This is a very delicious potato dish that is served on holidays in the Caribbean. This is a reblog of an earlier post (posted exactly one year ago, in fact), simply because I like this picture so much better.  This was taken when I cooked this year’s Thanksgiving dinner. It was much sunnier than last year.  I love this spicy/sweet West Indian alternative to the traditional sweet yam dishes.  It takes the place of both the yams and the mashed potatoes on my usual Thanksgiving menu.

Here is a quote from the last year’s post:

One of the must-haves in my family’s Thanksgiving dinner menu (or any time we make turkey, which is several times a year – we LOVE it and look for any occasion to make it) is potato “stuffing” as made in the USVI.

In the Virgin Islands, this is a traditional side to Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey dinner.  Even though it is called stuffing, it is not stuffed into anything, and definitely not the turkey. It looks like it is made from yams, but it is actually made out of white potatoes, brown sugar, and tomato paste or tomato sauce. It is a savory and spicy potato side, rather than the sweet Thanksgiving sweet potato side dishes common in the US. It can also be made as a weekday dinner side dish. I also think it tastes good reheated, but you wouldn’t want to eat this cold.

This is a good addition to any vegetarian holiday meal, as well as the traditional holiday meal, and really, is a great side dish any time of the year.

 

Cruzan Potato Stuffing
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
2 mini bell peppers (or half one regular sweet bell pepper), chopped – or  spicier peppers if you prefer some heat
2-3 tablespoons cooking oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 pounds potatoes, boiled and mashed
3-4 tablespoons tomato paste
2-4 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 cup raisins
1 egg (optional)
1/2 – 3/4 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 325.

Boil and mash potatoes, set aside.  Do not add any milk or butter to the potatoes.

 

Heat oil in medium sized pot.  Add onions, garlic, parsley, and peppers. Saute  3 or 4 minutes.

Add butter

Stir to melt butter, adding tomato paste, oregano, and brown sugar

Saute 2 -3 minutes more till it looks like this

Remove from heat.  Add potatoes to pot, along with raisins, milk, and beaten egg, fold all ingredients to incorporate  completely. You want the consistency to be slightly more liquid/thinner than mashed potatoes if you add the egg. If you do not add the egg, let it be the same consistency as mashed potatoes.

Spread in an oiled 9″ pie plate.

Bake for 45 minutes until top is golden.

Optional – You can add a couple of drops of hot sauce if you like it spicier, when you add the milk. I’ve done that before, but my kids don’t eat it like that. I don’t always add the egg, and it is perfectly good, and lower in fat without it.

Semi-homemade variation – you can use instant mashed potatoes instead of boiling and mashing regular potatoes.