Located in the heart of the Caribbean Sea, with 365 beaches and an abundance of fresh seafood, Antigua and Barbuda is a twin-island coastal paradise. It is also the birthplace of Chef Giovanni Meyer and where he first developed his passion for cooking and honed his culinary skills. Now based in Toronto as a private chef, Giovanni creates vibrant dishes inspired by the flavours, traditions, and ingredients of his Caribbean heritage. With this Mango and Chayote Mahi recipe, you can savour the flavours of Antigua and Barbuda at home this summer.

Mango and Chayote Kuchela with Mahi

Ingredients:

• 2 cups peeled & diced green mango
• 1 cup peeled & diced chayote
• 1 head peeled & crushed garlic
• 1-2 green scotch bonnets
• 1/3 cup amchur powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup mustard oil
• 1/4 cup ghee

For Crispy Carrot

• 1-2 jumbo carrots
• 3 – 4 cups of oil for frying
• Salt

For Fried Capers

Directions:

1. Take peeled and diced mango and chayote and put into a bowl
2. Put ghee into the pan with garlic & Scotch bonnet and cook slowly until garlic is golden brown and isn’t raw, remove from pan and add to mango mix
3. Add amchur powder and toast until aromatic, season with salt, add to mango mix along with mustard oil.
4. Let it cool and let sit in a fridge for 24 hours to pickle.
5. Following day, take out and puree in a blender until smooth.
6. Reserve until needed.

For Crispy Carrot

1. Get oil in a pot and up to 350-375 degrees
2. You will need a tray and a paper lined rack to absorb the oil
3. Peel carrots using a mandoline with the Julienne attachment, carefully slice the carrot into long pieces. (Be careful as you can hurt yourself with this tool.) Once you have fine slices you are ready to fry.
4. Once oil is ready, take a handful of carrots and add to hot oil. Now this is where it gets tricky, you don’t want to fry the carrots until they are brown, you it to have the initial frying to remove the moisture then give it another 30 – 40 seconds.
5. Remove with forks and put into tray and gently toss the carrots like you would a salad, this keep the steam from coming out with affecting the crunch. Once you’ve done that you can let it sit, season with salt to help remove any extra moisture.

For Fried Capers

1. Using a strainer strain and rinse as many capers as needed.
2. Add to the same oil you used for the carrots. Reserve when complete.

For Mahi

1. Using a pan lightly coat with oil.
2. Season Mahi with salt.
3. Now Mahi is a lean fish so be careful not to overcook it or it’s unpleasantly dry. So cook on its side and watch the fish go opage, flip and do the other side, remove when you have a clear line where the fish still looks raw. The heat will carry over so it’ll be perfect while it sits and you plate.
4. Put fresh kuchela sauce at the bottom of the plate, sprinkle the capers.
5. Place fish and make a nice tall ball with the crispy carrots in your hand and place on-top of fish.