Cou-cou is a Caribbean dish made from okra and cornmeal, often paired with flying fish fillets and served with stews or roasted meats. The cornmeal is soaked and cooked with vegetables, including okra, and stirred with a wooden cou-cou stick until thick. Butter can be added for richness, and the finished dish is molded into a dome shape and served with sauce.
Cou-cou is a Caribbean dish made primarily from okra and cornmeal. Depending on its preparation, cou-cou can be a very neutral-tasting base for spicy foods or it can have its own character when made with spices and vegetables. The way cou-cou is cooked is similar to the way soft Italian polenta is made, except adding okra can make the mixture much stiffer. It is part of the national dish of Barbados when paired with flying fish fillets and often served with thick stews or roasted meats.
The cornmeal to be used in the cou-cou is first soaked in water for a few minutes. At the same time, all vegetable ingredients are chopped or diced and then briefly fried in a pan with butter. A pot of water is brought to a boil before the ocher is added and cooked to extract the thickening agents. After cooking, the okra is removed from the pot and some of the water is set aside for later use.
While the water is still boiling, the moistened cornmeal is slowly poured into it. The mixture is stirred constantly to ensure that no lumps form. Some traditional cooks insist that cou-cou can only be stirred properly with a wooden cou-cou stick – a long flat wooden utensil like a paddle. One reason it is used is that, as the cornmeal begins to absorb water, it becomes very thick and difficult to mix, potentially causing plastic or weaker spoons in the pan to crack.
When the cornmeal mixture begins to thicken, the okra and any other greens are added back to the pot and stirred until evenly distributed. Some vegetables added in addition to ocher may include onions, shallots and green peppers. During the cooking process, whenever it appears that the water has almost boiled away, it is topped up with water from the okra’s original boiling.
Once the cornmeal has absorbed as much water as it can and is soft and the texture of the dough is very firm, the dish is complete. Some recipes call for butter to be added at the end to add richness to the dish. When served, the cornmeal is emptied into a bowl that has been buttered, forming it into a dome shape with a glossy finish. It is unmold onto a plate and a small depression is made in the center, so any sauce poured over it will rise and sink into the cou-cou.
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