Travel Recipes

Kim’s interpretation of Frangipani Jamaican Fish or Chicken

All this talk about Jamaica reminds me of the time we rented a villa in Ocho Rios.  The name of the villa is Frangipani (sometimes we call this Plumeria).  These plants were all over the property and used to decorate the villa by the housekeeper every day.  We also had a butler and a cook.   We had 8 people in this 4 bedroom villa which made it very affordable.  I learned the following recipe from our cook.  She cooked fish and chicken using this method.  This makes a wonderful dish with a rich tomato garlic sauce which can be served over pasta or rice. 

  She would take onions and slice them to cover a large shallow frying pan (which can go into the oven) with a bit of Olive Oil in the bottom.  Then she would add a couple of chopped celery stalks, 3 smashed garlic cloves and some pepper flacks.  Add a jalapeno if you want more heat.   Our cook would then thinly slice about two nice size tomatoes and place them on top of the onion mixture.   I have use canned if I don’t have fresh. 

Now for the best part and what intrigued me the most.  She would simmer this on low heat for at least an hour adding chicken stock if it became too dry.  This made the villa and probably the villas all around ours smell wonderful.  She had a “special” blend of spices she added but could not extract the special blend recipe out of her. (I add a teaspoon of Italian seasoning) Now is a good time to taste for salt and pepper.   If we were having this with fish she would simply lay the fish on top of the mixture and put a lid on the pan for 5 to 10 minutes (depending on the thickness of your fish) until the fish flakes with a fork.  This steamed the fish in these wonderfur flavors. 

With Chicken you would brown the chicken in the pan first in olive oil and remove.  After your sauce has simmered for 20 to 30 minutes add the chicken back on the top, add a bit more stock, put the lid on it and cook in a 350 oven till the chicken is done (30 to 45 mins). 

This may sound like a lot to do but it almost cooks itself.   I hope you can try this and enjoy the enticing aromas and tastes.   





Plumeria
Frangipani