Caribbean Fungi Recipes

FUNGI

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, bring 2 1/4 cups water to a boil over medium-high.
• When water reaches a rolling boil, add okra and 2 teaspoons salt. Cook over medium-high until softened, about 4 minutes.
• Slowly and carefully, pour half the cornmeal into the water while whisking to prevent lumps. It will get very thick very quickly.
• Once the mixture is smooth, add the remaining cornmeal and the butter, whisking vigorously to combine.
• When smooth, taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. If you'd like it a little thinner, whisk additional water into the mixture. Serve hot.

FISH AND FUNGI VIRGIN ISLANDS STYLE

Steps:

• Place fish with all ingredients into a saucepan and cook gently until fish is cooked, about 20 to 30 minutes.
• Place frozen okra in boiling water. Cook until just barely tender.
• In a medium size saucepan, bring 2½ cups water to a boil.
• To make fungi that is free of lumps, mix about ¼ cup of the cornmeal with ¾ cup water in a separate small bowl. Then, add this mixture back into the larger pot of boiling water.
• Let cornmeal cook for about a minute, then add the rest of the cornmeal into the pan in a slow steady stream, while stirring constantly.
• Add hot cooked okra to cooked cornmeal. Stir well.
• Then, stir in the butter, salt and pepper, to taste.
• Simmer for about 5 minutes more.

TIJOE'S FUNGI

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a small frying pan and cook the onion over medium heat for five minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat.
• Bring the water to a boil in a three-and-a-half-quart heavy saucepan, preferably a nonstick one. Stir in the salt and slowly pour in the cornmeal, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Reduce the heat to low and stir constantly for 10 minutes.
• Stir in the onion and butter, tomatoes and okra. Continue stirring for five minutes until the mixture rolls off the side of the pan and no longer sticks to the bottom.
• Turn the mixture onto a baking sheet and smooth the top evenly with a spatula into a 10-inch circle, three-quarters of an inch thick. Cool for 15 minutes. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for one hour.
• Cut the fungi into about one-and-a-half-inch squares and serve at room temperature.