Free The Sugar Mill Caribbean Cookbook by Jinx Morgan Page B

julienne strips. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet, and add the julienned zucchini. Sauté the zucchini over medium heat until it is just wilted, about 1 minute. Add the zucchini to the soup.
    Serve the soup hot or chilled, garnished with the minced chives.
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    Makes 8 servings

Chilled Spinach and Oyster Bisque
    When fresh callaloo leaves are available, we often use them in this soup for a slightly different flavor.
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1
cup minced mushrooms
1
garlic clove, minced
2
tablespoons butter
1
tablespoon flour
2
cups milk
1
pound shucked oysters and their liquor
1
cup cooked, well-drained, and chopped spinach
2
cups milk
1
cup heavy cream
2
teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
½
teaspoon ground thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
Garnish
Lemon slices
    In a saucepan, sauté the mushrooms and garlic in the butter until the mushrooms are soft. Sprinkle them with flour, and cook them, stirring, 3 minutes. Gradually add the milk, and cook the mixture until it is smooth and slightly thickened. In a blender or food processor, purée the mixture in batches with the oysters, their liquor, and the spinach.
    Return the purée to the saucepan. Stir in the cream and seasonings, and heat the soup gently.
    Remove the hot soup from the heat, and let it cool. Chill the soup, then adjust the seasonings to your taste. Serve the chilled soup garnished with lemon slices.
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    Makes 6 Servings

Gingered Carrot and Pear Bisque
    Although we don't grow pears in the Caribbean, they travel well and are almost always available in our markets. We like to combine them with carrots for a lovely golden soup with the island kick of ginger.
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1
cup diced onion
2
tablespoons butter
1
tablespoon minced peeled gingerroot
2
cups chicken broth
1
pound carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
2
large unpeeled pears, coarsely chopped
½
cup cooked rice
1
bay leaf
1½
cups cream or half-and-half
Salt and pepper to taste
Garnish
Julienned carrot
Chopped fresh dillweed
    In a large saucepan, sauté the onion in the butter until the onion is translucent and tender. Add the ginger, and sauté another minute or two. Add the chicken broth, carrots, pears, rice, and bay leaf, and simmer, partly covered, until the carrots are tender.
    Remove the bay leaf. Purée the mixture in a blender or food processor, blending in cream or half-and-half to thin the soup to your taste. Season with salt and pepper. Reheat the soup gently and serve it hot, or let it cool completely, chill it well, and serve it cold with a garnish of julienned carrot and fresh dill.
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    Makes 4 servings

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    Ginger
    The spice we call ginger is the root of a perennial plant with large, vivid yellowish flowers born on a spike. Ginger was brought to England before the Norman Conquest, and by the time Queen Elizabeth I took the throne ginger was so popular that the queen employed a gifted baker whose sole occupation was to fashion portraits of members of the court in gingerbread.
    The ginger plant reached the Caribbean shortly after the New World was discovered. Today it is one of the most popular flavors in island cooking, and it is also highly regarded as a digestive aid.
    We like to have fresh gingeroot always on hand, and we've found it keeps very well in a jar filled with sherry. When we've used all the ginger, the sherry has taken on a wonderful flavor that we enjoy using in marinades and stir-fries.
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Crab or Lobster Chowder
    All cooks who live near the sea develop their own interpretations of the ubiquitous fish chowder. We use our local lobster for this elegant rendition.

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1
potato, peeled and diced
1
cup water
2
teaspoons butter
1
onion, minced
1½
teaspoons salt
½
teaspoon paprika
¼
teaspoon white pepper
3
cups milk
1
cup light cream
1½
cups flaked uncooked crab meat or chopped uncooked lobster meat
3
tablespoons cognac or dry sherry
 
Finely minced parsley or snipped chives
    Put the potato, water, and ½ teaspoon salt into a small saucepan, and