Three Cheese Caribbean Rice Recipe Paired with Sparkling Wine

The Caribbean is Closer Than you Think

It’s definitely getting as hot as the Caribbean, so why not bring the flavour of the Carribean to your home as well? This savoury recipe for Three Cheese Caribbean Rice is the perfect main for a Caribbean-themed bash. And with savoury jalapeno-flavoured Canadian Havarti, Old Canadian Cheddar, and creamy Canadian Gouda, it will have your guests’ palettes dancing on first taste.

A great wine to complement the cheesy flavour of the rice is a Hungarian wine called Hungaria Grand Cuvée Brut. While not from the Caribbean, its zesty lemony flavour will balance out the sweetness of the pineapple in the rice. It also has a mouth-watering acidity with a somewhat bitter finish. Simply delicious!

Now that you have all the ingredients for a fabulous end-of-summer Caribbean bash, sit back and enjoy the few remaining hot days left. And don’t forgot to smile, mon!

Three Cheese Caribbean Rice

Ingredients:

2 tbsp (30 mL) butter
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, diced
½ cup (125 mL) pineapple, diced
1 stalk of lemon grass, cut into 2-inch (5-cm) pieces, or zest of half a lemon, cut into wide strips
Salt and ground pepper, to taste
1 cup (250 mL) long-grain rice
1 2/3 cups (410 mL) water
3 tbsp (45 mL) rum (optional)
1 cup (250 mL) black beans or red kidney beans, canned, rinsed and drained
8 oz (225 g) medium-sized raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 Italian tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/3 cup (80 mL) jalapeno-flavoured Canadian Havarti, diced or shredded
1/3 cup (80 mL) Old Canadian Cheddar, diced or shredded
1/3 cup (80 mL) Canadian Gouda, diced or shredded

Preparation:

In a saucepan, melt the butter and sauté the garlic, onion and pepper 3 to 5 min.

Add the pineapple, lemon grass and rice. Salt and pepper. Add water and rum, bring to a boil.

Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the black beans, shrimp and tomatoes, and continue cooking for 3 to 5 minutes or until the shrimp are done.

Stir the rice well, season to taste and remove the lemon grass. Add the cheese, allow it to melt a little and serve immediately.