Original Flava

By Craig McAnuff and Shaun McAnuff

Craig and Shaun McAnuff are bringing Da'Flava from the Caribbean to your kitchen!

We're Craig and Shaun, two brothers from South London, but with Jamaica in our hearts and souls. Our Mum and Nanny taught us to cook, and Original Flava is all about meals that are vibrant, lively, exciting, and full of the influences from different cultures that make the Caribbean island of Jamaica so wonderful. That's why we've travelled to Jamaica to bring you its authentic and fresh FLAVAs!

Our motto is EAT: we make our recipes Easy, Accessible and Tasty. We want to give you platefuls that taste like grandma's food so there are recipes for classics like Ackee 'n' Saltfish and Curry goat, and Caribbean favourites from home such as Garlic butter lobster and Trini doubles. We also like to twist it up a likkle to give dishes our modern spin, so you can find recipes for Honey roasted jerk-spiced salmon, Plantain beanburgers and Banana fritter cheesecake.

The most important thing, we think, is the togetherness food brings­ – the same happiness we have with our family. We want to share this joy: a testament to the culture of Jamaica, the fun, fantastic FLAVAs, and the stories behind the food, straight from the people of Jamaica. So, get your ingredients, turn on a likkle music, and let's get cooking!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: Aug 22, 2019
• ISBN: 9781526604873

Book preview

We always liked waking up to the sweet smell of breakfast – and still do! In Jamaica, people often eat a big meal in the marnin’ to keep them going through the day, and that’s why we have so many versatile and enjoyable dishes that are eaten for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner. Here are some of our most-loved foods, such as Ackee and Saltfish and Mackerel Rundown – and who can forget Fried Dumplings? One of our all-time favourites and good to eat at any time of day, and any day! All of these will be sure to bring da’ sunshine to your meals, night or day.

ACKEE AND SALTFISH

Jamaica’s national dish and one of our faves. Eat with some fried dumpling pon di side – JEEZ!

Our love for ackee and saltfish started at a young age when our mum made it every Christmas morning; we looked forward to it more than the presents! Traditionally this is for the morning, but is so versatile you can eat it any time of the day. Ackee – which has a texture similar to scrambled eggs – is available in UK shops in cans, but in the Caribbean the fruit is picked fresh from the trees. You have to be careful to pick it when it is properly ripe because otherwise it can be poisonous. But be not afraid, the canned ones are perfectly safe! In this dish it’s married with boneless saltfish flava’d up with ground Caribbean spices.

SERVES 4–6

600g boneless saltfish cod

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 medium onion, finely diced

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3 spring onions, thinly sliced

1 scotch bonnet pepper, deseeded and finely chopped

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp ground pimento (allspice)

½ red bell pepper, deseeded and finely diced

½ green bell pepper, deseeded and finely diced

1 large tomato, diced

2 x 540g cans ackee, drained

Freshly ground black pepper

Put the saltfish in your pot and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, then boil for 5 minutes, drain and add fresh cold water to cover. Repeat this process until you’re happy with the saltiness when tasted; we boil the fish three times in total for a perfect balance of salt in the fish. Drain for the final time and leave to cool. Use a fork to shred the saltfish into pieces and set aside.

Now you’ll need a large frying pan. Pour the vegetable oil into the frying pan and place over a high heat. Once the oil is sizzling hot, turn the heat down to low–medium. Add the onion, garlic, spring onions and scotch bonnet, then cook until soft, for around 5–7 minutes.

Add the saltfish, dash in some black pepper, the thyme and pimento or allspice, then mix di ting together and cook down for around 3 minutes.

Next, add in the red and green bell peppers, along with your tomato. Mix together and cook down for 2–3 minutes. These ingredients help to bring a heat balance, so it’s not too

Reviews for Original Flava

[Kirst Lou · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent! As a Caribbean, whom isn’t Jamaican but loooveesss Jamaican food this is perfect!. I definitely think if one were to cook the meat meals on a bbq rather than in the oven it would be just like eating in Jamaica! The absolute bonus for me is the cornmeal porridge. Ahh delightful!