Granita is a simpler form of sorbet from Italy. Lovely for dessert or just as a snack  on a hot summer’s day.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg of watery fruits (eg. melon, currants, citus fruits etc)
• 200-300 g caster sugar
• 200 ml water

Directions:

1. clean and peel the fruit, put into a blender and mix into a smooth paste
2. pour the sugar and water into a pan on medium heat and stir until the sugar crystals have dissolved
3. mix the cooled sugar syrup with the fruit paste and put into the freezer
4. take out every 15 minutes and give it a good stir - repeat for about 2 hours until it’s got a crystalline texture
5. Garnish with some fresh fruit or berries

This is a quick and cheap delicious pasta dish for the whole family. An old family recipe that I’ve altered a bit just to add a bit more umph to it. The kids called it kladdpasta (sticky pasta) when they were babies, and to this day this dish is called sticky pasta in this house.

Ingredients:

• 500 g wholemeal pasta
• 5 dl double cream
• 100g butter
• 1 pkt smoked bacon or pancetta
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 dl frozen green peas
• 2 eggs
• salt & black pepper to taste
• chilli pepper or pepper sauce to taste
• parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. start the pasta water and don’t forget to add salt
2. put a knob of butter in a frying pan and turn up to mark 5
3. grate (or finely chop) the onion and garlic and add to the pan
4. slice the bacon or pancetta and add to the pan
5. season with black pepper, chilli powder (or pepper sauce) and salt to taste
6. toss the pasta into the now boiling water and give it a god stir
7. when the onion and garlic looks translucent you add half of the cream and turn down the heat to mark 3
8. mix the rest of the cream with the eggs and as much grated cheese as you like/can afford
9. strain the pasta, but save a ladle of pasta water wich will help thickening the sauce (because of the starch from the pasta)
10. mix it all together: first you need to mix in the egg cream and the saved pasta water in the sauce - give it a good stir and pour over the pasta

Pancakes are perfect comfort food and they are really simple and cheap (!) to make. These are the American style thicker pancakes and they’re yummie-scrummie-licious!

Ingredients:

• 5dl flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1tsp salt
• 0,5 dl caster sugar
• 2,5 dl yoghurt (flavour optional)
• 1,5 dl milk
• 2 eggs
• 4 tbsp melted butter

Directions:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl
2. Separate the yolk from the whites and mix the yolks with yoghurt, milk and butter
3. Mix in the dry ingredients
4. Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks
5. Gently fold in half of the egg whites first (to make it easier for yourself) and then fold in the rest
6. Turn on the cooker on medium high heat (mark 4) and add some butter to the skillet (make sure the pan is hot before you start frying your pancakes)
7. Fry the pancakes for about 1 min on each side
8. Top them with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, fresh berries, ice cream, jam or whatever tickles your tastebuds.

Lamb is something it’s taken me years to get used to. When you get good lamb it’s gorgeous, but very often you end up with something that tastes like an old sock. Make sure to get your meat from a good butcher and you should be ok.

Ingredients:

• 2.5kg boned leg of lamb or lamb cutlets
• 3 tbsp Jerk Seasoning
• 1 tsp salt

For Sauce:

• 1 head unpeeled garlic
• 175g guava or red currant jelly
• 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1tsp chopped parsley
• 1tsp chopped cilantro

Directions:

1. Rub salt and jerk seasoning into the lamb thoroughly.
2. Cover and marinate in fridge overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 180C.
4. Roll up and tie the leg of lamb in three places to secure.
5. Roast for 45minutes (medium rare). If using cutlets grill for 8-10minutes on both sides.
6. Roast the head of garlic for about 45minutes.
7. Crush the soft inside of garlic cloves into a saucepan.
8. Add all the other ingredients for the sauce and stir.
9. Bring to the boil, making sure the guava jelly has melted completely.
10. Simmer and allow to reduce by half.
11. Allow the lamb to rest for 10minutes before carving.
12. Slice the lamb and glaze with the warm sauce.

Okra was a colour to me until I was introduced to Mumfood. Mumfood, in case you didn’t know, is food made by His Mum. And just so you know there’s no food in the world like Mumfood. (Having said that, I’d like to pipe up that I just loooooooove my dad’s cooking!)

Okra, also known as Lady’s Fingers, is a flowering plant in the mallow family along with species like cotton and cocoa. It is cultivated throughout the tropical and warm temperate regions of the world for its fibrous octagonal fruits containing round, white seeds.

In the Caribbean okra is cooked and eaten in soups and stews where it adds flavour and helps giving the dish a slightly thicker texture.

We just luurrvveeee seafood in this house. I must admit I prefer them as ‘au naturale’ as possible, but he wants his food infused with spice which is why my kitchen is all about fusion food and compromises.

Here’s a real treat - seafood infused with coconut, saffron, garlic and thyme. Lovely with rice, a nice home made bread, a salad and a chilled white wine. Using Walkerswood’s ready-made rundown sauce makes this recipe a quick but delicious choice.

Ingredients:

• 20 large raw shrimp, peeled and de-veined
• 500 lobster, shelled & cubed
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 stalks escallion, chopped
• 3 plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 0,5 tsp saffron strands
• 0,5 lime, juiced
• 2 jars Walkerswood Rundown Sauce
• 2 tsp thyme, chopped
• 2 tbsp parsley, chopped
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Prepare the shrimp and lobster.
2. Heat oil in a saucepan over moderate heat.
3. Saute escallion, tomatoes, garlic and saffron for 5 mins.
4. Add shrimp, lobster, salt and black pepper and let simmer.
5. Stir in chopped herbs and cook for 5minutes. Adjust the salt and pepper to taste.

The papaya, or pawpaw as the man calls it, is the fruit of a little tree that is native to the West Indies. Its ripe fruit is usually eaten raw, without the skin or seeds. The unripe green fruit of papaya can be eaten cooked, usually in curries, salads and stews.

Green papaya fruit and the tree’s latex are both rich in an enzyme called papain which is used to tender meat and other proteins. Papain is also very good for easing stomach ailments and an exceptional aid to digestion. A rich source of minerals and vitamins A, C and E, papain also breaks down wheat gluten, which may be of great help those sensitive to gluten.

We use papaya in salads and stews, and sometimes in drinks.

I must admit that peanut soup is not something I would have come up with in my lifetime, but this recipe is delicious with a freshly baked bread.

Cummon, you know you just have to try it… =)

Ingredients:

• 4 tbsp butter
• 1 grated onion
• 1 chopped celery stick
• 1 crushed clove of garlic
• chopped leaves of 1 sprig of thyme
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 litre chicken stock
• 1cup crunchy peanut butter
• 2 cups milk
• Salt and hot pepper sauce to taste
• 1 tbsp cilantro/coriander, chopped to garnish

Ingredients:

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan.
2. Add onion, celery, garlic and thyme.
3. Cook for 3 minutes.
4. Sprinkle in the flour, stirring constantly.
5. Keep stirring while adding stock slowly.
6. Increase the heat and add peanut butter.
7. Reduce heat, add milk, salt and hot pepper and simmer for 15 minutes.
8. Garnish with cilantro/coriander.

For centuries, curing with salt was a method of preserving fish and meat. Since the time of the Vikings, salted and dried cod from the North Atlantic has been shipped around the world. Because it was cheap and could last for months or even years without spoiling, salt cod became popular in many areas of the world.

Salt cod is available all year, but it’s not cheap anymore. Most of the world supply is caught in the north Atlantic ocean, mainly off New England, Canada, and Iceland. However, decades of overfishing have brought the Atlantic cod stocks near to collapse, and it may take many years for them to recover. Some processors have switched to the still relatively abundant Pacific cod, but prices for salt cod, which have risen three to fourfold over the last two decades, are likely to remain high.

If you can’t find salted cod in your local shops, give us a call or pop in to the Ya Man! Shop to stock up and try out some of our salt cod recipes.

When I met John I had never even tasted corned beef as I was convinced it was cat food… =) My man, however, is of the opinion that unless you’ve tasted it you’re not allowed to diss it, so he made me this dish one day and I loved it!

It is simple and cheap and can be eaten as it is with a bit of bread, or together with pasta, rice or veggies. You can also substitute the corned beef for tinned fish if you’re not in a beefy mood.

Ingredients:

• 1 tin corned beef
• 1 onion
• 3 tomatoes
• some (fresh) thyme
• 1 tbsp oil (not olive!)
• Maggi liquid seasoning
• hot  pepper sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Chop the onions, tomatoes and thyme
2. Put oil in a skillet and saute the veggies
3. Add corned beef and allow to boil with sauteed veggies
4. Add liquid seasoning, pepper sauce, salt and pepper to taste
5. Allow to simmer for 5-10 mins so that the flavours get a chance to mix and mingle
6. Enjoy!

This is simple to make and so cheap you can feed the whole family for less than a fiver even if you have to make a double. For a single person this is food for 2-3 meals, so works a treat for the budget. Personally I count it as comfort food and I always have a couple of tins of corned beef in the cupboard these days.