Displaying items by tag: caribbean foodie

Marie is back! Dutchie & Grill Jamaican Restaurant is in Ely. I was working out that way this week so stopped by for a takeaway. Oxtail and butterbean stew was delicious!  Nyammings nights are on Thursdays.

Little did we know that we were in for a Seafood Boil when we booked our 'Sisters London Night Out' at Andi Oliver's new Wadadli Kitchen in Hackney Wick last week.

Although not born to it, we have family of Caribbean heritage living in Antigua and Barbuda. This was going to be our farewell supper before the three of us could meet again in Barbuda next January. So how disappointing was it to be given a load of spiel from the serving staff about the Seafood Boil being the national dish of Antigua. What utter rubbish!  Perhaps it was because we were expecting something much simpler? Or the fact that the serving staff had no real idea about Caribbean cuisine? But it was disappointing at £30 a head, more so the gob smacking £45 for a 750ml bottle of rum punch which required a further investment of £21 to add three extra shots of rum.  Give me the real roadside food of Antigua and Barbuda any day.

• rum punch
• hmm ... dive in
• prawns were nice
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If only you had a crystal ball. This is what ours is telling us will be on trend for 2019. In no particular order ...

Chilled red wines- unoaked, lighter bodied reds such as Pinot Noir, Gamay (Beaujolais), Cabernet Franc from the Loire and Tempranillo's. We know that reds don't always have to be served at room temperature so this year expect to find more restaurants offering to chill your red wine, especially if we get another heatwave summer.

Gazoz- with the ever growing interest in things fermented and botanicals, Gazoz (main picture) is an Israeli soda based drink, made with natural fruit syrups (often from fermented fruits) fresh fruits, botanical infusions and herbs topped up with fizzy water. It's going to be this years addition to the increasingly popular shrubs and drinking vinegars of 2018. Find it on the menu at Bala Baya.Southwark. London.

Rum- Gin might be left on the shelf in favour of rum, which we are very happy about being part Caribbean foodies. White, gold, flavoured, spiced, dark, premium and overproof, there is no single standard and it's no longer the sole preserve of sailors and pirates. Want to know more? Follow Ian Burrell our favourite Rum Ambassador or try a Rum Masterclass at Cottons. We must go again!

Afro-Caribbean- well this is rather a broad area in terms of food and drink. The rise of North and West African cuisine is now well established. Mr SuffolkFoodie is from Durban so we are pinning our hopes on seeing more from South Africa, heavily influenced by the fruity and full bodied flavours of Cape Malay cuisine along with the French and Dutch influence of the European settlers. (Keep an eye out in the recipe book for our own family recipes). As for Caribbean cuisine look out for Rastafarian Ital cooking which is natural, plant based and organic. Plantains will feature too, we're getting bored with avocadoes and cauliflowers, plantains make great snacks. Tostones will be in!

Lard - the big fat comeback. Butter prices have gone through the roof and restaurants are looking at keeping menus affordable and innovative. The Italians love it and it's a mainstay of Mexican cooking and it's not as bad for you as you thought. Love a lardy cake don't you? Get barding and larding everyone.

Sardines- healthy, sustainable, delicious and affordable. One of our favourites and used in many types of cuisine from around the world. From spiced and fried whole in Indian recipes to the delicious Pasta Con le Sarde of Sicily, proving that they are versatile too. Bring on summer for some more delicious Portugeuse sardines cooked over the open fire.

Breakfasts - using rise and shine orange and yellow food which is Instagrammable. We'll be eating food because it's photogenic and can be hashtagged 'feel good' or 'sunshine food'. So we are guessing mango, oranges, lemon curd, pumpkin, carrots, things with saffron and God forbid no more turmeric lattes.

Grocerants - grocery stores and deli's with sit down dining, ready to eat, ready to heat food. The type of place that you go to buy the components of a take away supper then think dammit, if I eat it here it will save me washing up.

Waste not want not - zero waste cooking with wonky veg and root to fruit dishes will stay in vogue and so will the meaty nose to tail eating we've enjoyed over the past few years. Fig leaves will be very popular, brussel sprouts are making a big comeback, look out for Kalettes, broccoli stems, radish tops and carrot tops. But let's make sure that it's tasty please?

Bread - it's back. More ancient grains, sprouted grains, cornbread and vegetable stuffed doughs. Apricot breakfast bread, potato, pumpkin and onion baguettes, flatbreads, Earl Grey teacakes. You name it we will be kneading it. Sorghum will be the grain of 2019. Cheerio quinoa!

• carrot tops not the nicest of ingredients in our opinion
• Sardines
• #feel good #sunshinefood
• Earl Grey teacakes anyone?
• Bobotie a South African classic. Recipe in our book.
• Rum - one of our favourites
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Late February and into March saw my annual holiday to the sunshine of the Caribbean, a trip to see Claire (fellow SuffolkFoodie) in Barbuda. For those that don't know, Barbuda was wiped out by Hurricane Irma on September 9th. The island was devasted and 6 months on still is. No electricty and running water makes life difficult enough, but for those still living in tents or without a roof over their head, life must be miserable. Food and general supplies are desperately short, so first stop after arriving in Antigua was shopping and buying supplies to send on the cargo boat. Three days in Antigua provided enough time for some sight seeing and to eat some street food which is available on nearly every corner. Also this fantastic island breakfast at our Airbnb. In Barbuda we cooked for ourselves using the supplies that we'd sent ahead. There is little else to buy unless you find a fisherman or hunter with a good catch. We found Bernie who had just been out in his boat and supplied a 10lb red snapper to cook over the fire. We also successfully dived for conchs which were so tough to remove from the shell that we had to take we them to Bernie to release. Limited ingredients, only a generator for power keeps you on your toes when deciding what to cook. But our conch escabeche would give any top restaurant a run for it's money.

• Bernie's was so happy to have caught some fish
• Antigua street food menu
• loading our cargo in Antigua for Barbuda
• Curry chicken patties from a food stall in Antigua
• Conch's out of the shell
• Conch escabeche
• Dumplings cooked to order in Antigua
• Dumplings
• Barbuda red snapper grill
• Antigua kitchen
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Inspired by last years road trip, Mr SuffolkFoodie and I returned to the U.S in February to catch the Daytona 500 and take a quick look at Miami (nice Empanada and Cuban coffee at the airport kiosk) before heading over to Barbuda, one of my favourite places in the world, where they weigh you, and your luggage before boarding the six seater Islander plane. Travel light if you want to fit in! My sister, founder of SuffolkFoodie spends most of her time in Barbuda, running the ArtCafe and cooking food for the few tourists that discover the beautiful, unspoilt, tiny island. It's modest in amenties but makes up for it a hundred times with the best beaches and friendly Barbudans who embrace visitors, happily sharing their limited resources. The extreme of Miami, where everything is massive, high cholesterol and hyped, except for the dogs.

• Daytona 500 crowd
• gator bites in the Everglades
• St Louis ribs at a car show
• Strong Cuban coffee and Empanada's at Miami airport
• Coopertown Cafe in the Everglades
• A Coopertown breakfast
• Lobster roll from a street food van Daytona 500
• funnel cake at the races
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• island breakfast in Antigua
• weigh in at the airport
• sending supplies over to Barbuda
• quick side of the road snack in Antigua
• street food served with a smile in Antigua
• the flight from Antigua to Barbuda on an Islander plane
• limited supplies in the Barbuda shop
• our supplies arrive on the Lady Jen
• but there are always lobsters
• Byrons place
• barracuda on the beach
• charcoal making using Cinnamon wood and Jamaica wood
• sea urchins
• jelly coconuts
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Always the best, authentic Caribbean food and in typical West Indian style not always the full menu available. But if you go on Nyammings Night (Thurs 5-10pm) you get all you can eat for about £20 which always includes delicious dishes like this curry goat, Johny Cakes and plantains.

• Johny cakes and plantain
• curry goat
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Pouring with rain all day but the ackee and saltfish, curry goat and jerk chicken keeps on coming at Notting Hill Carnival.

African pot cooking Caribbean food and the end of a very nice summer.

Finally got round to trying to smoke some fish because here it's all we eat, nearly every day. And because I'm not in the cold miserable UK at the moment it had to be a Barracuda fillet. I didn't catch it myself but I did brine it and smoke it over a Logwood fire (you know, like the one in the Bob Marley song) and it was a bit like the most delicious smoked haddock.

From my next door neighbour...every Sunday, in return for a lift to church. Salt fish, chop-up, plantain, salad - I just have to make the toast.