
World Wide Food Tour – Guyana
Today we jetted off to tropical Guyana! Located on the northern tip of South America – this country used to be an English colony (who hasn’t, honestly) but has strong french influences. The Cassava is a major player in the cuisine with a sauce made from them called Cassareep is called for in a lot of recipes. We start with some plait bread – a soft enriched bread that doesn’t stand up much on its own but exists to soak up the flavors of the main course – pepperpot chicken. The pepperpot chicken is the traditional dish – mostly brought out for holidays. It’s a stew enriched with Cassareep and a multitude of bold flavors but it all melds together to make a tender chicken in a spicy flavorful sauce. Prior to having the main dish we fried up some pholourie – yellow pea four and cumin batter crisped up nice for some hearty flavorful ‘street food’. After all that savory, next up is the sweet. What we have here is a cornmeal pone – a cornmeal cake topped with a rich coconut caramel glaze. All in all a fun visit to a tropical locale – now what to do with all this leftover pepperpot sauce (pizza, perhaps? hmm)
Ah, your description brings back memories! I truly miss the vibrant flavours of the West Indies. It’s fascinating how cassava plays such a pivotal role in our cuisine. The way you described the pepperpot chicken and pholourie made my mouth water—those are definitely comfort foods that connect me to our roots.