All-Purpose Green Seasoning
Green seasoning is a staple in Caribbean cooking. It’s basically a rub made by processing together some of the most used herbs and vegetables in our cooking and so the ingredients in a green seasoning will differ from country to country. Since I cook traditional dishes from home quite often, this green seasoning recipe is based on the most used ingredients used in Jamaican cooking.
Green seasoning is typically used as a marinade for meats in Jamaica but since it is simply blended herbs and vegetables it can also be used as a sauce or topping for cooked meats like steak (think of it as a Caribbean chimichurri) or like a salsa on tacos!
The great thing about this recipe is that it’s easily customizable so if for example you’re not big on heat, you can feel free to reduce or omit the use of peppers. For this same reason, I do not include ginger in this recipe since I don’t use it when I make Jamaican curries (which I make often) so I would rather add that single ingredient where needed.
Tips for succeSs
- Tweak for your needs and likes. Like mentioned above, this is meant to be an all-purpose seasoning – meaning it should make your life easier by already including most of what you would typically reach for when seasoning your food. So feel free to add in or omit ingredients based on your use in your own kitchen!
- Use fresh herbs. Fresh produce and herbs just make a marinade sing in ways that dried herbs can’t. For that crisp vibrant flavor to shine through definitely reach for the fresh stuff!
- Add a drizzle of oil or lime juice if needed to help your blender process the ingredients. The water content of the vegetables used may not be enough to make the paste smooth since they are pretty fibrous. Either oil or lime juice is fine if you’ll use your green seasoning primarily as a marinade but opt for lime juice if using as a topping/salsa
- Freeze to use later! Fresh herbs taste amazing but they do have a shorter shelf life. Once you prepare your green seasoning portion any excess in ziplock baggies or ice cube trays and freeze for later use!
Equipment
- 1 blender/food processor
- 1 20 oz air tight container
Ingredients
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 8 stalks green onion
- 2 bulbs garlic 20-25 cloves
- 1 oz fresh thyme
- 1 scotch bonnet pepper or 2 habanero peppers
- 1 medium green bell pepper
- 2-3 TBSP oil or lime juice to help thin marinade
Instructions
- Add all ingredients except oil/lime juice to blender/food processor and process until smooth.
- Drizzle in some oil/lime juice as needed for marinade to become smooth.
- Transfer to air-tight container and store in refrigerator for 5-7 days if not using immediately. Alternatively, freeze portions for later use.
