Wild Mushroom Soup made with dried porcini mushrooms, garlic, vegetable stock, leeks, shallots, cream, black pepper and thyme. Wild mushrooms are expensive, but dried porcini have an intense flavour, so only a small quantity is needed.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dried porcini mushrooms
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 leeks, thinly sliced
• 2 shallots, roughly chopped
• 1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
• 8 oz fresh wild mushrooms
• 5 cups vegetable stock
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 150 ml cup double cream
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• sprigs of fresh thyme, to garnish

Method

Put the dried porcini in a bowl, add 250 ml cup warm water and leave to soak for 20-30 minutes. Lift out of the liquid and squeeze over the bowl to remove as much of the soaking liquid as possible. Strain all the liquid and reserve to use later. Finely chop the porcini. Heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan until foaming. Add the sliced leeks, chopped shallots and garlic and cook gently for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened but not coloured.

Chop or slice the fresh mushrooms and add to the pan. Stir over a medium heat for a few minutes until they begin to soften. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Add the porcini, soaking liquid, dried thyme and salt and pepper. Lower the heat, half cover the pan and simmer gently for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. A Pour about three-quarters of the soup into a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Return the processed soup to the soup remaining in the pan, stir in the cream and heat through. Check the consistency and add more stock if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot, garnished with thyme sprigs.

This classic Spiny Lobster Bisque Recipe is a delicious way to enjoy the Caribbean Spiny lobster.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of milk
• 3 cups of cream
• 4 tablespoons of butter
• 1/2 cup of tomato puree
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/2 pound of fresh lobster
• 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup of minced green onions
• 1 tablespoon of minced fresh dill
• 2 tablespoons of dry cooking sherry
• 1/4 teaspoon of pepper hot-pepper sauce to taste
• 1 teaspoon of salt

Method

First boil or steam the lobster. Cool and roughly cut the lobster into bite size pieces and set aside. In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Next stir in the green onions and the garlic and saute until the onions are transparent. Now blend in the flour. Cook stirring constantly to blend in with the flour and the butter. Slowly, add in the milk along with the cream, stirring until the mixture is a nice and thick texture. Finally, add the lobster, salt, puree, sherry, tomato, dill weed and pepper. Simmer covered for about 15 minutes.

Caribbean Breaded Pork Chops Recipe

Ingredients:

• 8 Pork Chops
• 1 dash Tabasco
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme
• 2 cloves garlic, Crushed
• 1 egg

Cooking Instructions:

Season pork chops in a bowl using salt, pepper, garlic, vinegar, thyme and Tabasco. Allow to marinate for 3 hours. Beat egg in a bowl. Then combine flour and breadcrumbs. Dip each chop in egg and then coat on both sides with breadcrumb mixture. Place in greased baking pan and bake at 325F for one hour and 350F for about 10 minutes. Serve hot.