Christmas: it's that time

So it's here! Another year gets swallowed up in a fuzzy haze; you ponder retrospectively and consider your achievements during the last 12 months, if like me, a sudden case of 'What the *#!?!! have I done?' hits you square between the eyes, rest assured you're not alone. But one thing I always remember are all the fab meals I've had, recipes I've cooked and restaurants I've visited - and the new year always brings the giddy excitement of all the new places I wanna try, kind of like the anticipation of Christmas morning. So, what's everyone cooking for Christmas lunch? This year, I've been assigned the task of roasting a duck, which I hasten to add I've never done before, so it should be interesting if not a tad challenging. Roast duck, christmas pud and bucks fizz aplenty - that's my kind of Christmas! Well, have a great one, whatever you're doing and eat well and don't forget to check back for new posts in 2012!

Supper club night: Part 1

So, it came and went leaving me pondering and more convinced than ever that Ghanaian food has a place in the mainstream. Yes, granted a few things need to change to make it more accessible, but ultimately, it has potential because it's good, flavourful and interesting. In a world where we are becoming more inclined to seek out the more exotic and experimental, this is all pretty exciting for me.

Back to the events of Saturday evening. Being the organised person that I am, I had the menu sorted out weeks ago - I knew exactly what I wanted to cook for what would be the introduction to my supper club - something tasty but with impact. So, it went as follows:

Starter
Peanut soup

Main
Pimento roasted plantain
Supermalt basted pork chops
Stir fried okra

Dessert
Grapefruit ginger ice cream

My guests for the premier night of my supper club were all of Ghanaian extraction, which was an intentional decision, as I wanted to gauge the response from people already familiar with the cuisine. The feedback was great and fervently positive -namely being that something of this ilk is really needed to give West African cuisine the kudos it rightly deserves! I was of course extremely chuffed with all this praise showered on me, which led me to think of all the great things I could make for the next event.  All in all, a merry time was had by all, with great conversation flowing with each course. I'll also admit that my snazzy red and green Ghanaian print shirt was a hit, as was one of guests, who also chose to wear one - well keeping with the theme was the sartorial aim on my part for sure! Details for the next event will be posted shortly.

Mackerel and spinach stew

Call this my introduction into autumn; although at the moment the weather feels more like Takoradi Beach, Ghana, than Peckham, south London. The kids are back to school, the clothes are minimal, the chicken shops are full – it could only mean one thing, an Indian summer! The local markets are bursting with colourful, seasonal vegetables and my culinary senses are like a police radar racing down Cold harbour lane – well, that’s partly a lie – it’s never seasonal along Rye lane – it’s plantains, yams and red snapper all year round. I did pick up some Mackerel, Pumpkin and fresh thyme for this tasty stew that’s gonna get you reminiscing about school day conker fights, bonfire nights and onset of the dreaded winter. It’s rich, warm and spicy and it just loves a bowl of brown rice in which to smother its juices all over. Mackerel is great for this dish, but substitute it for any variety of robust fish, like tuna or halibut

.  

Ingredients:

1/2 small pumpkin

1 400g tin peeled plum tomatoes

A bunch of spinach, roughly chopped

10 okra fingers

1/2 large onion

A 2 inch piece of ginger, finely chopped

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1 Mackerel fish scaled and gutted and cut into three pieces

1/2 Scotch bonnet pepper

3/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon paprika

3/4 teaspoon cumin

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 sprigs of thyme

3 tablespoons olive oil.

1) Begin by sweating the onions in the olive oil over a low heat in a large pot.

2) Chop the tops and ends off the okra fingers and cut in half and add to the pot along with the ginger, nutmeg, cumin, paprika and salt. Continue cooking over a low heat, stirring occasionally.

3) Add the peeled plum tomatoes, spinach, thyme, garlic and the scotch bonnet pepper, stir and resume cooking for five minutes

4) Add the pumpkin and the mackerel, cover the pot and cook for 25 minutes on a low heat.



Suya in Peckham

As you may be aware, Peckham, my glorious riot ravaged residence is home to what seems like the overspill of Lagos' monumental populace. Colourful, loud and multi lingual, it resembles the Nigerian capital more than the traditonal working class community it once was. One of my fav pastimes (other than eating) is to sample all the great ethnic eats in the area and for African food, particularly Nigerian, you're pretty much guaranteed for some tasty treats. So, after returning to Peckham on another gruesome bus ride, I find myself standing amidst the slightly less salubrious residents of Only fools and horses territory at midnight with a rumbling stomach. I wasn't in the mood for cooking - after all it's pretty late and I fancied something hot, spicy and meaty without playing midnight chef over the stove, and I knew just the place to satiate my craving- Obadele Suya. It's a grimey, no frills hole in wall with a sparse interior, but the menu reaches out to you in all it's descriptive prose, like a tantalising poem: Goat suya marinated in a spicy sauce with Jollof rice or fried plantain and fried fish, complete with pictures as well - I was sold at this point. Suya is basically grilled meat - usually beef, goat or chicken - coated in a spicy rub of ground peanuts and chilli. Half an hour later (we're dealing on APT here - African people's time)  I was tucking into a large parcel full of goat suya mixed with grilled tomatoes and onions. I left, full and content, armed with the personal promise to return!

New recipe: Kahcrow

A great bonding session came about with my Aunt Thelma while making the new recipe for HP. Let me explain further: I needed advice with creating a new dish for the blog and my sister, Katherine suggested I contact Aunt Thelma for help (which I did), as she was a renowned caterer in her younger years back in Ghana; so a couple of catch-up, I haven’t heard from you in ages, when are you getting married conversations and I’d made a date to visit my Auntie. She hasn’t changed: jolly, cheerfully loud and she remembers my voracious appetite, so had a steaming plate of rice n beans with meat stew waiting for me! And all within 10 minutes of rocking up at her house! Well, after I was satiated, we went about knocking up a great, traditional Ghanaian delicacy called ‘ Kahcrow’ (Kaaahcrow) which consists of mashed plantain, hot green Ghanaian chilli peppers, ginger and a spice called ‘Soh’ which has a smell akin to cloves, but looks like a mini piece of brown twig. Having never heard of ‘Soh, I was really excited and expectant as to how the dish would taste. Aunt Thelma made it all look so easy (as you can imagine, with all her years of experience), while engaging in conversation and talking on the phone all at the same time – Ghanaian woman take multi-tasking to a whole new level – and did I mention she has an ten ring stove? Industrial cooking appliances are the mark of a true Ghanaian caterer!

Making waves: Ghanaian food on the BBC.

So, there I was getting caught up in all the tawdry nonsense of super injunctions and dishonest football players, that I forget I was actually trawling the net for new evidence that Ghanaian food is 'out there'. It is so out there in fact, that I had somehow failed to notice the new addition of Ghanaian recipes on the BBC Food website!  (Don't ask me how, I'm acutally quite embarrassed) I even refreshed the page twice to make sure it was indeed a recipe for Jollof rice and fried plantain! Well, knock me over the head with a dusty yam and call me Comfort! I'm thoroughly impressed and slightly ambivalent in writing this post, lest you all desert me for the Beeb! But remember, you can't get more authentic than me - I know, I know, Jollof rice is Ghana's prized food, but I'm going to bring you the dishes that BBC readers would cry in horror over - like fried turkey gizzard and cow foot broth...maybe not, but you catch my culinary drift. So what do you all think, readers - does this news usher in the hope that Ghanaian food can break the stale obsession with Indian and Italian food? Hmm...

Bitterleaf and garden egg stew

Hmm…this recipe may not grab you at first or cause your saliva glands to work overtime; maybe it’s the bitterleaf which may bewilder some of those less familiar with this tropical spinach-like vegetable, or maybe it’s the garden eggs? What are those I hear you cry!? They are similar to an aubergine, off white in colour and an absolute essential in any Ghanaian pantry worth its weight in plantain. As winter draws its curtains for a 3 month hiatus, if we’re lucky (hey, May is the new August) my food thoughts turn to lighter ingredients, grilled meats and easy to rustle up dishes with lots of flavour, so what better way to mark this turn in the culinary calendar than to give you a final, heart warming recipe.

This dish goes well with plain white basmati rice, or, for the adventurous among you, chop up and boil a large, ripe plantain, along with half a chopped and peeled cassava. A side of hot sauce always goes down well.

Ingredients:

5 garden eggs

A small bunch of bitter leaves

The above can be obtained from any well sticked African market. If you don't have much luck, susbtitute the bitterleaf for spinach and the garden eggs for 1/2 an aubergine.

1/2 large onion, roughly chopped

1 400g tin chopped tomato

1 inch knob of ginger, finely chopped

2 - 3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped or minced.

1/2 scotch bonnet pepper (seeds removed)

A few springs of fresh thyme

1 level teaspoon all-purpose seasoning

300 ml chicken stock

250g large fresh prawns
300 ml coconut milk

2 tablespoon olive oil

Salt to taste (optional)

1) Wash the garden eggs/aubergine, chop into small pieces and place in a small pot of water and boil until tender. If using garden eggs they will become translucent, which is when you'll know they're cooked and you'll also need to peel the skin off them, but only when they're soft and cooked. Set aside.

2) Add the oil to a large pot with the chopped onions and garlic and fry until the onions soften slightly and then add the ginger, chopped scotch pepper and a touch more oil if needed and continue cooking.

3) Add the tinned tomatoes, thyme, seasoning and the garden eggs and continue cooking on a low heat

4) Tear the bitterleaf/spinach into the stew and gradually add the stock.

5) Lastly, add the prawns, cover the stew and cook for a further 10 -15 minutes.

Ghana needs a Nigerian idol

Now, I like to be inclusive with my reporting on all the funny stuff that makes the world go round; so what better way to bring a smile to ones face then to recommend you all somehow, someway, subscribe to Sky or any cheap broadband provider (heck, steal a dish if you have to - did I just say that?) to watch what is possibly the contender for the reality TV show of 2011( and it's only January) - yes, that's right, Nigerian idol is here! The search for Nigeria's musical persona is proving to be a hit not only with the Nigerian community in London, but for those looking for pure comedic value to Simon Cowell's relentless franchise, in a caption: compelling; was it fair for Rachel to go? Who will impress the judges this week? Where did the presenters get those American accents? All will be revealed...catch it on Sky 204. But I can't help wondering, will Ghana follow suit and what would it be like? Any ideas, guys?