Memories of Dominica

Recently I had the chance to visit the island of Dominica. For those who aren't good at geography, I'm talking about the tropical island near Barbados known for its rainforests, mountains, and black-sand beaches, and not the island near Cuba known for producing cigars, bananas, and major league baseball players. While on the "Nature Island of the Caribbean", I was introduced to breadfruit. Found mainly in tropical regions, breadfruit grows on trees and gets its name from having a texture similar to baked bread when cooked. Breadfruit when dried can be ground into flour, is rarely eaten raw because of its high starch content, and can be cooked the same way you would cook a potato. If you're in the mood for a savoury casserole, consider the recipe below.  Who knows, maybe you'll like it enough to take a trip to the tropics and chop down a breadfruit to eat as I did.

This blog is dedicated to Peroma Xavier.

Ingredients

1 breadfruit (Check Caribbean grocery stores or Whole Foods for one)
360 mL evaporated milk
115 g medium cheddar cheese, grated, with some reserved for topping
75 g Monterey Jack cheese, grated
75 g onions, diced
45 g butter
25 g all-purpose flour
7 g ground mustard
6 g fresh parsley, chopped
2 g salt
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper, diced
1 pinch ground nutmeg
ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Cut off the stem part of the breadfruit, then rest that flat side down on your cutting board and cut the breadfruit into wedges. Peel the skin off with a potato peeler or sharp pairing knife. Remove the spongy center of the breadfruit so that you’re left with a wedge that is all breadfruit meat.
3. Rinse the wedges with cool water, then place them in a deep pot and cover with water. Bring everything to a boil, add the salt, and let everything cook for 20 minutes until it’s tender.
4. In another saucepan, heat the butter on low heat, then as it melts add the flour and let it cook for about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the evaporated milk, then turn up the heat to medium and whisk. Add the parsley, scotch bonnet pepper, ground mustard, Monterey Jack cheese, most of the cheddar cheese, onions, nutmeg, and as much black pepper as you see fit. Cook for a few minutes until you have a thick and smooth sauce.
5. Slice each wedge of cooked breadfruit about 1/4 inch thick, then place a layer onto a greased cooking dish. Add a layer of cheese sauce, then another layer of sliced breadfruit, and top with the remaining cheese sauce. Sprinkle on the rest of the grated cheese on top.
6. Place on the middle rack of a preheated oven and bake for about 30 minutes. Let it cool for a few minutes before eating.