On Tuesday the boat from Dominica brings farmers with their produce all the way across the Caribbean to Nevis. They usually have copious bananas, oranges, grapefruits, some pineapples, cocoa sticks in jars, piles of ginger, yams and other starchy staples. This Tuesday I saw some toady-skinned tubers that I mistook for dasheen, yams or cassava (I'm still not sure how to identify these particular starchy, bland ground provisions.) It was a yam variety called "Cush-Cush." The man said they were "finer" than regular yams so I bought two of them. I have heard of them in natural medicine books so I was excited to taste them. Today I pulled one out of the fridge and peeled it. The thick brown skin gave way to dark purple, extremely slimy flesh. When I say slimy, I mean it took about five minutes under running water to rinse off my hands! I boiled them until they were soft and they reduced the water into thick syrup. They smelled and tasted slightly like bacon and eggs! I immediately fell in love with the soft, melty texture and smoky flavor. I will definitely be buying some cush-cush yams next time I shop from the Dominica farmers! Shown here in the raw and cooked variety with my favorite snack-sized bananas and some rice and peas (pigeon peas). I am eating native!
