Rosemary Parkinson, Contributor
The Pork Palusami with a passion fruit glaze was tender, succulent and artistically presented. - photos by Rosemary Parkinson/Gleaner Writer
Robert Oliver was born in New Zealand, but his family moved to Suva, Fiji in the early '70s, where his father set up a social work network for the YMCA's of the South Pacific. This had the family constantly interacting with local village communities and Robert developed a passion for the flavours and foods of these islands.
Working as a chef in Fiji, New York City, Miami, Las Vegas, the US Virgin Islands, Barbados, St Lucia, Trinidad and many others for over 20 years, he has created restaurant ventures that are tropically conceptualised.
His culinary product remains firmly rooted in the foods and flavours of his native South Pacific, touched heavily with our Caribbean traditional produce, but always keeping pace with what is current in the restaurant capitals of the world.
With several restaurants under his belt such as China Grill Management (New York City and Miami) NOA (Noodles of Asia), Miami Beach, China Grill (Las Vegas) - the latter awarded 'Best Restaurant' by the Las Vegas Review Journal. Robert opened Rumjungle at Mandalay Bay (one of the United States' largest restaurants), offering a blend of the world's tropical zone cuisines: Caribbean, Fijian and Brazilian.
In 2000, Robert opened SUVA, Miami Beach with China Grill Management's CEO Jeffrey Chodorow and actress Marisa Tomei. SUVA was a modern interpretation of Pacific and Polynesian cuisine - South Seas cuisine.
In 2001, Robert was invited by the Fiji Hotel Association to conduct a series of culinary workshops for chefs in Fiji. These workshops were aimed at improving the local hotel offerings by including more local traditional ingredients and recipes into resort menus. As he sat with us during a Taste of Barbados dinner at the famed stalwart hotel - Colony Club - on the platinum coast of Barbados, he explained. "The objective was to create menus that were authentically local, and at the same time, palatable and comprehensible to westerners (tourists). As part of the workshops, I asked that chefs brought dishes from their villages, their tribes, their mothers that they considered to be truly local - South Pacific soul food. From these dishes, I showed them how to reconfigure them to make them western friendly. This reconfiguration is what I also do in the Caribbean. I came back in 2005 and intend to stay."
Agri-Tourism
An agri-tourism 'freak', Robert joined the Barbadian-owned Almond Resort group to develop restaurants for their St Lucia properties. As a part of this effort, he has organised a purchasing infrastructure with large groups of local farmers. The programme is a huge success with food costs going down; the produce fresher and better. Visitors are now eating locally- grown foods, which further enhances their island experience. Robert will open a second SUVA in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad in 2008. He will also be at the MACO BET Food & Rum Festival on November 1 in St. Lucia.
I begged him for the recipes of the sumptuous dinner he put before us, hope you enjoy!
Oliver ... his culinary product remains firmly rooted in the foods and flavours of his native South Pacific.
SOUP
Pawpaw Gazpacho
Ingredients:
15 cups very ripe pawpaw
1 knob ginger - finely chopped
1/2 bunch lemongrass
14 kaffir (lime) leaves
1 bunch mint, shredded
4 cucumber
4 red peppers, seeded, de-ribbed, finely diced
4 green peppers, seeded, de-ribbed, diced finely
1 bunch chives, finely diced
10 limes - zest and juice
Method:
1. Make a broth with the chopped ginger, 8 lime leaves, lemongrass and 2/3 gallons of water
2. Let cool
3. Mostly peel and deseed the cucumber. Dice very finely.
4. Cut 14 lime leaves into a fine dice (de-rib first)
5. Peel and deseed the pawpaw and puree with the chilled stock
6. Add the lime leaves, juice, zest, cucumbers, peppers, mint, chives.
7. Season and chill, almost frozen. Serve.
ENTREE
Pork Palusami
Serves 20 people
Pork in Passion Soy Marinade
Ingredients for the marinade:
10 small pork loins
1/2 gallon Kikkoman soy
1 1/4 cups rough chopped ginger
2 cans pineapple juice
1/2 bunch washed and rough chopped scallion
Zest and juice of two oranges
Half of one quarter cup passion fruit puree
1 1/2 pounds dark brown sugar
1/4 bottle rum
Method:
1. Heat all together and let simmer for about 20 minutes.
2. Remove half from the pot and chill - for marinade
3. Continue to reduce the remaining half until it reaches glaze consistency.
4. Cool well
5. Strain as needed
6. Trim pork and roll into loins
7. Marinate overnight in the marinade, turn often.
To serve:
1. Remove pork from marinade and roast
2. Serve a slice and drizzle with glaze, grilled scallion and grilled pineapple
Palusami - Fiji-style coconut spinach
Ingredients:
1 gallon cooked, trimmed, squeezed dry, leaf spinach
3 bunches cooked dasheen leaf
7 cans coconut cream
1 1/2 cups fine minced ginger
2 cups chopped scallions
2 1/2 large white onions- thin sliced
1/4 pound butter
1/2 cup minced garlic
salt and pepper
banana leaves - wiped clean and cut into 8-inch squares, blanched quickly in a pot of boiling water and then chilled
Method:
1. Heat the butter in a heavy pot and add the ginger
2. Add the garlic, scallions and the onions and sauté until onions are clear and soft
3. Add coconut and reduce until slightly thickened
4. Add the finely chopped spinach and dasheen
5. Cook until thick - season well
6. Place a piece of the banana leaf in an ovenproof individual foil cup or 6 ounce ramekin and carefully press leaf down
7. Add about 3/4 cup of the spinach mix and fold leaf over the top
8. Either tie the protruding banana leaf or fold over and cover with foil
9. Steam or bake in a water bath for about 20 minutes and serve right away or cool and reheat as needed
DESSERT
Chai Ice Cream-With Pineapple Pistachio Compote
Ingredients:
10 cans condensed milk and 16 cans of water
1 cup cardamom seeds or 12 pods, smashed.
peel of 4 oranges or 3 tab orange blossom water
vanilla
juice and zest of 6 lemons
Method:
1. Put condensed milk, water, cardomam, orange and vanilla in a pot and simmer for a minute
2. Cover and let cool to infuse
3. Strain, add lemon juice and churn and freeze.
Pineapple Pistachio Compote
Ingredients:
2 pineapples, diced
4 cups white sugar
8 pieces star anise
1/2 bottle rum
saffron
Four vanilla bean - split
Method:
1. Roast all together in a shallow pan in the oven to "roast" and compote
2. When cool - add pistachio nuts.
Serve ice cream with compote on top. When a good quantity is made, there's always more to go back to!
The Taste of Barbados continues wit excitement until October 14. There's still time to come on down and sample the deliciousness.
