Dear Lalo: Preserving Tradition in Haitian Cooking

History and evolution of the Haitian Cuisine.

In order to understand the culture that influences Haitian cuisine, it is necessary to situate the evolution of the cuisine in three stages: pre-colonial cuisine, cuisine at the time of the colony, and Haitian cuisine today and the Arab influence.

Before the colonisation of Haiti by Spain in 1492, Haiti was inhabited by the Arawak tribe. The Arawak lived by hunting and gathering. And history tells us that when the Spanish arrived in Haiti, they noticed that the Arawaks grilled their meat on a griddle (Haitian Cuisine). They called this method the barabicu, which we call today the barbecue. Thanks to this contribution we can speak of grilled cabrit, griot etc.

The colonial period was marked by the arrival of African slaves in Santo Domingo (the new name of the colony). During this period, French and African cuisine coexisted. During this period, the slaves had only a small piece of land to grow their own food. In order to feed themselves, they tried different mixtures of leaves and food as a mean of survival. Today, thanks to them, Haitians have vegetable touffé, lalo and the unique mixture of spices etc.

The Arabs have also influenced Haitian cuisine. With their arrival in Haiti to escape the war, their cuisine became integrated into Haitian cuisine. The Haitian version of Kibby is a perfect example.

Haitian Habits during the day

If different cultures have merged to create the unique Haitian cuisine, throughout the years we have developed different habits.

A hearty breakfast to start the day

Haitians attach great importance to their first meal of the day. For Haitians, breakfast is rich in proteins and vitamins so that you can start the day on the right foot. While in the kitchen of its American neighbour, breakfast usually consists of cereal with milk, pancakes and waffles, which are usually sweet, a typical Haitian breakfast will include ground corn accompanied by leaves of basket vines, spinach and/or giraumont; spaghetti (yes, spaghetti for breakfast), omelettes and boiled plantain, Akasan, which is a porridge made of fermented corn and milk. To top it all off, a cup of Haitian coffee

A rich and diversified lunch

The Haitian lunch is the best dish of the day and is rich and diverse. It includes

Rice and other grains

Haitians eat a lot of cereals at lunch (rice, corn, petit-mille, wheat) and in different ways. However, the most consumed cereal is rice. One of the best known and typical Haitian dishes containing rice is riz collé, which is rice cooked with red bean grains. Riz Collé can be accompanied by Russian salad, salads or sauces. Haitians also eat white rice, which is most often accompanied by mashed peas and lalo (a recipe can be found at the end of this article), which is simply a dish made from lalo leaves (Jute Leaves) that can be fresh, frozen or dried.

Meat

A Haitian lunch is not complete without meat (for those who eat it). The most popular meats are pork, chicken, beef and goat. They can be eaten in different ways: cooked in sauce, fried, smoked as a Tassot( Which is a fried beef) or Griot ( Porc) and marinated with our famous Haitian spices.

Vegetables

Vegetables are an important part of a Haitian lunch and help to balance the cereal and meat. Haitians have a wide range of vegetables to choose from. The vegetable portion can be a vegetable bouquet, a fresh vegetable salad, pikliz, Russian salad.

Supper

While the Haitian breakfast is mostly composed of salt-based dishes, the Haitian supper is usually sweet. It usually consists of sweet porridge made from corn flour, potato flour, plantain porridge. Haitians also like to replace dinner with hot chocolate accompanied by freshly baked bread or cinnamon and ginger tea.

Snack

As a snack, Haitians can enjoy nature's gift of being a tropical country. Therefore, we have a variety of exotic fruits such as passion fruit, corosol (soursop), coconut, caimite. We also enjoy Haitian nut bars made from pistachios, cashews, and coconuts. Our Taino ancestors also blessed us with cassave, which is a version of the tortilla but made with cassava flour or finely shredded cassava. Cassava can be eaten with peanut butter or jam.

Lalo Recipe

To finish this column, I have decided to share with you a recipe for lalo, which is one of my favorite recipes and a recipe from the Artibonite department. Haitian Lalo is a tasty and appetising stew made from jute leaves and spinach. This meal is extremely tasty. It is suitable for vegetarians as well as for those who like meat. In this recipe I use pork belly and legs as meat but they can easily be replaced by beef. The pork can be substituted with stewing beef cubes in roughly the same quantities. However, it will not be necessary to boil the beef before cooking. For vegetarians, you can also omit the meat and season it to taste. For the side dish, white rice is usually used but you can use ground corn, roasted potatoes, bread or any other side dish of your choice.

Preparation time is 2.5 hours and it is suitable for 8 people.

Ingredients

• 12 cups of fresh lalo leaves (if the lalo leaves are dried, it is recommended to soak them the day before)
• 2 pork legs, sliced 2.5Ib
• 1 kg of fresh or frozen crab legs
• 1 Ib of pork belly with skin, cut into cubes
• 9 cups of water
• 1 onion
• 1 bunch of fresh parsley
• 4 to 5 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 2 sweet green chillies
• 3 green onions
• 2 chicken stock cubes (2x
• 90 ml fish sauce
• 5 tbsp (75 ml) canola or olive oil
• 1 scotch bonnet pepper
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste

Preparation

1. If the lalo leaves are dry, soak them in 8 cups of water for at least 3 hours or overnight.
2. To prepare the spice mixture, grind the onion, green onions, parsley, garlic, chicken stock cubes, chilli and 4 tbsp oil to a smooth mixture.
3. Boil the pork feet for 3-5 minutes in boiling water to remove the scum produced by the feet.
4. In a large saucepan with a lid, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and start browning the flank steak with the thyme for 5 minutes.
5. Add the pork legs and mix in the spice mixture, fish sauce and crab to coat well.
   and crab to coat well.
6. Remove the crab legs then pour the lalo with the soaking water over the pork legs and flank and mix.
7. Put the crab back on the lalo with the whole scotch bonnet, put the lid on the pan and simmer for 2 hours on medium heat.
8. For best results, I suggest soaking the lalo leaves in water from the day before. After the soaking period, you will get a greenish, viscous liquid. The trick is to save the liquid for cooking.
9. After boiling the pig's feet, remove them from the water and leave them aside. It is not necessary to keep the liquid.
10. To brown the pieces of flank steak, I add the whole sprigs of thyme. As you stir the mixture, the leaves will gradually fall off. Once you have reached the desired colour, use tongs or a fork to remove them.
11. At this stage, simply place a lid on our pan and adjust the heat to a medium level to avoid overcooking. The goal is to simmer quietly for about two hours to tenderize the lalo stems and pork feet.
12. Serve with white rice or the side dish of your choice.

In the same way that I appreciate the Haitian cuisine, I hope that you my dear readers will appreciate it through this Lalo recipe and that it will allow you to travel through the Haitian history and culture. Enjoy it.