In collaboration with Aruba Tourism.
Succulent pieces of stewed beef swimming in a spiced creole sauce with prunes, cashews, and olives all smothered with Dutch cheese. What more could one ask for on these bitterly cold Winter evenings? This is the ultimate bowl of Dutch Caribbean-inspired comfort food.
Way back when the Dutch took over Aruba, a tiny island just 18 miles north of Venezuela, folk were frugal with what ingredients they happened to have as they had to make do in between sailing ship deliveries (not unlike us Shetland folk!). The Dutch have always loved their cheese, and when the settlers there had finished eating the soft insides of their Edam and Gouda wheels, they would pass the wax rinds on to their servants who would fill them with a spiced shredded meat mixture and bake them so that the cheese melted.
There are as many different variations of Keshi Yena as there are households and restaurants in Aruba. I had the pleasure of trying several different varieties of Keshi Yena when I was in Aruba earlier this year, and my favourite was the one served at the Papiamento Restaurant as a starter. It was made with stewed beef, local spices, cashews, sultanas and olives in a spicy creole sauce smothered with shredded Gouda in an individual-sized cast iron pan.
Carefully picking apart the dish as I ate so I could identify all the ingredients I vowed I would try and recreate it when I returned home to Shetland. It was just so delicious!
For my recipe recreation, I seared cubed beef in oil and set it aside while I prepared a rich spiced creole sauce based on a recipe from Shivi Ramoutar’s Caribbean Modern cookery book. Once the sauce had thickened nicely I returned the meat to the pan along with some olives, capers, sultanas, prunes and cashew nuts.
This was slow cooked in the oven for several hours, and to serve, I spooned some into a small cast-iron frying pan, sprinkled the stew generously with shredded Edam cheese and grilled it until it was melted. This was the way it was served in the Papiamento Restaurant (pictured below, left).
I have also enjoyed Keshi Yena made with shredded chicken wrapped in slices of Gouda in the West Deck (pictured above, right). To make it this way, cheese slices washed with beaten egg are used to line a shallow baking dish, the shredded filling is added and more cheese slices are arranged over the top to create a cheese shell. It’s then baked. A cheese lover’s perfect dish!
In traditional Aruban style, I served my Keshi Yena with pan bati, a beaten cornmeal flatbread popular among the locals. You can find the recipe for pan bati here.
Don’t be put off by the long ingredients list below. It really is simple to make – just sear your meat in some oil, saute your veg until soft, throw the rest of the ingredients in except the cheese and bung it in the oven for a couple of hours all while completely ignoring it. Then, spoon it into a serving dish, sprinkle with cheese and grill until it’s melted. Easy peasy!
Have you ever been to Aruba? What was your favourite dish you ate while there?
Aruban-Inspired Keshi Yena (Stuffed Cheese)
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp Scottish rapeseed oil divided
- 600 grams cubed beef or lamb
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 celery stick finely chopped
- 1 red bell peppers finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 fresh red chilli finely chopped
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme leaves leaves only
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 0.5 tsp cayenne pepper or a few splashes Tabasco
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 2 400 gram tinned cherry tomatoes
- 0.5 beef stock cube or lamb
- 1 tsp distilled white vinegar
- 0.5 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 2 tbsp green olives with pimento sliced
- 1 tbsp capers
- 30 grams sultanas
- 50 grams prunes coarsely chopped
- 50 grams cashew nuts
- sea salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 250 grams Edam cheese or Gouda
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160 C.
- Heat 2 tbsp of the rapeseed oil in a heavy based casserole dish.
- Sear the meat, in batches, until browned all over. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside, reserving the juices.
- Add the remaining oil and saute the onion, celery, red pepper, garlic and chilli for five to ten minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften.
- Add the thyme, oregano and tomato puree and stir well to combine.
- Add the tinned cherry tomatoes, stock cube, vinegar, butter and sugar and bring to a simmer.
- Add the reserved browned meat along with the olives, capers, raisins, prunes and cashews.
- Slow roast, covered, in the middle of the oven for 1.5-2 hours.
- Season well to taste, and spoon into individual serving dishes.
- Sprinkle liberally with grated Edam or Gouda and grill until melted and browned.
- Serve immediately with buttered pan bati.
Notes
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Elizabeth was a guest of Aruba Tourism during her stay on the island. With thanks to the Papiamento Restaurant and West Deck for the wonderful dining experiences. As ever, all thoughts and opinions expressed are ours. Thank you for supporting the brands who make it possible for me to do what I love: mess up my kitchen and share recipe stories.
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I always love your stories behind your recipes. This sounds incredibly yummy and is something I’ve actually not heard of before. You definitely had me at ‘cheese’. I really want to try it.
This looks mouthwateringly delicious! Definitely need to try x
I haven’t tried anything like this before – I need to make this!
Yum! This dish is so delightful and an exceptional lunch idea, Elizabeth! Can’t wait to give it a try and indulge in this mouth-watering dish. What kind of onion do you usually use for this recipe?
This sounds SO good. I’m always looking for new dishes to try, so I’ll definitely be giving it a go!
Louise x
Your pictures are just fab! This sounds like an amazing meal to make, wpuld definietly love to try this out.
This has made me hungry and I don’t even eat meat! I’m thinking I can make it and substitute a black bean or kidney bean (possibly both) in place of the beef). It sounds delicious and I love melted gouda on food
OMG, that sounds like Heaven on a plate! In fact, I wish I could eat a whole plate of it right now.
My goodness this looks so darn delicious! I just love cheese so will have to try out this recipe
This sounds incredible I knew never that the dutch had such strong origins in the Caribbean. It does sound very simple to make x
That looks absolutely mouthwatering. I’d love to try making this, look at that cheesy goodness.
Wow this sounds fantastic – love the amount of cheese involved haha! x
The amount of cheese on top guarantees that it’s going to be a delicious dish! I love that it combines so many flavors from so many ingredients, sweet and spicy in the same time.
These Aruban-Inspired Keshi Yena look scrummy. Where there is cheese count me in x
This looks incredibly delicious! I may need to add this to my meal plan to make it!
Oh my goodness! This looks absolutely delicious, I have to try it asap! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Oh my goodness how absolutely amazing does this sound, hands up though anything with cheese is perfect for me.
Wow, this sounds absolutely delicious and super easy to make. Perfect for cold winter evenings.
My mouth is watering reading this thanks for a great recipe
Oh that’s delicious looking ! Pretty sure my attempt won’t be as photgraphic !! Youve just made me hungry and I’m only after lunch!!
Anything which calls itself stuffed cheese is good in my books. I tend to make a similar meaty version is this myself x
Oh Hun i know what i be eating this week – ,my mouth never watered so much at the sight of food than it is right now
Wow this looks utterly incredible. I think I’m going to have to surprise the Other Half by making it.