Ackee and Saltfish
I know that Saltfish has already been featured but this classic combination can’t be left out. If you’ve ever eaten saltfish and ackee and there’s been enough left over for the next day then you’ll have noticed it seems to magically improve overnight. I would recommend two things with this dish:
1. Always make sure you cook plenty so that there is some for the next day.
2. Always serve it with Basmati rice.
As for this video the production values are of a high standard so there’s good sound and clear visuals, though at points the camera person doesn’t always realise where the action is. The video also contains some excellent information about the products used in creating the dish and the presenter’s instructions are easy to follow.
Soup
One thing I like about Caribbean soup is the sheer variety of ingredients you can put into it and the range of approaches you can take to making it. The soup recipe on offer here is another from the people at ‘Caribbeanpot’ and is billed as Caribbean Beef Soup.
Given this video comes from a whole series it comes with a degree of reliability and quality: reliability in terms of not only providing clear instructions on how to put the dish together but more importantly very good information on the ingredients.
The presentation of the video is slightly unusual from others in that it contains stills images with a voice over and information graphics. This presentation style works well as you can follow the key bits of information by stopping the video at the points where the graphics appear.
Three cheese macaroni cheese
I don’t know when macaroni cheese became a Caribbean dish, particularly as none of the Islands are known for producing cheese, yet Sunday dinner Caribbean style just aint the same without it.
This dish is so simple to put together that it doesn’t need a lot of instructions and information about where to source good quality ingredients it just needs to be well put together. With this video it is the blend of cheeses that raises the bar and that’s why I’ve brought it to your attention.
One change I’d recommend however is to drop the honey and mix in a white sauce instead.
Jamaican turned cornmeal
This is one of those dishes that you either love or hate with the skill and know how of the cook usually being the deciding factor. It seems to me that every island has its own version of turned corn so it wouldn’t be right to leave it out of this feature; in any case I’m always interested in recipes that turn this dish that I hated as a child into something that I’d be quite happy to eat over and over again.
What you get with this video is not only a great way of raising the bar in the flavour stakes but the instructions on doing so are easy to follow as well. This is also another one of those videos shot in the cook’s kitchen and along with her ‘just the way mom makes it’ presentation style there’s plenty of information about the ingredients that go into the dish.
Fried dumpling and plantain
This is one of those dishes that on the face of it really isn’t good for you, given that it is usually cooked with a fair amount of cooking oil, yet it is so irresistible especially if you fling in a bit of jerk chicken. With healthy eating in mind I always look out for cooking methods that are mindful of controlling the fat content as well as adding flavour to the dumplings and that’s exactly what you get with this video.
This type of cooking and recipes makes great Caribbean news.
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