Kwéyòl / Creole: Recipes, Stories, and Tings from a St. Lucian Chef's Journey by Nina Compton

  • Green fig and saltfish (page 40)

    from Kwéyòl / Creole: Recipes, Stories, and Tings from a St. Lucian Chef's Journey Kwéyòl / Creole by Nina Compton

    • Categories: Breakfast / brunch; Main course; Caribbean
    • Ingredients: saltfish; coconut oil; yellow onions; green peppers; garlic; seasoning peppers; thyme; scallions; green bananas; parsley
    • Accompaniments: Bakes
    show

  • Show all Recipes...

Notes about this book

This book does not currently have any notes.

Notes about Recipes in this book

  • Steamed snapper with pepper ginger sauce

    • alysekstokes on October 02, 2025

      A really great fish preparation! The sauce is bright and bold and scoring the fish before baking helps the sauce seep into the fish. I substituted cod for the snapper which worked well.

  • Fiona's cassava cookies

    • EmilyR on April 01, 2025

      These have a toothsome quality similar to cornmeal. I'm not sure what to make of them, but I appreciate the touch of maldon to the tops.

  • Split pea dal

    • EmilyR on April 01, 2025

      These lentils elicited many "what smells so good" comments from my family. They pair great with the roti and are a sizable quantity for a couple lunches. I added a bit of cilantro to brighten things.

  • Ginger-coconut plantain porridge

    • EmilyR on April 01, 2025

      This porridge is another example of a generous quantity and it's rather filling. It certainly has a taste of the tropics and next time I would add a bit less of the sweetened condensed milk so it's perhaps slightly less sweet.

  • Cornmeal porridge

    • jjmiciak on May 25, 2026

      In an attempt to do a pantry clean-up, I used corn flour instead of cornmeal and the recipe worked for me at the same ratios (immersion blended a bit tho adding the corn flour), but cooked for an additional 10 min to thicken. Additionally, I substituted a can of sweetened condensed coconut milk for sweetened condensed milk. 1/4 cup of brown sugar made it sweet enough for me. I found this super delicious and even could see using as a vegan pasty cream.

  • Buss up shut roti

    • EmilyR on April 01, 2025

      I went through a sizable amount of ghee for these, but they came together and were delicious. Really great pairing with the lentils.

  • Curried rice

    • alysekstokes on December 04, 2025

      Outstanding! I loved the warm spices and the subtle sweetness of the coconut milk. I subbed basmati rice and just reduced the water a bit since I always soak my rice first.

  • Guava and cheese pastelitos

    • EmilyR on April 01, 2025

      I often got these at Porto's the famed Cuban bakery in LA. They taste virtually the same and are relatively simple to make.

  • Spicy black beans

    • EmilyR on April 01, 2025

      The serving size is rather generous. I pureed mine probably a bit too much, but the flavor is still there albeit a tad salty for my liking. I'd recommend less salt for starters.

  • Adobo pork with salsa verde

    • meggan on April 09, 2025

      It was pretty easy to throw together this tenderloin. I did not have plantains so just used potatoes instead (I did not use the blender!) and it was very simple and delicious.

  • Cilantro rice

    • EmilyR on April 01, 2025

      I used a commercial grade chicken stock and I think it was a bit too salty. This method of mixing half the cilantro, utilizing the stems, and finishing up with more of the cilantro puree was interesting.

  • Coconut-braised collard greens

    • alysekstokes on October 02, 2025

      I grew up on braised collards and this is such a brilliant and flavorful preparation. The sweetness of the coconut milk works perfectly with the bitterness of the collards and the sauce becomes creamy and luscious over the cooking time.

You must Create an Account or Sign In to add a note to this book.

Reviews about this book

This book does not currently have any reviews.

  • ISBN 10 059357897X
  • ISBN 13 9780593578971
  • Linked ISBNs
  • Published Apr 01 2025
  • Format Hardcover
  • Page Count 288
  • Language English
  • Countries United States
  • Publisher Clarkson Potter

Publishers Text

James Beard Award-winning chef Nina Compton shares recipes that tell the story of her thrilling culinary journey from St. Lucia to Jamaica, Miami, and New Orleans, and celebrate the diverse African heritage that threads these cuisines together.

Growing up in St. Lucia, a small island in the Eastern Caribbean, chef Nina Compton developed a strong sense of community through cooking and food. As she traveled and worked in restaurants abroad, she was eager to learn, improvise, and innovate by doing what transplants like herself do best: Bring the best of home with them wherever they go. Kwéyòl / Creole explores the cuisines and pivotal locales that form the basis of Nina’s unique culinary perspective: from her birthplace in St. Lucia, to Jamaica where her view of Caribbean cuisines broadened, to Miami where she was immersed in Afro-Latin influences and continued to hone her cooking style, and finally New Orleans, her adopted city whose Creole cuisine brought her home in new ways.

In St. Lucia, when they say “Creole,” they don’t mean French-influenced. The St. Lucian Creole, or Kwéyol, celebrates a diverse African heritage, beautifully reflected in the 100 recipes presented here. The dishes are both transportive and irresistible, each telling a story of its multi-faceted history and influences: steamed snapper with a peppery ginger sauce, slow-cooked curried goat, green fig and saltfish, coconut-braised collard greens, Creole-stewed conch, the countless possibilities of the beloved plantain. In these pages, the weather is warm and tropical, and the vibe is easygoing, just like the places Nina’s lived. The dishes are full of flavor and the mood is chill.

Full of stunning travel photography and anchored by Nina’s singular culinary vision, Kwéyòl / Creole celebrates the rich history of where she comes from, while forging something that feels a little new, a little hers. And now, with this book, a little yours, too.

Other cookbooks by this author