Chef Glaister B. Knight of Newport's Brenton Hotel
A Chef with Jamaican Roots Elevates Local Foods with International Flavors
I love representing my native Jamaica whenever I can, especially with this dish—it’s spicy and well-balanced and it’s one of my favorite dishes to make. Most of the ingredients are locally grown except for the shrimp and habanero peppers.
Ingredients
- ½ pound (½ large) onion, peeled
- and roughly chopped
- ½ head garlic, cloves peeled
- and roughly chopped
- 4 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- 2 ounces (approximately ½ cup) roughly chopped fresh ginger
- 1 bunch scallions, washed and patted dry, trimmed and roughly chopped
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 habanero peppers, stems removed*
- 1 pound U-15 wild caught shrimp,
- shelled and deveined
- 1 pound (1 medium to large) sweet potato, peeled and cubed
- 6 ounces (1½ sticks) salted butter
- 3 cups fresh-squeezed orange juice
- Fresh lemon juice, for garnish
- Quality extra virgin olive oil, for garnish
- Sea salt, for garnish
Preparation
To make the jerk seasoning, combine onion, garlic, thyme, ginger, scallions, allspice, vegetable oil and habanero pepper in a blender and blend thoroughly until smooth. (This recipe will make more than you need but you can use this jerk seasoning for chicken, pork, other seafood and vegetables.)
Toss the shrimp with ½ cup jerk seasoning and marinate for up to 1 hour in the refrigerator (longer, including overnight, if you’re using chicken, pork, etc.).
While the shrimp is marinating, make the sweet potato butter. Add sweet potato, butter and orange juice to a sauce pot and bring to a boil, then keep at a low boil until the sweet potato is soft, approximately 20 minutes. Add sweet potato and 1 cup liquid to a blender and blend until smooth, adding more liquid as needed for a smooth spreadable sauce.
To cook the shrimp, heat grill to medium-high heat and lightly oil the grates. Grill shrimp, flipping until just cooked. To serve, spread some of the sweet potato butter across each dinner plate and place the shrimp on top. Finish with lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of sea salt and serve with 100% love!
*Use gloves when handling habanero peppers.
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