Jamaican Pineapple Salsa

I had so many dishes from Jamaica month that I just couldn't get around to posting them all last month, so I've got a few stragglers to share with you. I'm a huge fan of fruity salsas, and I wanted to share this one with you before pineapple goes completely out of season! Enjoy the last of the lovely warm weather with a Jamaican cocktail and some gorgeous fresh and tangy pineapple salsa.

I think the jalapeños have the loveliest flavour for this dish, but if you want it even more brightly colourful then chopped red chilli would look lovely.

Jamaican Pineapple Salsa

Ingredients
2 cups fresh diced pineapple
1 jalapeño chilli, finely minced (I like to leave the hot bits in, but you can remove them first if you prefer)
2 tbsp. finely chopped mint
2 tbsp. finely chopped coriander
3-4 shallots, sliced
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 tsp brown sugar
Salt and pepper

To Make:
1. Combine all ingredients. Store in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to let the flavours deepen.
2. Serve.

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from Jamaica.

Check out my other Jamaican recipe posts:

Jamaican Rum Punch

Jerk Tofu & Pineapple Skewers

Jamaican Peanut Punch

Gizzada (Coconut & Brown Sugar Tarts)

Old-time Jamaican Lemonade

Jamaican Ginger Cake

Callaloo

Jamaican Patties

Jerk Sweet Potato Chips

Coconut Mango Float (Vegan)

The start of Autumn in Sydney means take advantage of the last few mangoes around before they disappear until next summer. One of the many things I miss about summer as I'm trudging through the winter months is the beautiful summer stone fruits, so it's nice to make the most of them while I still can.

Mango float is a dessert popular in the Philippines and several of it's neighbours - including parts o Australia. It's a nice simple dessert, easy to make and usually not vegan. My version has a few changes. I've used whipped coconut cream (a vegan's best friend) but I've also included grated fresh coconut because Filipino versions use young coconuts, it adds a lovely texture to the whipped cream and enhances the beautiful coconut flavour. Most recipes use whole biscuits for the biscuit layers, but I've just used crumbs because I found it a bit easier. If you like, you can layer whole biscuits and just use crumbs to fill in any gaps.

Mango float is often made like a slice, in a long dish and then cut into slices. I've made mine in jars because they look so lovely plus they're very easy to store. You could also make them in individual parfait glasses or dessert bowls, or even in one big glass bowl like a trifle. If you're making it like a slice, you'll want to start with a bottom layer of whole biscuits to make the base, but if it's in jars or parfait glasses then I prefer to start with a layer of mango because I think it's nice getting to the bottom and finding fruit!

If you like a boozy dessert, try marinating the mango in 1-2 tbsp. rum.

Coconut Mango Float

Ingredients
2 x 400ml cans coconut cream (refrigerated for at least 24 hours)
1/4 cup soft icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups grated fresh coconut flesh
3 large mangoes
200g digestive biscuits (or other plain biscuits) (you'll need more if you want to make it slice-style, as you'll need a bottom layer)

To Make:
1. Remove the cans from the fridge (the longer you refrigerate them the better), open them up and scoop out all the solidified cream. Discard any watery liquid in the bottom of the can.
2. In a bowl, whip the coconut cream solids with electric beaters until light and fluffy. Move the beaters up and down while you beat to aerate the cream as much as possible. Once it's smooth and whipped, add the icing sugar and vanilla extract and beat in well.
3. Chop the mango flesh into cubes or slices. At this stage you can add a tbsp. of spiced rum or another liqueur if you want to.
4. Turn the biscuits into crumbs either in a food processor or just crumble with your hands.
5. Start with a layer of mango and then top it with coconut cream and a fairly generous layer of biscuit crumbs. Follow this with another layer of mango and another of coconut cream. Garnish with more biscuit crumbs.
6. Set in the fridge for a couple of hours (or overnight).

Serves about 8.

If you want to make it as a slice, use a long rectangular dish. Start with a layer of whole biscuits and fill in any gaps with crumbs. Then layer mango and then coconut cream. Repeat with another layer of biscuits, followed mango and coconut cream.

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food the Philippines.

Check out my other Filipino recipe posts:

Tofu Adobo with Pineapple & Bamboo

Lumpiang Sariwa

Lumpiang Prito with Vinegar Dipping Sauce

Pancit Canton

Lumpiang Sariwa

In the Philippines, spring rolls (or lumpia) come in many varieties with many fillings. Often it's ground meats, but can also be a mixture of vegetables. The rolls can be fresh, fried or even absent (I'll explain this in a later post). I love spring rolls in any form, so I took the opportunity to make several different types of Filipino Lumpia. These ones aren't so much Spring rolls as they are Summer rolls, as I've used easy rice paper rolls as a bit of a cheat. Usually Lumpiang Sariwa refers to spring rolls which are not deep fried and are made with a special kind of egg wrapper (halfway between a spring roll wrapper and a thin crepe?) . You can make your own wrappers, or you could use fresh spring roll wrappers (or indeed, frozen spring roll wrappers - just defrost and use them as they are without frying). The drawback of using spring roll wrappers is that they're usually square, and lumpiang sariwa are made with round wrappers which allow you to leave one end open so the lettuce can poke out and you get a glimpse of the yummy colourful veggie filling. If you want to try making your own wrappers, just google it. There are lots of websites with recipes and instructions. If you want to take the easy road, improvise with what you've got! Like this lovely rice paper version. 

Lumpiang Sariwa

Ingredients
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup hard tofu cut into small cubes
1 cup sweet potato cut into small cubes
1 cup julienne carrots
2 tsp vegan fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup thinly sliced green beans
1 cup cabbage
5 lettuce leaves
10 rice paper rolls (or fresh spring roll wrappers)

For the peanut sauce:
2 cups water
1/8 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup finely chopped peanuts
1 clove garlic, finely minced
2 tbsp cornstarch

To make:
1. Heat oil in a large frypan or wok and add the onion and garlic. Sauté until translucent and then add the tofu and sweet potato. Cook for about 3 minutes and then add the carrots and cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring often.
2. Add the fish sauce and soy sauce. Once the carrot is just slightly cooked, turn off the heat and stir through the green beans and cabbage. The residual heat will cook the cabbage just enough and finish cooking the carrots. 
3. Set the filling aside to cool a little, it can be warm but not hot when you wrap up the rolls.
4. Cook each rice paper roll wrapper according to the packet (usually by immersing in hot water for 30-60 seconds). Lay 1/2 lettuce leaf in the top middle of the wrapper and add about 1/10th of the filling. Wrap the bottom upwards and then roll the two sides over it nice and tightly, leaving it open at the top. Continue with the rest of the filling and wrappers.
5. To make the sauce: Combine 1 1/2 cups water, soy sauce, brown sugar and salt in a saucepan over a medium heat. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Once all the sugar is dissolved add the peanuts and garlic and simmer for 3-4 minutes. In a cup, combine the remaining 1/2 cup water with the cornstarch and stir until smooth. 
6. Stirring the sauce continually, add in the cornstarch. Stir continuously over a low heat until the mixture thickens up a bit. Remove from the heat. 
7. Arrange lumpiang sariwa on a platter and drizzle the peanut sauce over the top.

Makes 10 large rolls.

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food the Philippines.

Check out my other Filipino recipe posts:

Tofu Adobo with Pineapple & Bamboo

Coconut Mango Float

Lumpiang Prito with Vinegar Dipping Sauce

Pancit Canton

Filipino Adobo Tofu with Pineapple and Bamboo Shoots

March is Philippines month on the blog, and I'm looking forward to sharing a lot of new dishes with you. As with a lot of Asian nations, the Philippines has a long history of association with a lot of different countries - all of which have influenced their cuisine. The resulting cuisine has Malaysian, Spanish, Chinese and even American influences which have contributed to their unique cuisine. Generally, I have to say, it's a very meaty country! They love eating their pigs over there and most of the recipes I found contained several part of the pig. But I found a smattering of lovely vegetarian dishes hidden amongst all the meat and have more than enough to share a month's worth of recipes with you.

I'm going to start with some Adobo Tofu. You might think of Spain when you hear the word adobo, and infact the adobo is quite well known and well used in America thanks to it's large hispanic population. But what you might not know is that when the Spanish explored the Philippines in the 16th Century, they discovered that the Filipino population had a very similar method of cooking with vinegar. Because it was so similar to the Spanish method, they named it adobo, despite the fact that it was indigenous to the region.

Filipino Adobo Tofu with Pineapple & Bamboo Shoots

Ingredients
500g hard tofu (sometimes called extra firm tofu)
3 tbsp vegetable oil
6-8 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 small pineapple (about 1 1/2 - 2 cups chopped)
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup white vinegar (I used white wine vinegar, you can use palm vingear, coconut vinegar or any other variety of white vinegar)
1/3 cup light soy sauce
2 bay leaves
Generous grinding of black pepper
1 small can (220g) bamboo shoots (if you can find fresh shoot, even better!)

To Make
1. Squeeze as much liquid as you can out of the tofu and cut into cubes or triangles. Heat the oil in a wok and fry pieces until lightly browned on both sides. Remove and set aside.
2. Peel and chop your pineapple and set aside. Peel and slice your garlic and lighty fry in the remaining oil in the wok (you may need to add more if there is not much left) until just starting to go golden. Then add the pineapple and cook for about another 1-2 minutes.
3. Add the vegetable stock, vinegar, soy sauce, bay leaves and black pepper. Bring to a simmer.
4. Add the tofu and drained bamboo shoots. Simmer for about 15 minutes. 

You can serve with rice and steamed vegetables. 
Serves 4. 

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food the Philippines.

Check out my other Filipino recipe posts:

Lumpiang Sariwa

Coconut Mango Float

Lumpiang Prito with Vinegar Dipping Sauce

Pancit Canton

Jamaican Ginger Cake

The first great thing about this cake it how easy it it. Mix everything in a bowl, bake and then sprinkle with icing sugar and serve. I love finding cakes which don't need any kind of icing or fancy decoration, because it's so much less work :) The rich taste of this cake doesn't need any icing, glaze or drizzle - it's perfect just how it it. The second great thing about this cake is that it tastes like a million dollars in your mouth. It's got a double it of ginger - fresh and ground - and luscious molasses to give it that dark and sticky quality. The flavours are reminiscent of gingerbread, but the consistency is soft, moist and sticky. It looks plain and unassuming, but I think it's probably my favourite of all the cakes I've made for all the countries I've featured (that's a big call, but I'm making it!).

Jamaican Ginger Cake
Adapted from Feast Magazine Issue 35 (September 2014)

Ingredients
160g vegan margarine or butter
200g dark brown sugar
90g castor sugar
2/3 cup apple sauce
4-5cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
100g blackstrap molasses
100ml oat or soy milk
300g plain flour (I prefer wholemeal, but you can use either)
1/2 tsp bicarb soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp allspice
Pinch salt
Powdered sugar, to serve

To Make
1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees C. Lightly grease a 22-23cm cake tin and line with baking paper.
2. Beat margarine and both sugars together using electric beaters for about 5 minutes, until smooth and thick. 
3. Add the apple sauce a bit at a time and beat in. Then beat in the molasses, grated fresh ginger and milk. Fold in the flour, bicarb soda, baking powder, salt and spices. 
4. Pour into the prepared cake tin and bake for 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cool slightly in the pan and then invert onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. 
5. Sprinkle the cool cake generously with powdered sugar. If you like an extra ginger hit, mix a pinch or two of ground ginger in with the powdered sugar that you sprinkle on the top. 
6. Eat it. Preferably with a cup of tea.

Makes 1 x 23cm diameter cake. 

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from Jamaica.

Check out my other Jamaican recipe posts:

Jamaican Rum Punch

Jerk Tofu & Pineapple Skewers

Jamaican Peanut Punch

Gizzada (Coconut & Brown Sugar Tarts)

Old-time Jamaican Lemonade

Pineapple Salsa

Callaloo

Jamaican Patties

Jerk Sweet Potato Chips

Jamaican Lemonade

It's wonderful to make your own lemonade - at least that way you know what goes in it! I absolutely loved the Limoonada (Egyptian Orange Blossom Lemonade) that we had for Egypt month, so I jumped at the chance to make another variation from another culture. This Jamaican lemonade is fantastic, the dark brown sugar and molasses make for a much less sickly sweet drink with a bit more of an adult flavour. It goes fantastically with a shot of rum mixed through, but mostly we just appreciated it on ice because the day I made it was so hot and we were running around cleaning the house. It seriously hit the spot!

This recipe fills up about 3 x 750ml bottles, so great for a party. If you're just making it for yourself at home, you can use a half or third of the recipe or just bottle it up and drink it over the course of a week or two. Those 3 bottles we made, they didn't last for long!

Jamaican Lemonade

Ingredients
10 limes (if your limes are not very juicy you may need a couple more)
2 lemons
2 cups dark brown sugar
2 (generous) tsp molasses
10 cups cold water

To Make
1. Juice the lemons and limes. Combine the juice with the brown sugar, molasses and water and stir until all the sugar and molasses has dissolved.
2. Pour into bottles and store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Makes about 3 x 750ml bottles. May be more or less depending on how juicy your lemons and limes are.

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from Jamaica.

Check out my other Jamaican recipe posts:

Jamaican Rum Punch

Jerk Tofu & Pineapple Skewers

Jamaican Peanut Punch

Gizzada (Coconut & Brown Sugar Tarts)

Jamaican Ginger Cake

Pineapple Salsa

Callaloo

Jamaican Patties

Jerk Sweet Potato Chips

Gizzada - Jamaican Coconut & Brown Sugar Tarts

Even after so many years cooking it is so lovely to keep learning new tricks and techniques. I was really impressed with the traditional Jamaican method of making these lovely stand alone tart shells, they save you needing to have lots of mini tart pans around the house - plus you don't have to wash up all the pans! They make such a lovely little star shaped tart and are so beautiful filled with this traditional Jamaican filling of coconut and brown sugar.

Gizzada - Jamaican Coconut and Brown Sugar Tarts

Ingredients

Pastry:

2 cups flour (I prefer wholemeal), + extra for rolling

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp margarine (or vegan butter)

2 cups iced water

Filling:

1 coconut, flesh grated (makes between 3 and 4 cups fresh grated coconut)

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 cup water

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp allspice

1 tbsp margarine (or vegan butter)

To Make
1. Combine flour and salt in a bowl or food processor. Cut margarine into small pieces into the flour. Rub with fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs (or, if using a food processor, simply pulse a few times until mixture resembles the same). 

2. Add ice water a little at a time while you mix (or process) until there is enough liquid for the dough to start to form into a ball. Once the dough is wet enough to stick together in a ball but not so sticky that it sticks to your fingers when you touch it, it is enough liquid. Once you've reached this stage form your dough into a nice smooth ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

3. While the pastry is in the fridge, make the filling. First, grate the coconut either using a special coconut grater or by cracking open the coconut into as many pieces as you can and then gently prising the pieces away from the skin (the flesh will have one brown edge, don't worry - that's fine). Once you have it in pieces you can grate it on a standard box or plane grater. 

4. Combine the sugar and water in a pan and place over a medium heat. Bring to a simmer and let simmer until it starts to thicken slightly (between 5 and 10 minutes). Once it has thickened a bit add the grated coconut, nutmeg and allspice. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes and then add the margarine. Continue to cook until the mixture has no more liquid and the margarine is dissolved and then remove from the heat and allow to cool.

6. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Remove the pasty from the fridge and cut in half. Roll out half of the pastry until it is about 1/4 inch thick (don't make it too thin or the tarts wont be able to stand up by themselves). Cut circles using a 5-6 inch diameter cutter or bowl. Pinch each circle as in the pictures below to form the star shaped tart shells. Make sure you pinch firmly so the dough sticks together well and doesn't simply come apart.

7. Continue making the tart shells until you have used up all of the pastry. Place them on a tray lined with baking paper and prick the bottoms of each one with a fork. Bake for 10 minutes, turning the tray halfway to ensure even cooking. Remove and allow to cool slightly so you can fill them.
8. Fill each casing with plenty of the cooled coconut filling. The shells can hold quite a lot, so you shouldn't have any trouble using up all your filling. Return to the tray and bake for another 15 minutes, or until the pastry is just golden and the filling is slightly crispy on top. Remove and cool before eating. 

Makes about a baker's dozen gizzada (this can vary depending on how big your cutter is).

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from Jamaica.

Check out my other Jamaican recipe posts:

Jamaican Rum Punch

Jerk Tofu & Pineapple Skewers

Jamaican Peanut Punch

Old-time Jamaican Lemonade

Jamaican Ginger Cake

Pineapple Salsa

Callaloo

Jamaican Patties

Jerk Sweet Potato Chips

Jamaican Peanut Punch (Peanut Milkshake)

I can't resist trying some of the more unusual recipes which come up in my research, because I think it's great to try things a little out of your comfort zone. This traditional Jamaican drink is flavoured primarily with peanuts, which is certainly a new experience for me. It is sometimes made with sweetened condensed milk, and sometimes with regular milk sweetened with honey or sugar. I've used home made oat milk and sweetened it with lovely dark brown sugar. It was actually really nice.

It's not part of the traditional recipe to blend the peanuts twice but I wanted to get as much peanut-y-ness out of them as I could. I ended up saving the peanut mush I was left with and I'm planning to throw it into my next cupcake batch.

Peanut Punch

Ingredients
1 cup chopped roasted peanuts (unsalted)
2 cups oat milk
3 cups water
2-3 tablespoons dark brown sugar (more or less to taste, depending on how sweet you like it)
1 tap vanilla extract
1/4 tap nutmeg, plus extra to sprinkle on servings

To Make:
1. Place the peanuts in a blender with 1 cup oat milk and 1 cup water and blend thoroughly.
2. Strain the liquid into a jug or bowl and then return the peanut mush back in the blender with the remaining oat milk and water and blend again. Strain again and then discard the peanuts.
3. Rinse out your blender and return your strained liquid to the blender along with the remaining ingredients. Blend again until frothy and serve immediately. Or, store  in the fridge and blend or whisk just before serving. Serve sprinkled with some grated nutmeg.

Makes about 4-6 servings.

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from Jamaica.

Check out my other Jamaican recipe posts:

Jamaican Rum Punch

Jerk Tofu & Pineapple Skewers

Gizzada (Coconut & Brown Sugar Tarts)

Old-time Jamaican Lemonade

Jamaican Ginger Cake

Pineapple Salsa

Callaloo

Jamaican Patties

Jerk Sweet Potato Chips

Jerk Tofu & Pineapple Skewers

The cornerstone of Jamaican savoury food is Jerk seasoning, used on just about anything (although mostly meat!). I've made some jerk tofu to get us started on Jamaican month and made it into BBQ skewers with pineapple. The photograph here is from before they were cooked, because after they were cooked they were gobbled up immediately :)

Jerk Tofu & Pineapple Skewers

Ingredients
375g hard tofu, drained and pressed and cut into cubes
1/2 fresh pineapple, cut into cubes
2-3 shallots, cut into 1 inch lengths

Jerk Marinade:
2 shallots, chopped
2.5 inches of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp thyme leaves
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 scotch bonnet chilli (if you don't like it hot, use only a quarter)
3 tbsp lime juice
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp oil

To Make:
1. Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a food processor (or mortar and pestle) and purée into a smooth paste.
2. Pour the marinade all over the tofu cubes and mix well. Marinade overnight, or for at least a couple of hours. Mix or toss the tofu every so often to make sure the marinade is coating all the tofu.
3. If using wooden skewers, soak in water while you get all the ingredients ready to thread.
4. Cut your pineapple and shallots and thread these onto the skewers with the tofu. Once finished drizzle any marinade left all over the skewers.
5. BBQ until the tofu is browned and starting to go crispy and the pineapple is golden brown and starting to caramelise. You may need to add a little oil to the BBQ if it is too dry. Eat straight away while they're hot.

Makes approximately 17 skewers.

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from Jamaica.

Check out my other Jamaican recipe posts:

Jamaican Rum Punch

Jamaican Peanut Punch

Gizzada (Coconut & Brown Sugar Tarts)

Old-time Jamaican Lemonade

Jamaican Ginger Cake

Pineapple Salsa

Callaloo

Jamaican Patties

Jerk Sweet Potato Chips

Jamaican Rum Punch

Getting back into exploring the lesser-known cuisines of the world this month with the first featured country for 2015 - and it's Jamaica! I've been keen to get to the culinary delights if the Caribbean, so I'm very excited about this month. Since it's hot as anything here at the moment and I'm dreaming of being on a beach in the Caribbean as we speak, I thought I'd start us off with a cocktail.

A classic Caribbean Rum Punch has a basic formula, which is fun because it leaves you with lots of room to experiment with different flavours and combinations. Here are the basic guidelines:

1 measure Sour

2 measures Sweet

3 measures Strong

4 measures Weak

Quite straightforward and nice and easy to remember. The sour is usually lemon juice or lime juice, the sweet is usually raspberry syrup, grenadine or cherry syrup, the strong is rum (of course!) and the weak is where you can get creative. A lot of people just use water as their weak, which is ok but makes for a pretty weak flavoured punch. You can use juice, especially of tropical fruits. You can use lemonade or ginger beer. Some people use beer. I've used apple cider and it was so delicious, you can also use sparkling apple juice instead.

I've used a standard 30ml cocktail measure for mine, which serves two. If you're making a big bowl of punch, you'll probably want to use cups as your measure

Jamaican Rum Punch

Ingredients
1 measure fresh lime juice
1 measure raspberry syrup
3 measures rum
4 measures apple cider

To Make:
1. Mix all ingredients together. Fill 2 glasses with plenty of ice and distribute punch between them.
2. Garnish frivolously with slices of fruit or superfluous drink umbrellas.
3. Sip & feel all your worries fade away.

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from Jamaica.

Check out my other Jamaican recipe posts:

Jerk Tofu & Pineapple Skewers

Jamaican Peanut Punch

Gizzada (Coconut & Brown Sugar Tarts)

Old-time Jamaican Lemonade

Jamaican Ginger Cake

Pineapple Salsa

Callaloo

Jamaican Patties

Jerk Sweet Potato Chips