
1 tbsp toasted coconut
1 tsp brown sugar
½ cup coconut milk
6 large eggs
Assembly
4 tbsp butter
8 slices Texas toast
Confectioners sugar, for dusting
Dilly Yogurt
1 medium ripe dilly, strawberries can be substituted
Yogurt, plain or vanilla
Coconut syrup
3 ozs grated, toasted coconut
7 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
2 star anise
8 ozs maple syrup
 
For coconut batter: In large bowl, combine all ingredients for the batter and mix well. Refrigerate until batter is needed.
For dilly yogurt: In food processor blend dilly until smooth. Place dilly in a medium bowl and fold in yogurt.
For coconut syrup: Place all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Allow to steep 20 minutes or longer to develop flavors. Strain syrup and set aside.
In a large sauté pan, melt the butter until foamy. Dip the Texas toast into coconut batter and coat both sides thoroughly. Fry the toast for two to three minutes on each side or until it is golden and cooked through. Remove from the pan. Arrange on plates as desired and dust with confectioner's sugar.
 
 
COO COO SOUP

2 medium conch
2 tins canned clams
4 thick slices bacon, cut into small strips
1 large onion, cut into small dices
Kosher salt
1 ½ pounds Yukon gold potatoes, cut into ½ inch dices
3 tablespoons flour
1 ½ cups heavy cream
1 ½ cups whole milk
1 bundle thyme
2 bay leaves
Goat pepper, to taste
Vegetable oil
 
Drain clams and reserve the liquid for later. Coarsely chop clams and set aside also. Tenderize the conch with a meat mallet and chop into small pieces.
Drizzle a few drops of oil into the bottom of the pot and toss in the bacon. Bring the pan to a medium heat. When the bacon has let off a lot of fat and become brown and crispy, toss in the conch and onions and season lightly with salt. Cook the onions until they are very soft and aromatic but have no color, seven to eight minutes. Add the potatoes and cook for another five minutes.
Sprinkle the flour over the yummy mixture and stir to combine. Gradually whisk in the reserved clam juice. When the clam juice has been whisked in and there are no lumps, whisk in the milk and heavy cream and toss in the bay leaves and thyme. Taste for seasoning and adjust if needed. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer and simmer until the potatoes are cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes. Toss in the reserved clams. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed and add goat pepper if using.
 
SEXY SWITCHER
Makes: 6 servings

2 quarts iced water
4 large limes, cut and squeezed
Sugar to taste
Mango rum (optional for sexy switcher - adults only)
Ice cubes

Pour lime juice into container with water. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Place in refrigerator for 2 hours. When chilled, pour into glasses with ice. Decorate with slices of lime.
Tip: Pour some of your switcher into ice trays and freeze them. This will allow you to enjoy the wonderful full flavor of your switcher without the ice diluting the taste.
 
CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES

3 ounces semisweet  or white chocolate, chopped
1 pound strawberries with stems (about 10), washed and dried very well
 
Place the chocolate in a heatproof medium bowl. Fill a medium saucepan with a few inches of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Turn off the heat; set the bowl of chocolate over the water to melt. Gently stir until smooth.
Once the chocolate is melted and smooth, remove from the heat. Line a sheet or baking pan with waxed paper. Holding the strawberry by the stem, dip the fruit into the dark chocolate, lift and twist slightly, letting any excess chocolate fall back into the bowl. Set strawberries on the wax paper. Repeat with the rest of the strawberries. Set the strawberries aside until the chocolate sets, about 30 minutes.
Tip: You can also melt the chocolate in a microwave at half power, for one minute, stir and then heat for another minute or until melted

 

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian