Cooking With Asterisky: Haitian Iced Tea

For your barbecues, parties and various get-togethers this summer, add a serious flavor kick to the ubiquitous ice tea bowl. Try your hand at this Haitian recipe to liven up the summertime drink or to impress the Haitian cutie you’re trying to put the moves on with your interest in her culture instead of taking her out for a tired night of dinner and a movie. (The thought was nice, Nathan, and things may have worked in your favor had we not seen Black Swan. That was just uncomfortable.)

Haitians love food, and if you’re lucky enough to grow up with a Haitian mother who loves being in the kitchen, it’s easy enough to see why. The cuisine has intense flavor, utilizing dozens of spices in even the simplest meals.  Even our drinks risk sending taste buds into shock, so be warned that this recipe should be attempted by the bold.

You will need:

• 1 gallon of water
• 2 heaping cups of iced tea mix
• 2/3 cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon of pure anise extract
• 3 limes
• ½ cup Haitian rum (optional)
• You will also need: a large pitcher or bowl, a knife and a mixing spoon.

Cooking Instructions:

1. Mix the water, iced tea mix, vanilla and anise extracts and sugar in a large pitcher or bowl. Even though you’ll add sugar, make sure the mix you buy is sweetened.

2.  Instead of squeezing the limes, take a knife and gouge the lime out into the drink in order to capture all of the liquid and pulp. Leave some of the lemon rinds in the drink to let the oils seep into the drink, but don’t let them stay overnight because they may turn your drink bitter.

3. If your get together consists of people 21+ or teenage miscreants, spike the drink with some Haitian rum. Haitians use rum frequently in cooking. It’s in many baked goods and, along with other types of alcohol, is frequently drizzled over cakes and ice cream. It’s difficult to find in America, though, so you may have to substitute it with Jamaican rum.

4. Pour yourself a glass and enjoy responsibly.