Food with Jamaican Influence

Very famous foods known at the Notting Hill Carnival are jerk chicken, curry goat, and rice and peas. Here are the recipes of each dish if you wish to get a taste of authentic Caribbean food (though these dishes are mostly Jamaican-influenced).

Jerk Chicken

• 6 lb Roasting Chicken
• 1 tbsp. Salt
• 2 tsp. Garlic powder
• 1 tsp. Paprika
• 1 tsp. Soya Sauce
• 1 small onion
• 3 tbsp. Jerk Seasoning

First, rub the whole chicken with salt. Grater the onion and rub it into the chicken. Add the Paprika and Garlic powder to the chicken. Rub the Jerk Seasoning all over the whole chicken and allow the chicken to marinate for at least 2 hours. Roast in oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Curried Goat

• 2 lbs. Mutton or lamb trimmed and cut into cubes
• ¼ cup chopped onion
• 2 tbsp. Turmeric
• 2 cloves chopped garlic
• ½ tsp. Hot pepper sauce
• 2 tsp. Grated ginger

• ½ cup red wine
• ¼ tsp. cooking oil
• ¼ cup tomato ketchup
• 1 tsp. curry powder
• ½ tsp. Salt
• 1 tsp. vinegar
• 3 tbsp. Chutney

Season meat with garlic, salt, vinegar and hot pepper. Allow to marinate for about 1 hour. Heat oil, add curry powder, then meat and brown. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer over low heat until meat is tender. Adjust seasoning. Serve on a bed of rice.

Rice and Peas

• 1 ½ c Dried red kidney beans, Soaked overnight
• 1 Clove garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp. Salt
• ½ c Unsweetened coconut milk
• 2 Scallions, chopped
• 2 Sprigs fresh thyme
• ½ Whole Scotch Bonnet Pepper
• ½ tsp. Black pepper
• 2 c Long-grain white rice

Boil the beans, garlic and salt until the beans are tender. Save three cups of the liquid, discarding the garlic. Return the beans and the three cups liquid to the pot (if there’s not enough of the cooking liquid use water), along with the coconut milk, scallions, thyme, scotch bonnet pepper, and black pepper and salt to taste. When it comes to a boil, add in the rice. Let it boil for 20 minutes, then remove it from the heat and let it sit for 15 minutes. Stir it with a fork to taste.