Pineapples of the Caribbean

The Caribbean: Central and South American Cookbook. Tropical cuisines steeped in history: All the ingredients and techniques and 150 sensational step-by-step recipes by Jenni Fleetwood and Marina Filippelli 2004 London

Fruits of the Tropics Salad

Serves 8

Ingredients: 1 large pineapple, peeled and cored; 300ml/1/2 pint/1 ¼ cups double (heavy) cream; 200ml/7 fl oz/ scant 1 cup crème fraiche; 60ml/4 tblspn icing (confectioners’) sugar, sifted; 10ml/2 tspn pure vanilla essence (extract); 30ml/2 tblspn white or coconut rum; 3 papayas (paw paw), peeled, seeded and chopped; 3 mangoes, peeled, stoned (pitted) and chopped; thinly pared rind and juice of 1 lime; 25g/1 oz/1/3 cup coarsely shredded or flaked coconut, toasted

Cut the pineapple into large chunks, place in a food processor or blender and process briefly until chopped. Tip into a sieve paced over a bowl and leave for 5 minutes so that most of the juice drains from the juice. 

Whip the double cream to soft peaks, then fold in the crème fraiche, sifted icing sugar, vanilla and rum.

Fold the drained chopped pineapple into the cream mixture. Place the chopped papaya and mangoes in a large bowl and pour over the lime juice. Gently stir the fruit mixture to combine. Shred the pared lime rind. Divide the fruit mixture and the pineapple cream among eight dessert plates. Decorate with the lime shreds, toasted coconut and a few small pineapple leaves, if you like, and serve at once.

Cook’s tip: It is important to let the pineapple juice drain thoroughly, otherwise, the pineapple cream will be watery. Don’t throw away the drained pineapple juice – mix it with fizzy mineral water for a refreshing drink.

Caribbean Spiced Rice Pudding

Serves 6

Ingredients: 25g butter; 1 cinnamon stick; ½ cup brown sugar; 2/3 cup ground rice; 5 cups milk; ½ tsp allspice; 1/3 cup sultanas; 75g mandarin oranges, chopped; 75g pineapple, chopped

1 Melt the butter in a non-stick pan. Add the cinnamon stick and sugar. Heat over a medium heat until the sugar just begins to caramelise. Remove from the heat.

2 Carefully stir in the rice and three-quarters of the milk. Slowly brig to the boil, stirring all the time, being careful not to let the milk burn. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for about 10 minutes, or until the rice is cooked, stirring constantly.

3 Add the remaining milk, the allspice and the sultanas. Leave to simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4 When the rice is thick and creamy, allow to cool slightly, then stir in the mandarin and pineapple pieces.