Haitian Traditional Sunday Dinners

A Haitian dinner can easily run into five to seven courses, but a traditional Haitian dinner always has a minimum of three courses.

The normal fare is a meat or sea food served with one or more boiled or fried starches like green or yellow plantains, white potatoes or sweet potatoes, breadfruits, yams or some other roots followed by a dish of grains like rice, corn, millet etc... cooked with or without peas or beans.

Appetizers or amuse-gueules, before and after dinner drinks, salads, desserts and side dishes of vegetables are encouraged and appreciated when time and economy permit, but are optional.

The Haitian dinner doesn't  end with dessert like some culture but rather with a nice cup of espresso coffee served in the living room.
Dessert is never brought to the dinner table as part of the dinner, but placed on a side table as an after dinner treat

Traditional Haitian Sunday Dinner

Seared fillet of beef

Braised carrots

Fritay  ( fried plantains,sweet potatoes, acras)

Haitian black  mushroom rice with sweet peas

Papaya juice

Coffee

Beignets



Braised carrots                                                                       Serve 6

2 lbs of carrots
1/2 stick of butter
1 tab of brown sugar
1 large beef bouillon cube
1/4 tsp of salt
1/8 tsp of ground black pepper
1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce
4 cups of water or  enough water to cover all the carrots completely
2 tabs of chopped parsley

Peel the carrots and cut them into 2 inch slices. In a heavy bottom pot over high heat, pour the water, place the carrots and the other ingredients except the parsley. Bring to a full boil, then cover and reduced  heat to medium, cook until carrots are fork tender about 35 to 45 minutes. Drain if there are more than 2-3 tablespoon of liquid left.
Sprinkle chopped parsley over carrots, mix well, transfer to a serving  dish and serve.


Enjoy