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Trinidad and Tobago · Land Crab

Trinidad Crab and Callaloo

Crab and Callaloo

Sunday lunch in Trinidad is not complete without it: dasheen leaves, okra and coconut milk simmered with whole crabs, then swizzled smooth. Served with macaroni pie, stew chicken and rice.

  • Prep 30 min
  • Cook 50 min
  • Serves 6
  • Level Medium
Photo: GeoTrinity (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Served with: Bajan Macaroni Pie ↓En Español

Ingredients

Tap each item as you gather it.

For the crabs

For the callaloo

Method

Step by step, the way it is done on the island.

  1. Prep the greens. Strip the stems and the thin skin from the dasheen stalks. Wash the leaves well and chop them roughly.
  2. Clean the crabs. Rub the crab pieces with cut lime, rinse and drain.
  3. Build the pot. Put the dasheen, okra, onion, garlic, pimento peppers, scallions, thyme and chadon beni in a large pot. Pour in the coconut milk and water and bring to a boil.
  4. Simmer with the crab. Add the crabs and lay the whole Scotch bonnet on top. Cover and simmer 35–40 minutes, stirring now and then, until the leaves have melted down.
  5. Swizzle. Lift out the crabs and the Scotch bonnet carefully. Whisk the callaloo hard with a swizzle stick or blend briefly with a stick blender. Stir in the butter and season.
  6. Serve. Return the crabs to the pot and serve hot with macaroni pie and rice.

On the side

The side dish that belongs with it, full recipe included.

Barbados

Bajan Macaroni Pie

Macaroni Pie

Baked macaroni and sharp cheese held together with egg and evaporated milk, cut into firm squares. In Barbados it sits next to fried flying fish every Sunday.

  • Prep 15 min
  • Cook 45 min
  • Serves 6–8
  • Level Easy

You need

  • 1 lb (450 g) macaroni (long tubes or elbows)
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 3 cups (300 g) sharp cheddar, grated
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
  • 1 tbsp yellow mustard
  • 2 tbsp ketchup
  • 1 small onion, grated
  • ½ Scotch bonnet pepper, minced (optional)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper

How to make it

  1. Cook the pasta. Boil the macaroni in salted water 2 minutes less than the package says. Drain and stir in the butter. Heat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C).
  2. Mix the custard. Whisk the eggs, evaporated milk, mustard, ketchup, onion, hot pepper, salt and pepper.
  3. Assemble. Mix the macaroni with two-thirds of the cheese and the egg mixture. Pour into a greased 9 × 13-inch (23 × 33 cm) dish and top with the rest of the cheese.
  4. Bake and rest. Bake 35–40 minutes until set and golden on top. Let it rest 15 minutes so it cuts into clean squares.

Photo: Dianeira · CC BY-SA 4.0

More ways to cook Land Crab

Same fish, a different corner of the sea.

Loíza, Puerto RicoPuerto Rican Land Crab Salmorejo
Piñones, Puerto RicoPiñones Land Crab Turnovers
Andros, BahamasAndros Crab ’n’ Rice