Caribbean Cookbook: A New Take on Breadfruit From Tortola

THE LATEST edition of Caribbean Cookbook brings you a special recipe from the Sugar Mill Hotel in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. It’s called Breadfruit Vichysoisse; the Sugar Mill’s Jinx Morgan has more:

At the restaurant at the Sugar Mill Hotel on Tortola we have our own lush breadfruit tree that shades the hotel’s entrance and provides our kitchen with bushels of cannonball-size fruit.  We like to think our tree is related to those that Captain Bligh of the Bounty brought to St. Vincent in 1793 after surviving the notorious mutiny.  In the Caribbean, breadfruit stands in for potatoes in many dishes, and nowhere more elegantly than in our island interpretation of a French classic.  You can substitute potatoes for the breadfruit, if you like, and thereby return the dish to its French origins.

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
1  cup minced onions
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 1/2 cups peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped breadfruit, or 4 slices canned breadfruit, coarsely chopped
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Garnish:

Thinly sliced green onions or snipped chives

Directions:

Melt the butter over moderate heat in a large, heavy pot.  Add the onions and garlic, and sauté them for about 5 minutes, until they are soft and transparent.  Stir in the chopped breadfruit and the chicken broth, and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.  Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot tightly and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the breadfruit is tender enough to be easily mashed against the side of the pan.

In a blender or food processor or using a hand blender, purée the soup in batches, with the cream.  Season the puréed soup with salt and pepper, and chill the soup for at least 3 hours.  Garnish with sliced green onions or chives.

The recipe comes from the Sugar Mill Cookbook by Jinx and Jefferson Morgan.

— CJ