St. Martin / Sint. Maarten Recipes: Callaloo Soup and Crab Backs

Tonight we set sail for the small Caribbean island consisting of two countries with the same name...St. Martin and Sint. Maarten.   Confusing right?   I actually never realized that all those small islands in the Caribbean Sea were their own countries.   And even though they are nearest in proximity to South America,  they are actually part of the European Union.    We're learning so much already and we haven't even gotten to the food!

According to my best 6 year old recollection, the island of St. Martin was the first foreign country that I ever set foot on.   I boarded a huge cruise ship in Puerto Rico with my family and the next morning we arrived at St. Martin.  

My only knowledge of cruising at this time was what I saw on the episodes of The Love Boat...let me tell you, this was no "Love Boat".   There was no Isaac serving umbrella drinks poolside.   In fact,  my sister and I were the only passengers that dared enter the swimming pool "pits."    To enter the pool you had to climb down into a literal pit.   The pools were about 12 feet deep and filled with about 6 feet of strong ocean saltwater.   It was similar to swimming in a crater.   Good thing we were strong young swimmers as it was impossible for anyone to see us down there.  


Back to the food,  tonight I decided to tackle two recipes: a Callaloo Soup, the national dish of French Sint. Maarten and Crab Backs, from the Dutch St. Martin side.

Callaloo Soup (not to be confused with my kids' TV friend Calliou) is a dish of Caribbean Greens.    Callaloo is a native term for amaranth.  Many countries in the south make a similar dish using whatever greens are available.   I used Beet Greens, Spinach, and Swiss Chard for my recipe.   

Callaloo Soup

2 pounds fresh kale ( or other greens,  I used Beet Greens and Swiss Chard)
1/2 pound callaloo, or fresh spinach
12 okra pods
1/4 pound salt pork, cut into thin strips
1/2 pound fresh lean pork, cubed
1 onions, thinly sliced
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 hot pepper, seeds removed, sliced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
6 cups chicken stock

To Make:

Pull all stems from greens.  Discard stems and roughly chop the leaves. Wash leaves thoroughly. Place salt pork in a large, heavy soup kettle and sauté over medium heat for 10 minutes, rendering fat. Discard all but 2 tablespoons of fat.

Add pork cubes and onions to pan. Sauté over medium heat until cubes are brown and onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add greens, okra, black pepper and hot pepper. Add thyme and stock. Cover and simmer 2 1/2 hours. 

This makes an enormous pot of greens!  It was super simple to throw together, all you need is time to let it simmer on the stove.   Perfect for a Sunday supper.

For our main dish,  I prepared "Crab Backs".   Although the name sounds rather daunting, this was an amazingly quick and simple dish.  

The recipe, listed below, calls for 12 live Blue Crabs.   I was nervous that Blue Crab would be impossible to find in our land locked state of Colorado.  Marc even suggested that I'd have to buy it online.   Wanting to make this dish tonight,   I approached the seafood counter at our local Safeway grocery and inquired about the availability of this elusive, exotic sounding "Blue Crab".   I thought for sure I would be sent away empty handed or even worse, sent over to the local Whole Foods store to blow my entire week's food allowance on a few measly crabs.   

But alas... I got my idiot card handed to me.   The seafood clerk smiled and led me to over to the self-serve seafood section.   There she pointed at numerous varieties and brands of pre-packaged Blue Crab staring me in the face.  Duh!

Crab Backs

12 live blue crabs ( I used 1 lb. lump Blue Crab claw meat.)

3 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium tomato, chopped

1 Tbsp.  green onion, chopped

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Salt and Pepper, to taste

1/2 cup prepared bread crumbs

(Skip this part if using lump crab meat.) Bring water to boil in a large pot. Add crabs. Boil 15 minutes, until the shells turn bright red. Drain and cool. Break open the claws and pick out the meat. Discard pieces of shell. Carefully open the crab backs, removing and reserving any meat and fat, but discarding gill and white intestine. Scrub empty shells thoroughly.

Preheat broiler. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, tomato and green onions. Cook until softened and remove from heat. Stir in flaked crabmeat, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and black pepper. Refill crab backs with the crab mixture and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Place stuffed crabs on a baking sheet and brown under broiler. Serve hot.

Since I didn't have access to the live crabs,  I also didn't have the crab shells for presentation.    Instead I just used a frying pan.   This made for a very easy dish and easy one pan clean up.    Please, if you attempt this dish at home,  make sure you use a broiler safe dish.    I've actually experienced a glass dish exploding in the oven as it wasn't broiler safe.   No fun.   Also,   remember to use a hot pad or towel when retrieving your pan from the broiler. 

(Also no fun- ouch!)

Now for the critics....

I was a bit nervous that my kids would not like either of these dishes.    The Callaloo Soup was definitely lacking in toddler plate appeal aesthetics.    But, to my surprise,   I got two completely different reactions.   

Lauren,  my youngest (just turned 2 yesterday), squealed with delight as she slurped up her bowl of Callaloo soup, even interjecting a few "yum's" along the way.   However she took one bite of the crab and daintily spit it out into her hand.

On the other hand,  Zach, my 3 year old, gobbled up all the crab dish. Even adding,  "This is tasty fish, Mom!"   But he didn't even touch the soup,  a bit odd,  as he normally loves slurping soups of all kind.

My husband Marc said he enjoyed both dishes and cleaned his plate.    He's the true critic as he is an amazing home chef.   Obviously he is easy to please as well.

Me?  Well, I found both recipes to be lacking a bit in the flavor department. I like spice and these flavors were a bit flat.   

The crab dish was easy to prepare and tasty,  but could have also used a bit of spice or heat.    

And the Callaloo Soup had an nice earthy  aroma  but again left me wanting more flavor dimension.   Perhaps this could have used a bit of salt on the pork and a few cloves of garlic or bay leaves.