Jamaican Miscellany, along with a good recipe for shrimp.

Ian Fleming liked to say The Gleaner, out of Kingston, was his favorite; not his favorite Jamaican newspaper but his favorite of all papers. It is not hard to understand why. It was and remains an eccentric enterprise prone to publishing unexpected items. Where else, for example, would a column called “Unpopular Jamaican Recipes” gain traction, by printing instructions for disfavored foods?

It is hard to see why this dish of shrimp and okra in coconut milk from the 2 May 2019 edition has, or perhaps had before the column, proven unpopular. “A delicious dish that is,” The Gleaner notes, “simple and easy to prepare.”

• about 1 lb shelled raw shrimp, their shells and also heads, if you are lucky enough to have them
• salt and pepper
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• an onion sliced into thin crescents
• 2 smashed and minced garlic cloves
• about ½ teaspoon powdered allspice
• a peeled and diced carrot
• a cored, seeded and chopped bell pepper
• a Scotch bonnet chili
• about 1 lb okra
• about ½ cup (or more) coconut milk
• about 1 teaspoon dried Thyme
• about ½ cup minced scallion greens

1. Salt and pepper the shrimp while you make stock by bringing their shells and heads to a boil in about 1½ cups water and then letting it simmer while you prepare the vegetables.
2. Heat the oil in a heavy or nonstick skillet over medium high heat, and cook the onion and garlic with the allspice for a minute or so.
3. Add the carrot, bell pepper and chili to the mix and stirfry it until the onion softens, usually in about only a few more minutes.
4. Add the okra and stir it about for a minute or so before pouring on the strained shrimp stock, coconut milk and thyme.
5. Bring the stew to a boil, then simmer everything just until the okra is tender, usually for a few minutes more.
6. Add the shrimp and continue to simmer the stew until they curl tight and turn pinkish; do not overcook them.
7. Fish the Scotch bonnet out of the stew before strewing the scallions throughout and serving it with rice.

Notes:

-If you prefer, dispense with the stock and use an equal amount of coconut milk instead. The dish will be richer but less piquant.

-Either way some Worcestershire at Step 4 would not be unwelcome.

-Although by no means universally an option, frozen as opposed to fresh okra can work here. Second best, but workable.