1,2,3
It’s not a secret that I have preferences. I love trying other cuisines and I for sure love experimenting with non-island ingredients. Yet recently, I was hit with a big case of nostalgia…leaving me to write this post about a “hit the spot” 1,2,3.
A lot has been happening personally and to a lesser extent professionally. Suddenly I found myself just exhausted thinking about what I should give my attention to. This week during downtime, an inexplicable craving for 1,2,3 hit me, that at first made me think I was going crazy and then I kept saying “man it gine pass”. It did not.
For the non Bajans, here is where I explain that 1,2,3 is an easy dish (easy as 1,2,3) that was really used by the older generation. It’s made up of potato, pasta, and corned beef (but Bajans say “corn beef”) in a ketchup based sauce.
Yet, the last time I heard someone talk about it I was a kid when my Uncle Aubrey would make a big pot of it for my cousins and I after school. It was the food he grew up on and felt comfortable cooking for us, and it helped that it made my cousins flock here after work as well so we could all catch up. It was almost a signature dish of his, with his style of cooking not complete until he dropped a heap of pepper sauce in his pot (even in soup) no matter the age of his clientele. Damn Uncle Aubrey I was only 9! When he died, that type of cooking fell away in my house and belatedly, mom and I have realised how much we miss it.
Pepper sauce for anything Uncle Aubrey related. #IfYouKnowYouKnow
Ah so that’s the connection? Familiar…home…safe…1,2,3? Happy place. Nostalgia. I think if I work really hard at this, it might be a hit song.
As the week progressed, my craving didn’t go away, until I decided that I just had to have the combo. Luck would have it, I had recently stocked up on canned goods for the COVID/hurricane season and a stress purchase in case supermarkets would be closed for extended periods, left me with a few tins of corn beef in my cupboard that I’ve been navigating around in my daily kitchen adventures.
It was the corn beef’s time to shine. Equipped with a key (yes lawd, things were already looking up) I got to work opening the can and plotting my next step. Here is where I point out I’ve never made 1,2,3 before. I know; I think I should’ve led with that too…but let’s do this.
Corn beef in a bowl? Check. Potatoes chopped up? Check. Pasta? Check. A pot of water on to boil? Check. So what’s next? Oh crap, I have no clue. Angela (my mom) stares at me staring at the ingredients and asks, “You’re not planning to boil the corn beef are you?”. Her tone of voice gave me pause because that for sure meant that wasn’t the right choice. Nooo, I said forcefully, panicking that I was going to bring shame to my Uncle Aubrey’s legacy. It’s supposed to be easy as 1,2,3… am I dumb?
As I stared at the pot, mom confirmed that she never made it either, not liking canned meats for the salt content and therefore not raising me to know the diversity of the products. I decided to add the potatoes and pasta in the water while mom told the story of a family member once making corn beef soup. Laughing at the absurdity, I countered with the first time opening a can of corn beef at university, being concerned by the white specks and immediately deciding to wash it off in a colander after confirming from the can that it had not expired. Some of my flatmates found me hunched over the sink, washing slowly so I didn’t lose the meat product in my attempt to get rid of the offending white specks. I’ve grown up and now I know that it’s fat. Yes, yes I agree, we should blame Angela for not preparing me for life.
These laughs didn’t solve my problem however, and thankfully with an assist from my WhatsApp list (special shout out to @bellyfullbarbados8, for confirming the sauce ingredients I remembered from my uncle’s cook up were right and confirming the two separate cook requirements), I immediately got to business and finished my meal within 15 minutes. Moral of the story, it’s never too late to learn, and if you don’t know, better ask somebody!
The messages I got in my process of figuring this out, made me realise that a lot of my friends knew about it as well, but couldn’t remember the last time it had crossed their minds. Let alone, how to make it to the final product.
For me, smelling that final pot, brought tears to my eyes. It’s one thing to learn about new techniques and making things that I have never made before, but it’s everything to have one pot make you remember where you came from and how you got here.
Something my uncle used to say and I sure can say now, “my guts full and my ass happy”.
Set salted water to boil, once there, add potato then the pasta to pot. (See note). My cousin Andre triggered my memory that the dish is made by putting the ingredients that cook the longest first. Potatoes, then pasta then corn beef, also the cause of the 1,2,3. However you can cube your potatoes smaller for a more even cooking temp between the potatoes and pasta. (If you trust yourself of course).
Another method if you're pressed for time, and would only like to use one pot, is to cook the potato and pasta, drain almost completely, add the corned beef (corn beef/cornbeef), ketchup, aromatics and seasonings to the pot, and stir until combined and cooked through.
Ingredients
Instructions
Heat a separate saucepan on the stove, and spray lightly with cooking spray.
Add onions, pepper, thyme, garlic and seasonings to the saucepan and let cook until onions turn translucent. (see note)
Add ketchup to the saucepan and stir until fully combined and starts to bubble.
Add the corned beef (corn beef/cornbeef) and stir until it breaks apart and now looks like a very thick meat product.
Once the pasta and potato have finished cooking, drain most of the water and add to the saucepan. The little reserved liquid will help with the stirring.
Once everything is in combined, taste for salt. Corned beef (corn beef/cornbeef) is usually very salty, and this is why the salt is the last thing for this dish.
Serve.Notes
