The flavors of Margaritaville and Key West are all combined in this interesting salad, replete with tequila and lime! If you're a Jimmy Buffet fan, you'll know what we mean. If you've never heard of him, buy one of his CDs! The salad is hot, spicy, and refreshing; serve it with a grilled fish dish.

This sauce is seriously hot! Recipe by Mike Stines, Ph.B.

One evening at Marie Permenter's house in Trinidad, with Scotch-and-coconut water cocktails in hand, Mary Jane and I began discussing the versatility of mangos. Marie dashed into the kitchen and proceeded to whip up the following chutney for us to taste. Because of the ingredients, one would think that the taste is overwhelming. But quite the contrary; it is delicate and can be used as a dip for chips (plantain chips work well), vegetables, or crackers. Spanish thyme is also known as Indian borage (Coleus amboinicus), and Cuban oregano. Its origin is unknown, but it is grown as a fresh herb in many parts of the Caribbean. From the article Mango Madness!

The technique of soaking a food in a liquid to flavor it—or in the case of meats, to tenderize the cut—was probably brought to the Caribbean by the Spanish. A marinade is easier to use than a paste, and when grilling your jerk meats, the marinade can also be used as a basting sauce.  “In Jamaica,” notes food writer Robb Walsh, “like Texas barbecue, jerk is served on butcher paper and eaten with your hands.”  Serve this version of jerk with a salad and grilled plantains.

Cooking meats in the pibil method dates back to Pre-Columbian times and variations of these dishes can be found in just every restaurant that features local cuisine throughout the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. This method of cooking is done in a pit lined with stones called a pibil which were the center of the Mayan community. This is a easier variation that can be done on the grill or in a smoker, and doesn’t require digging a pit in your back yard. Achiote paste is made with annatto seeds, which is used both a spice and an orange coloring agent. I prefer using the paste, rather that the seeds which are as easy to grind as steel ball bearings. Güero chiles are substituted for the usual xcatic chiles which are impossible to find outside of the area. Banana leaves can be found in Asian markets, but you can also use aluminum foil. Pibils are traditionally served with pickled red onions.

This recipe is from the Legacy Program at the University of Texas at San Antonio’s Center for Archaeological Research.