Trinidad green seasoning
Vegetarian
A bright herb paste of culantro or coriander, spring onion, thyme, garlic, onion, mild peppers, celery and parsley blended with a little lime. Trinidadian cooks marinate almost every meat and fish in it before stewing or currying.
Trinidad green seasoning is a Trinidadian condiment from Trinidad and Tobago, ready in about 15 minutes and made with coriander leaves, spring onion and thyme (fresh). It serves 20 and is rated beginner to cook.
No licensed photograph of this dish yet.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 0 min
- Total
- 15 min
- Serves
- 20
- Level
- Beginner
- Calories
- 6
Method
Step 1
Wash all the herbs and the spring onions (opens in a new tab) well and shake dry; strip the thyme (opens in a new tab) leaves off woody stems.
- 5 min
Step 2
Put the lime juice (opens in a new tab), garlic (opens in a new tab), onion (opens in a new tab), pepper and celery (opens in a new tab) in the blender (opens in a new tab) first, then pack the herbs and spring onion (opens in a new tab) on top.
Step 3
Pulse, scraping down, until you have a fairly smooth, spoonable paste, adding the water only if the blades will not catch. Do not blend for long; heat dulls the colour.
About this dish
- Origin
- Trinidad and Tobago · Well documentedEvery household has its own blend. Trinidadians use chadon beni (culantro) and pimento seasoning peppers; coriander leaves and green pepper are the usual substitutes abroad and are used here.Also popular in Guyana, BarbadosMore food from Trinidad and Tobago
- Dish
- Condiments, chutneys & relishes
- Cooking method
- Blended, Raw
- Taste
- herby, garlicky, fresh
- Diet
- Vegan · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carbWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
All labels
Vegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Whole-food focused · Paleo-style · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · Low-fat · Low-sodium · DASH-style - Good for
- Make-ahead · Freezer-friendly · Budget-friendly
- Cook more with
- Coriander leaves · Spring onion · Thyme (fresh) · Garlic · Onion · Green bell pepper
- Techniques
- Wet grinding · Emulsification
Allergens
- Contains: Celeryfrom celery
Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.
Nutrition
6 kcal per serving
Calculated1 serving ≈ 16 g · recipe makes 20
Where the energy comes from
- Protein 18%
- Carbohydrate 82%
- Fat 0%
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 6 kcal | 39 kcal |
| Protein | 0.3 g | 1.9 g |
| Carbohydrate | 1.4 g | 8.7 g |
| Net carbohydrate | 1 g | 6.5 g |
| Sugars | 0.3 g | 2 g |
| Added sugars | 0 g | 0 g |
| Fibre | 0.4 g | 2.2 g |
| Fat | 0 g | 0.3 g |
| Saturated fat | 0 g | 0.1 g |
| Trans fat | 0 g | 0 g |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg | 0 mg |
| Sodium | 4 mg | 24 mg |
| Salt equivalent | 0 g | 0.1 g |
Vitamins & minerals per serving
- Potassium
- 47 mg
- Calcium
- 10 mg
- Iron
- 0.2 mg
- Magnesium
- 3 mg
- Vitamin A (RAE)
- 16 µg
- Vitamin C
- 5 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0 µg
- Vitamin B12
- 0 µg
- Folate (DFE)
- 6 µg
How these numbers were made
- Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
- “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
- Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
Good to know
Tips
- Use 2–3 tbsp per kilo of meat, rubbed in with salt and left for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Add a Scotch bonnet if you want heat built in.
Common mistakes
- Adding vinegar and lots of water to stretch it, which makes it watery and sour.
Serve with
- Trinidad curry duck, stew chicken, curry chicken, pelau, buljol and fried fish.
Food safety
- Wash herbs thoroughly — this paste is uncooked until it goes in the pot. Keep refrigerated.
Storage
- Covered in the fridge for up to 10 days; freeze in ice-cube trays for 3 months.
Variations
- Puerto Rican recaito (Puerto Rico): Culantro (recao), ají dulce, cubanelle peppers, onion and garlic; the green base for Puerto Rican sofrito.
- Bajan seasoning (Barbados): A Barbadian cousin with more Scotch bonnet, marjoram, cloves and lime, packed into scored fish and meat.
Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated
About this masala
- Type
- Wet masala
- Texture
- Coarse paste
- One batch makes
- about 320 g
- Keeps
- 10 days
- Store
- Covered, in the fridge
- Recipe
- Traditional
Trinidad and Tobago. Makes Caribbean green seasoning, the ingredient our dish recipes list. All masalas
Used in
Amounts are each dish’s own quantity, for the servings it is written for. “Make enough” opens this recipe scaled for that dish.
- Trinidad curry duckMade fresh in the recipe (blended and rubbed on the duck in step 2) · 209 g for 5 servingsMake enough
Recipe DNA
How this dish is built
Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.
What the dish is built around
Main ingredient
- Spring onion, raw, roughly chopped (Trini 'chive')50 g
- Lime juice, raw, freshly squeezed15 ml · 16 g
Reviews & corrections
Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.
You might also like
Trinidad curry duck
Trinidadian · 2 h 10 min · 357 kcalCurry channa and aloo
Trinidadian · 45 min · 337 kcal · Vegan
Griot
Haitian · 5 h 55 min · 524 kcalSoup joumou
Haitian · 3 h 30 min · 281 kcal