Collin Brown and Executive Chef at Caribbean-inspired restaurant chain Turtle Bay. He is an award-winning, world class chef from Jamaica who has been on TV screens (including Netflix’s The Final Table), previously owned fine dining restaurants in London, and caters for A list celebs like Beyonce and Nathalie Emmanuel (who happens to be vegan).
To stay healthy and spiritually connected to the earth, Rastas eat a natural diet free from additives, chemicals, and most meat. The style of primarily vegan eating is known as Ital cooking. Rastas commonly say, “Ital is vital,” pointing to how the diet got its name.
Many of Collin’s recipes – true to the Caribbean – use tinned coconut milk, white and spring onions, scotch bonnet chilli peppers and fresh thyme, so make sure your cupboard is stocked.
Jackfruit Curry
Serves 4 people
- 1 tin jackfruit in water
- 1 tin coconut milk
- 1 tin green lentils (cooked)
- 150g sweet potato, chopped into cubes
- 100g chopped onion
- 50g chopped spring onion
- 2 cloves garlic – finely chopped
- 5g chopped scotch bonnet pepper
- 15g fresh thyme
- 15g freshly grated turmeric
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 20g spice mix (see recipe below)
- 1 bunch of coriander – chopped
- 1 bunch of parsley – chopped
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon pimiento
Method
- Drain Jackfruit and add to a bowl. Marinade jackfruit by adding onion, spring onion, garlic, fresh thyme, scotch bonnet, spice mix, salt, coriander, oregano, pimento, parsley and lemon zest. Set aside.
- Preheat your sauce pan over medium heat and add coconut oil until it melts.
- Add fresh turmeric to the pan and sauté for one minute.
- Add the marinaded jackfruit mixture to the hot coconut oil and turmeric. Stir fry for 5 minutes then add coconut milk, add sweet potatoes and lentils, and simmer for 25 minutes.
- Garnish with fresh coriander and serve with rice and peas.
Chef Collin’s Caribbean Spice Mix
Ingredients – mix together and store in an airtight jar
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon chilli powder
- 1 tablespoon cumin
Visit Turtle Bay here https://turtlebay.co.uk