With less emphasis on meat, fish is
the big catch during the Lenten season.
Lent, the 45 days leading up to
Easter, begins
Ash Wednesday, February 25, and ends Good Friday, April 9. (Some
people put the
period of Lent at
40 days because they skip Sundays which commemorate the Resurrection).
To celebrate the
season we show
you how to create
a pleasing marriage of fresh fish
and the right
seasonings. Plus, we put to the test Island Grill's new
products for Lent.
WE GOT the first taste of Island Grill's soon-to-be-launched (February 25) fish soup and jerk fish stuffed with callaloo, and boy, did they create a sensation in our newsroom on Monday!
When Food caught wind of the fast food chain's new offerings for Lent, we asked the folks at Island Grill to have us put them to the test. Then we got newsroom staffers to taste and give us their opinion.
"Now, this is not a fish broth," bragged marketing manager Erica Hanson as she unveiled cups brimming with steaming, yellow soup.
Turns out she was right. The scrumptious soup, chock-full of fish chunks, dumplings and vegetables, even managed to warm the hearts of non-soup lovers and netted comments like these:
I like it. It's good, considering that I'm not a soup person.
The soup was lovely, with lots of fish. For me I would add more pepper, but it was lovely.
If you're not overly hungry a bowl of this could be a meal. This is really good because I'm not a fish soup person.
This soup shows that they are definitely not mean with fish. Plus, it's not bland, not too peppery but has pepper. Not too fishy.
The soup was excellent although a wee bit salty. It was still nice, hearty and tasty.
The soup tasted good. It needed a little more pepper but it's fishy and colourful.
The soup tasted a little salty but for someone like me who doesn't love soup I would have to drink this every day.
The fish soup from Island Grill was very delicious. It was not thin like other fish soups that I've tasted. Instead, this one was thick and tasty. What impressed me most though were the several pieces of fish that were found in the soup. I've had bowls of fish soup/tea at other restaurants and they are usually thin and have no meat in them.
Hanson and operations manager Juliet Pitter also came armed with jerk fish stuffed with callaloo, created specifically for the period of Lent. To round things out the duo also had bammy sticks, fried green plantains, callaloo and pumpkin rice, fish fillets and Tru Juice to wash down the bellyful.
Our group of enthusiastic tasters took their role seriously and made short work of the goods and came back with comments like these:
Well seasoned and spicy. De-boning the fish is a great touch. I can enjoy my meal without being interrupted and annoyed by bones. It's great!
The fish was good, much better than their original roast fish which I don't like at all. But this fish is definitely something I would order regularly.
It was ok, not bad, better than the roast fish that they had before, plus the callaloo and the bonelessness make it more enjoyable.
The fish was ok, I've had the fish before but not with the callaloo stuffing and I think that's a good improvement.
The fish was delicious and the callaloo improves the taste. This is definitely something I would eat regularly. It needed a little more pepper but it was well seasoned.
The baked fish stuffed with callaloo was very tasty and the good thing about it was that I never had to contend with bones. That usually poses a problem for most fish eaters. The size of the fish was also a bellyful and accompanied with a serving of pumpkin rice and festival, made a satisfying meal. I hope, though, that after Island Grill finishes doing their costing on the fish and soup, they sell them at reasonable prices.
We didn't ask but a few of the tasters were wild about the festival. One sampler said: "As a country girl, I know how festival should be made and this tasted like it."
Another added: "The fish that looked like a fritter (the fish fillet), was delicious, very tasty. And the callaloo rice was scrumptious. I wish I could get the recipe."
Well...as you might understand...Island Grill wasn't about to part with its secrets, but did tell us this much about the soup:
Ingredients: Fish, pumpkin, potatoes, dumplings (spinners) and a few secret ingredients.
Cost: The price for the soup and the stuffed fish with callaloo is still being worked out but, says Hanson, it will be at an affordable price.
- Nordia Henry
