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Catherine's Kitchen

Catherine Manning

An 'R' in the Month

AS WITH THE REAPING OF SHELLFISH, for instance oysters and clams, which require an 'R' in the month, the same applies to sea urchins, or known in the Caribbean as "sea eggs." They are also called "sea hedgehogs."

We have two different kinds of sea eggs in Barbados, the black and the white. The white sea eggs are easier to harvest and therefore are the ones that are eaten. (Does that sound cannibalistic or what?) They have round white shells with short spikes and can be picked fairly easily. If you put them on the palm of your hand they will move across it without doing any injury. If the shells are kept intact, they can be filled with plaster of Paris and used as paper weights.

On the other hand the black sea eggs are difficult to harvest as they have very long and dangerous spikes, and so are avoided as they can do bodily harm especially if you step on them. I think most of us have had a dose of 'sea egg prickles' at some time. There are many 'cures' to get them out, some say to melt candle grease on them to draw them out, others say squeeze lime juice. We actually used the candle grease and I can't remember that they ever got infected. I know from working in a medical practice that people (usually tourists) would come in with a bad dose of sea egg prickles, after having followed all sorts of advice, all wrong, including picking at them, and they had got badly infected.

We have an abundance of black sea eggs, but unfortunately the white sea eggs have been fished out and there is now a ban on harvesting, even though it might still be done illegally. I'm not quite sure why no one has tried harvesting the black sea eggs here, as I know they are used in the French Islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe and other places in the world. I suppose it is just habit and taboo. Maybe I'll approach a diver and see what happens!

The sea egg consists of a round hard shell covered with prickles. The inner shell when ripe,contains thick dark yellow roe, which are scraped from the inside of the shell after the shell is broken in half. The roe is then picked to remove any broken shell.

Years ago, when we were growing up, especially here at 'Faraway' for the summer holidays, breakfast was sea eggs, in any shape or fashion, left to my father, raw with biscuits.

It was a bit different then as the sea eggs were shelled and then packed in a grape leaf which had been shaped into a cone and tied with a twig and then put back onto the shell itself. Imagine a round sea egg on the bottom packed back with roe supported with a grape leaf cone. They were neat and looked good, also easy to steam as the shell acted as a steamer. They also only cost 50 cents a shell and that was a lot of sea eggs. We would have our order in from the night before and have them delivered early o'clock the next morning. I remember getting out of bed at sunrise and finding half the household already sitting on the gallery wall indulging in:

Raw sea eggs and biscuits Clean sea eggs, removing any shell. If they have been washed properly, there should not be any sand. To the raw sea eggs, add chopped onion, salt, lime and hot pepper sauce to taste. Eat with crackers. Scrambled sea eggs Sea Eggs Onions Sweet pepper Butter Salt & Pepper Quantities are left to the cook! Prepare raw sea eggs. Fry chopped onions and sweet pepper until golden brown, add sea eggs and season, stirring thoroughly over a low heat for about three minutes. Treat like scrambled eggs and serve on toast.

My mouth is watering here, as I'm in the right place but the wrong time, haven't tasted sea eggs since the ban four years ago! Probably just as well, as when they were available before the ban, the roe were small and watery and a two-litre container cost $80! What's past is past, I see them imported every now and then, but I don't buy them. Not the same thing! Hopefully we will be allowed to harvest soon again.

Another 'R' in the month

This time, fruit, not shellfish.

GUAVAS are usually harvested between September and November, depending on the rain. We use them for making guava jelly, jam or stewed guava. The most popular being stewed guava or jelly. We get the pink guavas or the white, that is to say the insides are either pink or white. We also eat them raw, of course, seeds and all, as do the monkeys, it's a matter of who gets there first! The NEW LAROUSSE GASTRONOMIQUE describes Guavas as 'insipid'; not quite sure whose guavas they have eaten!

Guava Jelly Wash, top and tail and chop guavas. Put in saucepan and barely cover with water and cinnamon stick. Simmer till guavas are very tender. Strain through muslin (I am not above forcing it through). To every nine cups of liquid add six cups of granulated sugar and the juice of one juicy lime, and bring to boiling point (220C). Have jars and caps clean and sterilised, and bottle jelly. If using the whole guava, there should be no necessity to use pectin, but I have found that if only using the seeds, pectin is required.

Deadline is here, so I'll chat next month. If there are any queries, please e-mail me. Thanks!

Bon Appetit,
Cath