We thought it would be educational and useful to have a webpage which detailed the national dishes within the caribbean, with Antigua being the first island to be profiled.

For all you aspiring chefs out there, the following recipe is the national dish for Antigua and Barbuda - Pepperpot and Fungee. Enjoy!

Pepperpot

Pepperpot is a stew containing squash, spinach, eggplant, peas, pumpkin, ochroes, salted meats and dumplings.

Ingredients
4 eddo leaves (cut up, 1lb salt beef or 1lb other fresh meat optional) 4 eggplants (diced or antrobers); 2 teaspoons of margarine, 4 ochroes (diced) ; Salt and pepper to taste; Bunch of chive and thyme (pounded); 2 onions (chopped); 2 cups of green peas (cooked) 1 lb spinach chopped; 2 tomatoes sliced; 1 cup diced pumpkin ; 1 cup diced squash; 2 teaspoons of oil; 1lb salt pork , pig snout or 2 teaspoons of ketchup ; pigs feet (cut in pieces)

Method:
Cook the meats add the vegetables except the green peas, add the seasoning. Cook the peas in a small amount of salt water , remove the vegetables . Chop well and return to fire. When cooked, serve hot with fungee. Sometimes dumplins are added to the mixture.

Fungee

Fungee is a paste-like ball of cornmeal and ochroes.

Ingredients
2 cups corn meal; 3 cups water; salt to taste; 3 ochroes (cut into pieces); 2 tablespoons of butter.

Method
Bring water to boil with the ochroes until they are cooked. Remove 2 cups of water to a pan, add the cornmeal to the remaining boiling water. Using a wooden spoon, mix the corn meal and crush to the side of the pan to remove lumps. Add water when necessary. When the mixture leaves the bottom of the pan, remove from the fire. Place butter in a small bowl, place a large spoonful of fungee in the bowl and roll to a ball. Serve hot with pepperpot; stewed or fried fish.

Fungee can be left overnight. Sliced and dried and used with syrup or jam for breakfast.