Having a farm in the mountains in Haiti at Belot has been a rewarding experience. I came up with this recipe many years ago out of pure necessity as we had a bumper crop of leeks (poireaux) one September. I had received several bundles of fresh leeks which arrived in the pouring rain. I thought about many ways to consume them quickly with options such as leek and potato soup, leek gratin to name a few; but it still did not solve my problem of what to do with the massive bundle which was too big to store in my refrigerator. I then decided to make my green seasoning which has subsequently become a staple in my kitchen.I have been bottling this mixture for myself in batches for years. It’s my ‘go-to’ seasoning and I use it in practically everything as an all-purpose base. I particularly like this for marinating meat, poultry, and seafood.

My signature green seasoning emulsified and ready to be bottled.

Chopped leeksBlended mixture with the leeks and parsley

Chopped or grated garlic
Parsley & thyme

INGREDIENTS

5 cups leeks

4 heads of garlic, peeled and pounded or grated

1 cup flat Italian parsley, chopped

1/4 cup thyme, chopped

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup white vinegar

2 tbsp salt

1 tbsp black pepper

1 tbsp pepper flakes* optional

2 tbsp yellow mustard* for meat marinade only. Omit if this is to be used for rice

METHOD

Using a food processor or blender, start blending the leeks until they become finely chopped. Add chopped garlic, thyme and parsley and blend together until all of the leaves have been broken down and mixed together well. If your recipient is too filled at this point, you made need to separate the mixture into two batches to ensure that the contents do not overflow. Add 3/4 cup of oil, reserving the remaining 1/4 cup for the final phase. Add the vinegar, salt, black pepper and pepper flakes. Mix in the mustard and then blend to incorporate all of the spices.

If you have made 2 batches, pour into a large bowl and mix the two batches together to ensure that you have an equal amount of the ingredients in the mixture before putting it into a clean container (glass or plastic) for storage. Top up the mixture with the remaining oil. This will help to preserve the color and integrity of the seasoning. This should yield 2 bottles of seasoning.Green seasoning must be refrigerated and can be kept up to 1 month. You can also freeze it for a longer life and defrost when needed.
You can add a few tablespoons of this glorious mixture to marinate meat and poultry. You may still add any other of your favorite all-purpose seasoning or herbs. Remember that this mixture has salt, so be careful when adding additional seasonings which contain sodium.

It is just a great base to start off as a marinade and saves me so much time when I am in a hurry. Enjoy!

Note: Should you prefer a spicier marinade as many of the people from the Caribbean like, do feel free to add a couple of scotch bonnet peppers, wiri-wiri, or chiles to the food processor when blending the herbs. I prefer to add hot peppers to my marinade as I need or depending on the dish I am preparing and not to the general batch.