Travel and Tourism

Tobago Harvest Festival & Food Fair

Tobago is an island that still retains much of its rural charm, even residents in the more urban areas are known to give that warm smile and stop for a chat, lend a hand to an absolute stranger. The Harvest Festival captures that warm community spirit and renders it into song.

For those of us new to the Harvest scene, you should know that a harvest is a day upon which the entire community gathers together to give thanks. There is usually a church service where thanksgiving is offered followed by a village fair atmosphere. People stop by their neighbours and partake of specially prepared dishes from island staples to favourites.

Today saw the Tobago Harvest Festival giving thanks for the success that the Heritage Festival has been thus far and for the successes of the years.

Food Fair

Following the Harvest Festival it was time for sampling some of the mouth watering dishes on display from Corn or Cassava (manioc, yucca) coo coo to spicy stews and baked treats. Close by were the fruits of the land, mangoes, peppers, avocadoes, sugar cane and more exotic fruits like the mammy sepote.

Check out these recipes and take a turn at making some of our local delicacies and dishes. Here a just a few of our favourite recipes that have been developed over the many years, many have been handed down from generation to generation and reflect the mixture of various culinary styles and ingredients.

You are sure to put on some pounds after spending the three weeks with us in Tobago and not being able to resist our mouth watering dishes. So the choice is yours, you can go on a diet before or after you’ve come.

For those of you who are not that fortunate to have joined us for this year’s celebrations, why don’t you start sharpening your appetites by practicing on these treats.

Tobago Recipes

Heritage Christmas Cake (Pan Cake)
  • 1 dozen local eggs
  • 1 lb. brown sugar
  • 1 lb. currents
  • 1 lb. flour
  • 1 lb. prunes
  • 1 lb. raisins
  • 1 lb. salt butter
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 lb. mixed peel
  • burnt sugar colouring
  • essence
  • mixed spice

Wash butter until it tastes fresh. Cream butter and sugar. Beat eggs with lime peel until thick and add gently to creamed mixture. Fold in flour until a spoon can stand in mixture. Add currants, raisins, prunes, baking powder, essences, spice, burnt sugar and mix to a light brown colour. Put in greased cake tins and bake at 350’F.

Corn Coo-Coo
  • 1 Cup Corn flour
  • 1 teaspoon butter
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 pint water
  • 3-4 ochroes

Wash and slice ochroes, add salt and boil in half the liquid. When soft enough to be swizzled (pureed), mix in cornmeal along with the rest of the liquid. Stir this paste into the boiling liquid, and continue to cook until the mixture is thick and smooth. Turn out onto well greased mold.

Variation: Coconut cream is often used in place of water.

Cassava Pone
  • 1 dried coconut
  • 1 teaspoon butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 medium size cassavas
  • 6oz. sugar
  • ground spice - essence

Peel, wash and grate cassava, set aside grated cassava. Grate coconut, add water and extract the juice (2 cups), coconut husk is usually discarded, though some cooks prefer to add a little to the final mixture. Mix all ingredients, put in greased tin, and bake in hot oven.(350C). Pone is considered done when the edges curl slightly away from the tin and a toothpick, when inserted into the centre of the dish is able to be removed with out any batter sticking to it.

Susumber & Corn Fish Stew
  • 1 cup susumber (young) [a small round green vegetable]
  • 1 green pepper
  • 1 lb. corn fish
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 teaspoon cooking oil
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 3 cups coconut juice
  • Black pepper
  • chive
  • onion

Boil susumber in 1 1/2 cups water. Strain and mash susumber. Prepare coconut juice. Soak corn fish for 1 hour and then scald and cut into portions. Sauté chopped onion and chive in oil. add coconut juice and allow to boil. Add fish, mashed susumber, green pepper. Remove pepper before it bursts. Cook down to a rich sauce.

Stew Crab with Cassava Dumpling
  • 1 green pepper
  • 1 teaspoon butter
  • 1 teaspoon cooking oil
  • 2 coconuts
  • 2 teaspoons curry
  • 4 crabs
  • chive
  • onion
  • salt
  • thyme

Clean and scrub crab thoroughly. Break into portions saving the fat. Grate coconuts and pour water (about 4 cups) and squeeze to the extract juice. Sauté chopped onion and chive in oil and butter. Add coconut juice, crab and other ingredients and cook crab. Add pepper 5 minutes before end of cooking time.

Ochro and Rice
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1 cup rice
  • 1 green pepper
  • 1 medium size coconut
  • 1 onion
  • 1/2 salt meat
  • 2 spring chive
  • 2 teaspoons salt butter
  • 6 Ochroes
  • black pepper

Soak salt meat in water for two hours. Then boil in 1 1/2 cups water. Grate coconut and add two cups of water and squeeze to extract the juice. Chop onion and chive finely and simmer in melted butter. Add coconut juice. Cut ochroes into cubes and add to coconut juice. bring to the boil add green pepper then add rice. Cook until rice is tender. Add salt to taste.

Cassava Dumplings
  • 1/2 cup coconut juice
  • 2 cups grated cassava flour
  • pinch salt and sugar

Add flour, grated cassava, salt and sugar and knead to a stiff dough. Roll and cut into rounds. Cook in boiling water for about 10 minutes.

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