Cornmeal Coo Coo
Cornmeal Coo coo aka CouCou. Creamy, thick and hearty Polenta – Caribbean style. An intriguing side dish with tons of flavor.
Cornmeal can be bland and boring but it’s loved for its versatility as much as it’s sweet corn flavor used in both savory and sweet recipes throughout the world and in my household. I always have a container of cornmeal on stand by– definitely a pantry staple for me.
There are just so many ways you can cook it up and serve. And so many countries and regions have their favorite way of making it. In Africa, especially East and West Africa it is most often cooked as a side dish, with water and salt; known as Ugali and Fufu respectively.
Here’s an intriguing version of cornmeal from the Caribbean, one that will make you take notice – Coo Coo – made with okra also known as okroes, red bell pepper, seasoned with thyme garlic, cooked in coconut milk. Definitely not bland or boring and it’s open to so many variations. A well loved side dish throughout Barbados, sometimes known as their national dish when paired together with flying fish. Other delightful combinations make an appearance in the Virgin Islands and the Netherlands Antilles. And in Jamaica it is cooked without okra and sometimes with salted codfish known as cornmeal turned up.
I know okra has a lot of detractors, I certainly do have one in my family, so I know if you are one of them, then by all means leave it out! No worries! The Cou Cou police will not be visiting you. But you are tossing out a powerhouse!
You can cut your okra in chunks or as little as you like. Some people like to blend it before incorporating it in their cornmeal to make it really mushy. I prefer to sauté the okra a few minutes before incorporating into the cornmeal.
This Caribbean Coo Coo is an excellent side paired with chicken, fish or pork, and it makes a satisfying vegetarian main course, too.
Enjoy!!!
Cornmeal Coo Coo
Ingredients
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ cup diced onions
- ½ teaspoon minced thyme
- ¼ cup cut up red bell pepper optional
- 2 1/2 cups warm water or more
- 1 cup coconut milk replace with broth
- 1/2 teaspoon salt more adjust to taste
- 1 cup sliced okra(frozen
- 2 Tablespoons butter
Instructions
- In a medium-sauce pan or pot add oil, onions, garlic, and thyme sauté, for about 1 minute, stirring constantly to prevent any burns.
- Throw in okra and red bell pepper; continue cooking for about 2 minutes, followed by about 2 cups warm water and coconut milk. Bring to a boil
- At this point you may remove some or half of the vegetables and reserve, if you like your vegetables crunchy.
- Gradually whisk in the cornmeal, until you have add the whole thing in the pot, a little bit at a time and keep stirring with a whisk to prevent any lumps. You may have to remove saucepan from heat while trying to get rid of lumps- to prevent burns.
- Reduce the heat to low and cook until the mixture thickens.
- Then add the remaining boiled water, reduce heat, cover, and cook- for about 10 or more minutes. Return any vegetables reserved. Add butter, add more water if desired continue whisking to cornmeal consistency. I usually use about a total of 3 1/2 cups water because I like mine, really soft.
- Turn off the heat. Scoop out and place into a wet bowl, to form a ball . Let it set for a few minutes then turn in upside down on to a plate. Serve warm.
Tips & Notes:
- You can cut your okra in chunks or as little as you like, some people like to blend it before incorporating in their cornmeal to make it really mushy. I prefer to sauté the okra a few minutes before incorporating into the cornmeal.
Nutrition Information:
In a medium-large sauce pan or pot , add oil, onions, garlic, and thyme sauté, for about 1 minute, stirring constantly to prevent any burns.
Throw in okra and red bell pepper; continue cooking for about 2 minutes, followed by about 2 cups warm water and coconut milk. Bring to a boil. If you’d like some of the vegetables to top with, remove some of the cooked vegetables and set aside.
Gradually whisk in the cornmeal, until you have added the whole thing into the pot, a little bit at a time and keep stirring with a whisk to prevent any lumps. You may have to remove saucepan from heat while trying to get rid of lumps – to prevent burns.
Reduce the heat to low and cook until the mixture thickens. Then add the remaining boiled water, reduce heat, cover, and cook- for about 10 or more minutes. At this point you may remove some or half of the vegetables and reserve, if you like your vegetables crunchy.
Add butter, add more water if desired continue whisking to cornmeal consistency. I usually use about a total of 3 1/2 cups water because I like mine really soft.
Voila!
In Barbados we just use corn meal and okras, for the cou-cou … the vegetables go in the gravy. and me, when I cook cou-cou, I add the akras (Chopped) in a lot of cold water, bring that to boil, and as soon as I see the water boiling, I take out the okras, and set them aside, and use just the water to cook the corn meal. When it is finished, I add the okras, so that I see the green of the okras in my cou cou. I do not over cook the okras so that the colour is dork and pale…..I use any fish, chicken or lamb to make the gravy… I don’t eat pork now, but when I was a child, we ate cou cou with the heart, kidneys, liver of the animal done in a gravy that the old people in my country made where they use sugar to make colouring… we never use commercial gravy colouring, and I still do that today. We called that gravy ‘Heart slit gravy…. So our National dish when I was growing up was cou-cou and heart-slit…. Flying fish only came some time in the late 60’s all becouse butchering at home was not allowed by legistation, so we had to look for an alternative.. (cou cou and leathercoat,(a fish similar to old wife, trigger fish, amber fish) cou cou and saltfish, cou cou and smoke herring (red herring), cou cou and heart slit), now cou cou and flying fish, in that order.
Hi Anderson,
Wow, thank you so much for sharing this! I loved hearing how cou-cou was traditionally made in Barbados — your method with the okras sounds amazing, and I can just imagine how vibrant and flavorful it must be. I really appreciate you taking the time to share this, it’s so interesting to heat how many alternatives there are
First class recipe.
Got no lumps as I did it like my mother used to do it.
Soak the cup of cornmeal in about half cup water for about 15 mins.
When this is added to the boiling water slowly , no lumps are formed.
Mine came out like a champ.
Amazing!! Thanks for the feedback, Greta!
I love CouCou and this is a fairly simple recipe. One part I do differently is to mix the dry corn meal with warm water BEFORE adding to the sautéing pan; that way you can deal with the lumps which inevitably form without having to worry about stuff getting burnt.
That is a great tip, Stan! Thanks for sharing 🙂 !
Is that shrimp creole I see in the picture on top of the cou cou?
Can this cou cou be made with grits ( corn meal). We have a mill where I live that grinds fresh corn mill for grits. It’s a course ground meal. So you have to soak it for a while before cooming.
Yummy, versatile, and easy to prepare!
Thanks so much.