Grenada: vegan oil down

Welcome back to our vegan world tour as we stop in Grenada to make vegan oil down. I have not had the fortune to visit Grenada but my wife got to go a few years back. While visiting, she saw the omnivore version of oil down and requested a vegan version. We have made it a few times since then and this vegan oil down was one of the dishes I decided to make for this blog years ago. One of the key ingredients, breadfruit, is a bit hard to find which is why it took me so long to make this dish. But there are decent substitutes so you can, and should, make vegan oil down even if you don’t have access to breadfruit. Read on to learn a bit more about the dish or jump straight to the recipe.

Oil down

Oil down, Grenada’s national dish, is a rich and creamy coconut dish full of starchy fruits and vegetables (and meat for the omnivores) which perfectly reflects Grenada’s history ​[1]–[4]​. The dish has been around for centuries, continuously evolving. A large, one-pot meal, perfect for feeding large groups of people with minimal effort, oil down combines ingredients from across the world. The dish was originally made by enslaved peoples from Africa and the meats traditionally used were the less desired parts of pigs, such as tail and snout, along with cheap, salted fish. The other ingredients in oil down show Grenada’s long history of (often forced) immigration from across the world. West-African dasheen (a taro relative) meets South East-Asian bananas and Pacific breadfruit. Spices include fresh herbs like thyme and cilantro, scotch bonnet, and turmeric brought by immigrants from South Asia. The main player in oil down is a multitude ground provisions, a collective name across the Caribbean used for starchy tubers and fruits, such as taro, sweet potatoes, green bananas and breadfruit (not all of which come from the ground) ​[5]​.

Oil down and similar dishes are also enjoyed in Trinidad and Tobago ​[6]​, Guyana (a dish called metemgee) ​​[7]​​, and Jamaica (a dish called run down or run dun) ​[8]​. For this post, I chose to focus on Grenadian oil down recipes.

What goes in a Grenadian oil down?

There are as many recipes for oil down as there are chefs but there are several similarities that define the dish ​[1], [9]–[12]​. Oil down is a coconut-based stew made with either freshly prepared coconut cream ​[9], [10]​ or canned coconut cream​[1], [2]​, usually coloured with turmeric (often called saffron locally). All recipes call for ground provisions – starchy fruits and tubers enjoyed across the Caribbean ​[5]​. Most recipes call for breadfruit specifically and other popular provisions include green bananas (not plantain), sweet potatoes and carrots. Some recipes add pumpkin, bell peppers, okra, green beans, and even corn on the cob ​[11]​. The traditional recipes also include meat from different animals, such as chicken, salted pigtail ​[10]​ or other pig parts ​[9], [12]​, and/or saltfish ​[2], [12]​.

The seasoning of oil down varies but often includes a combination of onion, garlic, scallions, and scotch bonnet. Some herbs like thyme, cilantro, chives, parsley and shado beni (also known as culantro) are often used. (I did manage to find some shado beni when making the post for Trinidad and Tobago. It is very similar to cilantro.) Many chefs season their chicken using Grenadian green seasoning – a sauce containing scallion, onion, garlic, ginger, celery, spices like allspice or cloves, and fresh herbs like cilantro ​[13], [14]​. This sauce in turn helps flavour the entire stew. Some chefs also like adding the flavour mix from chicken noodles ​[10], [12]​.

Oil down is built in layers

To prepare the oil down, the ingredients are carefully layered in a large pot ​[9]–[12]​. Just as in the case of Angolan calulu, each chef has their own specific way of layering the ingredients. Often breadfruit is placed in a circle on the bottom and meat is placed in the centre. This is then covered with provisions, and aromatics (onion, scallion etc.) Another layer of vegetables is then added before the coconut cream is poured on. The stew is then topped with callaloo leaves (also known as dasheen, leaves from taro plants). The pot is then brought to a simmer and keeps cooking until almost all liquid is absorbed and oil separates out, giving the dish its name. Fresh taro leaves can be very hard to find, depending on where you live. Here I have replaced the leaves with kale which works quite alright.

Oil down is not oil down without dumplings

Ruth’s Gourmet Kitchen

For Grenadian oil down, dumplings are a must: “oil down is not oil down without dumplings” according to Ruth’s Gourmet Kitchen on Youtube ​[12]​. While the oil down is simmering, the chef prepares a simple wheat dough ​[9]–[12]​. The dough is rolled into cylindrical dumplings which are placed on top of the leaves to first steam and then boil once the leaves have wilted and lost their volume (the dumplings sink down into the liquid).

Vegan oil down

Traditional oil down is usually made with chicken, salted pig parts and/or salted fish ​[1], [2], [9]–[12]​. When I have cooked vegan oil down in the past, I have simply omitted the animal products as I’ve seen in other vegan oil down recipes ​[15], [16]​. This time, however, I decided to try and add some tofu to get another texture element in there and to add some of that Grenadian green seasoning to the pot, to get some other flavours going. The tofu worked very well and made for a bit of variation but in a pinch, you can just add some green seasoning (or even just some of the green seasoning ingredients, see recipe below). To me, the stars of this dish are the ground provisions, not the tofu.

Breadfruit

Breadfruit is a fairly large fruit, about the size of a cantaloupe, which grows on trees throughout the tropical regions of the world ​[17]​. The fruit is originally from New Guinea and the Philipines and is an important staple throughout the South Pacific. In particular, breadfruit is frequently eaten by people in Polyneisa, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Hawaii and was brought on the long, historic voyages to new islands in the Pacific Ocean. The British and French brought breadfruit to the Caribbean as a way of feeding the enslaved people they forced to work in the different industries. Today, breadfruit is incorporated into the cuisine of most Caribbean countries.

Just like potato and other starchy vegetables, breadfruit is very versatile and can be baked, roasted, boiled, steamed or dried and ground to flour for baking ​[18], [19]​. It can also be ground and fermented to create poi, just like the cassava poi we made when visiting the Solomon Islands or turned into a caserole, curry or even used as taco shells. You can serve breadfruit mash, turn it into ravioloi dough, deep fry some breadfruit puffs or make sweet desserts.

Breadfruit is full of starch and has a mild, sweet flavour. It’s English name is derived from it supposedly tasting like freshly baked bread but I find this to be false advertising. I find the flavor more akin to a mild sweet potato, taro or even potato. To me, the breadfruit smells faintly of tropical fruit like passion fruit.

Breadfruit substitute – how to replace breadfruit in oil down

When I first started this blog in 2020, I decided to cook vegan oil down for our virtual visit to Grenada. One reason I have not done so until now is that breadfruit can be very hard to find. Even in Caribbean stores in Toronto (where I lived at the time) I could only find fresh breadfruit occasionally. Here in Vancouver, I have not been able to find it yet. For flight chaos reasons, I ended up spending a few days in Toronto recently and managed to find fresh breadfruit which I promptly bought for this blog post.

If you are not lucky enough to live somewhere where you can buy fresh breadfruit, there are options. You can try looking for canned breadfruit (I have not tried it though) or you can replace the breadfruit in this recipe. When making oil down in the past, I have replaced the breadfruit with another starchy vegetable, such as eddoe roots, taro or sweet potato. I don’t think you lose too much in this dish by omitting the breadfruit; it is just one voice in the choir that is oil down.

Conclusion

I have planned on making oil down for our visit to Grenada for years and finally managed to find a fresh breadfruit to make it. I have made oil down a few times before, both with and without this hard to find ingredient. So if you can’t find fresh or canned breadfruit, don’t despair. You can make oil down without breadfruit without loosing too much of the dish. In the past, I have skipped it or replaced it with eddo roots. (The replacement roots are not so much because of the flavour but more to create that feeling of multiple ground provisions being boileboiled together in coconut milk.)

Oil down is well worth making. The resulting stew (if you can call it that) is mild but complex with many different flavours vying for your attention and wil fill your stomach. Best made with a few friends.

Vegan oil down

Print

Vegan oil down

Oil down, Grenada's national dish, is a delicious, one-pot meal full of sweetness and subtle flavours from starchy vegetables and fruits.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Caribbean

Keyword one-pot, stew

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Servings 6 people

Equipment

• 1 large pot, 4.5 L or more
• 1 blender

Ingredients

Green seasoning

• 100 mL packed cilantro
• 4 scallions
• ½ onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 cm ginger
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1 pinch salt

Oil down

• 1 block extra firm tofu or other plant-based protein optional
• 1 batch green seasoning (above)
• 1 breadfruit optional
• 2 green bananas aka green figs
• 2 small sweet potatoes
• 1 carrot
• ½ pumpkin or squash 450 g
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 scallions
• 2 tbsp packed cilantro
• 4 kale leaves instead of taro leaves
• 1 scotch bonnet optional
• 800 mL coconut cream 2 cans
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp stock powder
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp thyme
• Lime juice for preparing vegetables

Dumplings

• 300 mL all-purpose flour
• 120 mL water
• 1 pinch salt

Instructions

Green seasoning and tofu

• Coarsely chop all ingredients and blend them.
• Cut the tofu into large chunks. Marinate in the green seasoning for several hours, preferably overnight.
• If not using tofu or other protein, make half a batch of green seasoning and add to the oil down for flavor.

Prepare oil down ingredients

• Fill a large bowl with water and add some lime juice. This will be used to store some of the vegetables to prevent browning.
• Cut the breadfruit into wedges, and remove the core and the skin using your knife. Place in the water bath.
• Peel the green bananas and cut into chunks. Place in the water bath.
• Peel and cut sweet potatoes into large discs. Place in the water bath.
• Peel and cut carrot into discs.
• Peel and cut pumpkin or squash into chunks.
• Remove the leaves from the kale, preserving the stem. Coarsely shred the leaves and chop the stem.
• Slice the garlic, scallion and fresh coriander.

Build the oil down

• The oil down is built in layers in a large pot, see pictures in gallery
• Place the breadfruit wedges in a circle on the bottom. Fill the centre with the marinated tofu. Include the green seasoning.
• Cover with bananas and sweet potatoes.
• Add scallion, garlic, and coriander. Cover with carrot and pumpkin.
• Add stock powder, salt, turmeric, thyme and scotch bonnet (whole).
• Pour in coconut cream.
• Cover with shredded kale.
• Put the lid on the pot and place on the stove, medium to high temperature.
• When you hear that the boiling has started, reduce the temperature to low-medium and let simmer and steam. Do not stir.

  Keep the temperature at low-medium to prevent burning but make sure it is still simmering.

Dumplings

• While the oil down is simmering, prepare the dumpling dough.
• Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Add water a little at a time. Work the water into the flour until you have a firm dough.
• Tear of pieces of the dough and roll into cylinders, ~1 cm in diameter.

  Place the dumplings on top of the kale leaves and let them steam and eventually be submerged in the liquid.

  The dumplings should cook for at least 40 minutes, but give them as long as you have.

Ready to eat

• After about 2 h, most of the coconut should have been absorbed, the vegetables should be soft and the dumplings ready.
• Serve and eat straight away.

References