West Winds: Recipes, History and Tales from Jamaica

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Remove the oxtail from the marinade, reserving the marinade for later. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat. Working in batches, add the meat to the pan and cook, stirring, for 5 mins until browned all over.

Arrange the blanched vegetables on the lined baking tray and place in the oven. Leave the oven door ajar and cook for 4-5 hrs, turning the veg every hour, until dried and crisp. It’s also where a cookbook comes in. You get to see a rich culture of things that maybe you didn't know about or haven't eaten before. Then you can make your own journey towards it. Restaurants aren't the only player in that sphere of influence. At one point, though, I realised I didn’t actually know how to cook a lot of the stuff myself. I’d just been enjoying eating it for so long, and I was never really pressured to get into the kitchen in the same way my female cousins were. I couldn’t live with myself not knowing, so I started to learn the recipes, and things grew from there. Sift all the dry ingredients, up to and including the salt, into a mixing bowl, then stir until combined and set aside. In retrospect, both point to the same Western reverence and sanctity towards eating certain animals, and the seeming disgust of consuming others. While goat is widely available at local butchers across Britain, particularly in areas with a high ethnic population, it has never fully entered the British culinary repertoire and it’s likely this prejudice is the reason. Although goat (and mutton) was favoured during the Tudor period of British history, especially in pies, it doesn’t seem to have caught the national imagination since.Riaz blends authentic Jamaican ingredients and dishes with popular trends - discover recipes for nose-to-tail and vegan cooking. Why not also recreate popular takeaway food, Oxtail and Butterbean, or feel as though you're on the beach with a Langoustine Soup. This cookbook has everything - main meals, sauces, soups, juices and preserves, bakes and desserts. Riaz Phillips is a writer, video maker, and photographer. He was born and raised in London, but he’s passionate about the Afro-Caribbean food he ate growing up. So passionate that he self-published his first book. Belly Full: Caribbean Food in the UK is an in-depth look at Caribbean people and restaurants around the UK. It tells the oral histories of the chefs, butchers, grocers, and bakers who bring the food of a warm island to a cold one.

What’s it about? Celebrating Jamaican culture, cuisine, and history, West Winds is a uniquely rich and deeply personal cookbook. Award-winning writer Riaz Phillips draws on his own memories of growing up in the Caribbean diaspora of London, as well as of his time spent living in Jamaica, to create a set of over 100 vibrant and intensely flavoursome recipes, interspersed with travel and food photography. From hearty soups and bakes to thirst-quenching drinks, these recipes are rooted in centuries of Jamaican traditions, folktales, and anecdotes. Riaz also explores how veganism, healthy eating, fermentation, and zero-waste cooking formed part of Jamaican cuisine long before they became modern trends. Whether you want to delve deeper into your heritage or discover new facets of regional Caribbean cuisine, West Winds will help you bring the spirit of traditional Jamaican cooking to your kitchen. The hidden Caribbean isn’t a place but a legacy of the complex history, people, and food that exists outside the limelight of Caribbean culture.Growing up in London and now living in Berlin, food writer Riaz Phillips is passionate about celebrating the familiar Caribbean food of his childhood while also demystifying new and unknown ingredients for home cooks from around the globe. With 120 traditional and delicious dishes that draw on Riaz's personal memories, West Winds is so much more than a showcase of Jamaican cooking, it is also rooted in the exploration of the island's heritage and culture. Featuring colourful and sun-drenched imagery, and easy-to-follow instructions, the versatility of Jamaican cuisine is apparent. Introducing West Winds– a joyous celebration of Caribbean cooking, with a special focus on the sensational flavors of Jamaican cuisine. Winner of the Jane Grigson Trust Award 2022, the all-encompassing Caribbean cookbook West Winds introduces everyone, everywhere to the enriching and mouth-watering flavors that Jamaica has to offer. TI: There’s a gap in the syllabus when it comes to imperialism and colonialism. Do you think that food could be a good vehicle to turn that into more mainstream knowledge?

Team Infatuation: Congratulations on the publication of West Winds. What made you want to write Belly Full, Community Comfort, and now West Winds? What’s inside: A celebration of the lesser known Caribbean culture, rooted in tales and memories of the history and heritage of the eastern reaches of the Caribbean. So whether you seek connection with your heritage, or you're simply looking to expand your culinary repertoire, take a trip to Jamaica with West Winds, proving the ideal cookbook for those with an interest in Caribbean flavours, cooking and culture, or doubling up as the perfect gift for chefs who are looking to experiment with new flavours. Read it, cook from it, immerse yourself in it and more! RP: There should be a diversity of diversity. Everybody needs to toe the same line and, at the end of the day, they are businesses that people are running as well. Newer restaurants are always trying to reach a wider audience, but at their heart, they usually do want to appeal to the native audience as well. If they didn’t they could just go completely off the chain and just do burgers and wraps. There's always an element to them that they want to keep things authentic in ways, but to reach a wider audience. Wipe the wok or pan clean, and heat the remaining oil over a medium-high heat. Add the onion, spring onions, saving some of the green part to garnish, thyme and scotch bonnet. Stir-fry for three to five minutes, then add the garlic and ginger, then cook for another two minutes.Put the tofu in a shallow bowl and add the soy sauce. Gently turn it until coated, taking care not to break up the slices. Add three tablespoons of the cornflour, then turn to coat all sides of the tofu and set aside. Introducing West Winds - the most-talked about cookbook of 2022 and a joyous celebration of Caribbean cooking, with a special focus on the sensational flavours of Jamaican cuisine. Winner of the Jane Grigson Trust Award 2022, the all-encompassing Caribbean cookbook West Winds introduces everyone, everywhere to the enriching and mouth-watering flavours that Jamaica has to offer. Mix the ingredients for the marinade in a large bowl. Add the goat and, using your hands, turn the meat in the marinade until coated. Cover the bowl and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, ideally overnight –or even 72 hours is welcome. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and saute for two minutes, add the garlic, ginger and the white part of the spring onions, then cook for another two minutes.

Heat half the coconut oil in a large saucepan or Dutch pot over a medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the all-purpose seasoning, the ginger and 2 tablespoons oft he paste or 1 tablespoon of the curry powder. Stir for1–2 minutes to combine. Turn the heat down a little, then add half the coconut milk and stir to combine.And there are spiced patties, the irresistible hand pies with golden pastry so buttery-crisp, ‘you just have to accept the pastry flakes are going to get everywhere.’ The Caribbean food scene in the UK is akin to a private members’ club. Invite-only. Unless you run in certain circles, you might not know much about it. Family recipes, the best butchers, where to buy a quality Dutch pot, how to make the perfect dhal puri roti… The community is powered by word of mouth, not to mention the sheer breadth of culture emanating from the islands, each of which is unique. Put simply, it can be intimidating for an outsider. Enter Riaz Phillips, who’s on a mission to make Caribbean cooking feel more accessible. Did you know that there has been growing interest in Caribbean food worldwide, with the highest number of searches taking place in Australia, India, Western Europe, and the US. There has also been a strong rise in Caribbean cooking in the UK, which has remained a popular search over the last year. Whilst there are not many Caribbean cookbooks on the market, especially those that include vegan food, baking, and zero-waste dishes, West Winds successfully taps into fashionable food trends such as fakeaways, veganism and baking. TI: Do you think anything has changed in regards to Caribbean food in mainstream British food culture since, say, you first started crowdfunding for Belly Full?