Salsas and Side Dishes

In modern cookery, the word "salsa" refers to wonderfully tangy combinations of sweet and savoury fruit and vegetables that accompany the main meal. Other traditional accompaniments to Caribbean cooking include potatoes - sweet or otherwise - rice, okra, aubergine and a variety of legumes such as pigeon peas, black-eyed beans, haricot beans and red kidney beans. We have used tinned beans in these recipes but, if you prefer, you can substitute dried beans. Soak dried beans overnight in cold water, rinse them, then simmer in boiling salted water until they are tender.