Chef Taymer Mason is redefining Caribbean cuisine by going vegan.

Here she presents two recipes from her cookbook, Caribbean Vegan: Eggplant Accras and Vegetarian Ham

Eggplant Accras

Taymer Mason's eggplant accras are a dead ringer for the famous cod fish cakes that you can find in most Caribbean islands. The eggplant replaces the fish and the roasted nori seed weed gives these appetizers their characteristic taste.

Serves 10

Ingredients

  • 1 eggplant, peeled and cut into short, thin strips
  • 2½ tsps salt
  • 1 tbsp canola oil or another neutral-flavoured oil, plus more for frying
  • 3 to 4 nori sheets, toasted and crumbled, or any other dried seaweed
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 3 – 4 green onions, minced
  • 1 Scotch bonnet or habañero pepper, seeded and minced
  • 2 tsps chopped fresh thyme
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
  • ¾ – 1 cup water

Method

Sprinkle the eggplant with 1½ tsps of the salt and let it sit for 10 minutes to draw out any bitterness. Squeeze the eggplant strips to remove excess liquid; they should turn brown.

Heat the tablespoon of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the eggplant and sauté gently for about 5 minutes. Cover and continue to cook for about 4 minutes, until the eggplant is tender.

Transfer the eggplant to a bowl. Add the nori, onion, green onions, Scotch bonnet, thyme, black pepper, and the remaining 1 tsp salt. Stir until well combined.

Add the flour, baking powder, and water and stir until well combined. At this point, the mixture can be set aside in the refrigerator for a few hours or fried immediately.

To deep-fry the fritters, heat about 6 inches (15 cm) of oil in a deep, heavy pot over medium-high heat for about 7 minutes. To test whether the oil is hot enough, drop a teaspoonful of the batter into the oil. (Do not forget to remove this piece of batter.) If it gets too brown, turn down the heat.

Carefully spoon the batter into the oil, using about a heaping teaspoon for each fritter. When you drop each fritter in the oil, make sure the spoon gets coated with oil. This will make the next fritter slide off the spoon more easily.

Fry the fritters for 4 minutes, turning them as they bob to the surface. The finished fritters should be golden brown and crispy. (You may need to add more oil to the pot.)

Drain by placing them on paper towels and serve warm.

Cooks’ tips

The batter tends to turn dark if left overnight before frying. It’s best to make it no more than three or four hours before you are ready to fry the fritters. It is possible to shallow-fry instead of deep-frying, but note that this will affect the shape of your fritters.

Can they be baked? Yes. Just portion the fritters onto a greased baking sheet and bake at 350°F (180°C) for 20 – 25 minutes, turning them halfway through cooking.

 

Everyday Vegan “Ham” adapted from Caribbean Vegan

Makes 1½ cups chopped “ham”

This vegan ham, made from seitan, is like a fine wine: It gets better with age. It is a go-to recipe in this book because it serves as a replacement for smoked sausage in many recipes. It is reminiscent of a traditional Caribbean Christmas ham, seasoned with pineapple juice, cloves, and brown sugar. It can be eaten cold or sautéed.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (120 g) gluten flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon mild paprika
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ cup (62 ml) water
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons pineapple juice
  • 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon canola oil
  • 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
  • 1 tablespoon Bragg Liquid Aminos or soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • ¼ teaspoon Angostura bitters, optional
  • 1 to 2 garlic cloves, pressed

Method

Put the gluten flour, salt, pepper, paprika, and cloves in a bowl and stir until well combined.

Separately, mix the water, maple syrup, juice, oil, liquid smoke, Bragg Liquid Aminos, tomato paste, optional bitters, and optional garlic together.

Pour the wet mixture into the gluten flour mixture and stir briskly with a wooden spoon to form a ball.

Place the gluten ball on a 12-inch (30 cm) square piece of cheesecloth or foil.

Wrap it into a tight parcel; if using cheesecloth, it’s probably a good idea to secure it with kitchen twine.

Steam ham for 40 minutes, replenishing the water as needed.

Remove the ham from the steamer and let it cool briefly. If you won’t be using it right away or if you have leftovers, wrap it tightly and store it in the refrigerator, where it will keep for up to 2 weeks.

 

To make Holiday ham glaze you need to score the ham as seen in the photo. Do not score it too deep;  should be 1/4 inch score.

  • 15-20 whole cloves
  • 1/3 cup pineapple juice
  • 1-2 tbs brown sugar
  • 1/2 tbs dijon mustard
  • 1 tbs maple syrup
  • 1 tsp molasses
  • 1 tbs vegan butter aka margarine without animal products
  • a few drops of liquid smoke
  • salt to taste

Put the ingredients in a small saucepan and reduce until thick.

Put cloves into ham as seen in the photograph

 

Glaze ham and bake for 20 mins at 350 C

Cool and slice