C for Caribbean

The Caribbean is a region consisting of theCaribbean Sea, its islands (most of which enclose the sea), and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico andNorth America, east of Central America, and to the north of South America.Situated largely on the Caribbean Plate, the region comprises more than 7,000 islands, islets, reefs, and cays. These islands, called the West Indies, generally formisland arcs that delineate the eastern and northern edges of the Caribbean Sea. These islands are called the West Indies because whenChristopher Columbus landed there in 1492 he believed that he had reached the Indies (in Asia).The region consists of the Antilles, divided into the larger Greater Antilles which bound the sea on the north and the Lesser Antilles on the south and east (including the Leeward Antilles), and the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands or the Lucayan Archipelago, which are in fact in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba, not in the Caribbean Sea.



FOOD

The Caribbean has not exactly been renowned for its food over the years. Recently though, things have improved and it is possible to eat well. The settings have always been wonderful – right above the waves, or looking onto a pretty lit garden - but in certain islands at least, eating out has now become a key part of the pleasure of a Caribbean trip.
It is easy to forget how hard it is to create cuisine in the islands. Most of the ingredients have to be imported, and the West Indians cook very differently from most of the visitors. In the past the result has tended to be fare that is studiedly international. Recently though, certain islands have developed a greater tradition of cuisine. In St Barts, St Martin, Anguilla and Barbados there are some very good restaurants. Most islands now have a good restaurant or two for a romantic evening out.
West Indian food also has its own strong traditions. The best of it is delicious, with a good use of local fresh fish and the exceptional spices and fruits. In general local food is unexpectedly heavy, with stews accompanied by a volley of starchy vegetables.

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Jerk Chicken

A 3-4lb whole chicken cut into 4 quaters

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup soy sauce

Juice of one lime

1 cup orange juice

1 cup white vinegar

4 chopped scotch bonnet peppers

2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme

2 Tbsp ground allspice

6 Cloves garlic chopped

3 Medium onions chopped

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp ground ginger

2 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp. salt

2 Tsp. ground black pepper

Methodology:-

Combine all ingredients excluding the Chicken

Add combined ingredients to blender and blend until liquid

Cut some slits into chicken and rub 3/4 of sauce into chicken meat

Cover and marinade chicken overnight in the fridge.

Cover and contain the other 1/4 of sauce in fridge for dipping and basting

Preheat oven to 160°C/gas mark 3

Add chicken to baking tray and put in oven for 1 hour turning once

Prepare BBQ while chicken in oven.

Add chicken to BBQ and cook for abour 3-5 mins each side.

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Rice and peas

3 cups of rice

4 cups of water

1 can of tinned kidney beans drained

2 spring onions

1 tin of coconut milk

A couple of sprigs of fresh thyme

Salt and pepper to taste.

Methodology:-

Add all ingredients to pan and bring to the boil

Cover and simmer for 15 - 20 mins stiring in between

Add more water if rice is not cooked and is drying up.

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Fryed Plantain

2 Plantain (green in colour or with some yellow spots)

Oil

Salt and pepper

Methodology:-

Chop the ends of the plantain and peel.

Slice each plantain into 4 quarters.

Cover frying pan in a little oil fry plantain for 15 mins turning

Remove plantain and flatten them with a potato masher

Refry them again for another 10 mins

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Pirates of the Caribbean

We were heavily inspired by Jamaica Travel and Culture website:-
http://www.jamaicatravelandculture.com/food_and_drink/jerk_chicken.htm

B for Brazil

Brazil shares a border with almost every other country in South America--only Chile and Ecuador are untouched--and covers almost half the continent. It is the fifth largest country in the world, behind Russia, Canada, China, and the U.S.A., with an area of eight and a half million square kilometers.Despite its vast expanse of territory, Brazil's population is concentrated in the major cities of its coast. The urban sprawls of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo dominate the southern coast. Further north, towns such as Salvador and João Pessoa retain the colonial atmosphere of the early Portuguese settlers. The great interior, much of which is covered by the rainforest basin of the Amazon, remains sparsely settled.

FOOD

Brazilian cuisine, like Brazil itself, varies gre

atly by region. The natural crops available in each region add to their singularity.Root vegetables such as cassava (locally known as mandioca, aipim, or macaxeira), yams, and peanuts[citation needed], and fruits like açaí, cupuaçu, mango, papaya, guava, orange, passionfruit, pineapple, and hog plum are among the local ingredients used in cooking. Brazilian pine nuts called pinhão grow in a tree that is abundant in the southern part of Brazil, and are a popular national snack, as well as a lucrative export. Rice and beans are an extremely common dish, as are fish, beef and pork. Some typical dishes are caruru, which consists of okra, onion, dried shrimp and toasted nuts (peanuts and/or cashews) cooked with palm oil until a spread-like consistency is reached; feijoada, a simmered bean-and-meat dish

; tutu de feijão, a paste of beans and cassava flour; moqueca capixaba, consisting of slow-cooked fish, tomato, onion and garlic topped with cilantro; and chouriço, a mildly spicy sausage. Salgadinhos, cheese bread, pastéis and coxinha are common finger foods, while cuscuz branco, milled tapioca, is a popular dessert. Brazil is also known for its cachaça, a popular native liquor used in the Caipirinha cocktails

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Feijoada

You will have to go to a Portuguese or Brazilian Deli or Supermarket to get most the meats and seasoning, we visited Luis Deli and the staff were kind enough to take us round the shop and fill up a basket with the ingredients required.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp Oil

2 cloves of garlic chopped

2 Shallots

2 tbsp tomato puree

1 tsp corn flour

250g black beans rinsed and soaked over night in water (keep water)

100g bacon pieces

100g Brazilian carne seca

200g pork loins chopped into bite sizes

2 kinds of spicy Brazilian sausages

1 tbsp of Zaeli - Tempero Completo

Methodology:-

Heat the oil and then add the bacon, pork, garlic shallot and brown for 20 minutes.

Add tomato purée stir in and fry for 1 min

add sausages, carne secand, cornflour Add black beans with black bean waster until all meat is covered

Add Tempero completo and Season to taste.

Cover and cook on low/Medium head for 3-4 hours

Serve with boiled rice.

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Caipirinha's

Measurements for 1 cocktail as follows

1 or 2 shots of Cachaça

1 whole Lime quartered

1 tsp of caster sugar

4 ice cubes

Methodology

Put 4 lime quarters in glass with caster sugar and smash and juice with back of rolling pin for 30 seconds

add Cachaça and ice cubes and stir

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Overview

Lovely wholesome dish, ideal for having a few NON- vegetarian friends round and let them help themselves to the Feijoada and rice and keep those Caipirinha's flowing and your in for a good night.

Caipirinha

Luis Deli, Vauxhall London

http://www.qype.co.uk/place/577038-Luis-deli-London

A for Andalucia (Spain)

Andalucia is the largest of Spain's 17 autonomous regions and it's the one which evokes the most powerful images of a country famed for its flamenco, fiestas, bullfighting and raw passion. It's a land which has both spawned and inspired great writers, poets, actors and painters. Andalucia gave birth to Pablo Picasso and the 17th century royal painter Velasquez and it held an enduring fascination for novelists Ernest Hemingway and Laurie Lee. It's the setting for the most performed and famous opera of all time, Bizet's Carmen. And it's a unique place where east meets west in an exotic melting pot of Jewish, gypsy, Moorish and Christian cultures.

FOOD

Enjoying and experimenting with Andalucian cuisine is a fundamental part living in Andalucia. What better than an alfresco lunch commencing with a chilled summer gazpacho soup. Freshly harvested Mediterranean fish and a salad dressed with the finest Olive Oil. The Mediterranean diet is one of the most nutritionally healthy in the world. On the coast you will find the fish and seafood the traditional fare. Inland there is a tendency for ham sausage and game dishes not forgetting vegetable and meat stews.

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CHORIZO & TOMATO SALAD Starter
3 tbs Olive oil
1 tbs extra virgin oil
100g Chorizo (Good quality pref half a Alejandro Chorizo hoop) chopped
3 big Tomatoes chopped chunky
3 big Spring onions Chopped
Sea Salt (agood amount)
Black pepper
3 tbs sherry vinegar
Parsley chopped
Basil chopped
2 Garlic cloves diced

Methodology –
Fry Chorizo in olive oil till brown
Add the garlic and fry for 1 min
Combine all other ingredients in mixing bowl.
Add the Chorizo and garlic to mixing bowl and pour a little of the chorizo and garlic oil over.
Serve with goat’s cheese and Serrano ham.

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BAKED SEA BREAM with Aioli and fresh salad
2 Whole Sea Bream gutted and leave scales on
4 Kg of cheap Sea salt
1 Egg
2 Lemon Skins
2 tbs fennel seeds
bunch of Thyme Fresh

Methodology –
Prepare barbeque
Mix water and salt so it is like slush and then mix in 1 egg, lemon skin peelings and fennel seeds.
Stuff cavity of fish with loads of fresh Thyme
Place salt slush on hot coals about a 1cm thick and cover an area big enough to put the 2 Sea Bream on.
Place the 2 sea Bream on salted area on BBQ then cover with rest of salt then place coals over the top of the salt and cover with tin foil.
Leave for 20 mins and then you’re done.
Clear away tin foil and coals off top of salt. Salt will be rock hard to tap until cracked open and you can remove the fish.

Serve with a pot of Alioli and fresh salad.

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SAFFRON AIOLI
3 Garlic cloves
Sea Salt
70ml Olive oil
Pinch of Saffron

Methodology-

Mash garlic, saffron and sea salt in pestle and mortar
Then add oil in small amounts and mash fast after each bit of oil is added until you have yummy yellow sauce.

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CUCUMBER SALAD
½ Cucumber sliced into chunks
10 black olives pitted and halved
2 tbs capers
½ Sweet pepper sliced into chunks
bunch of Fresh parsley
1 juice of a large lemon
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

Combine and leave in fridge for at least 2 hours mixing occasionally

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Overview

Overall turned out to all be very nice and especially enjoyed the Seabass was so tender and took on a lovely taste from the fennel seeds. Never cooked fish like this before and we were both very impressed how it turned out worth the effort and recommend anyone to try it. When making the Chorizo salad use a good quality chorizo as suggested below. We also bought a cheaper one from a mainstream supermarket and the taste and texture was poor compared to the Alejandro.

Alejandro Chorizo hoop

We use Melbury and Appleton Deli in Muswell Hill, London, England

http://www.melburyandappleton.co.uk/

Walter Purkis fish mongers Muswell Hill, London, England

http://purkisfishmongers.homestead.com/

Recipes all by Jamie Oliver or inspired by Jamie for Andalucia. http://www.jamieoliver.com/

Visit to Sweden July 2010