Mackerel Run Down a traditional dish that combines tender fresh and dried mackerel with sautéed vegetables and a rich spiced coconut sauce. This cookbook definitely delivers on what it promises in that every recipe is packed with spices, peppers, and other flavourful foods to guarantee meals that will leave your taste buds happy. Brothers, Shaun and Craig, created Original Flava in 2016, a Caribbean food and lifestyle platform packed with easy, authentic and modern recipes.

Special thanks to netgalley and the publishers for a arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. Some of the recipes are veganised versions of predominantly Jamaican classics; others are Caribbean-inflected reworkings of foods they love and have grown up eating.This delicious, vibrant Caribbean-influenced cookbook from the bestselling duo behind Original Flava includes over 100 easy recipes. Then use a frying pan with 1 tbsp of olive oil on medium-high heat and fry the onion, garlic and scotch bonnet pepper/chillies (all chopped) for 3-5 mins. I wish the recipes had some general cook-times listed, but while they don’t, the recipes also don’t seem like they would take all day. The most important thing, we think, is the togetherness food brings­ - the same happiness we have with our family. We also like to twist it up a likkle to give dishes our modern spin, so you can find recipes for Honey roasted j erk-spiced salmon, Plantain beanburgers and Banana fritter cheesecake.

As with their first book, Original Flava, it draws on the generous tradition of Caribbean food, though its focus — or perhaps it would be more accurate to say its inspiration — is Ital cooking; the “ital” derives from “vital” and denotes the Rastafarian approach to eating, with its emphasis on fresh, unprocessed food and and its celebration of the earth’s bounty.Cook until browned, then add the scotch bonnet, thyme, spring onions and tomatoes and stir everything. That one detail is what truly keeps this from being a favourite for me simply because I’m not sure how feasible some of these recipes would be.

I work with students from the Caribbean, so I was always curious about the foods they grew up eating. Their cookbook, Original Flava: Caribbean Recipes from Home, was released in 2019 and was a bestseller. Beyond the fact I love the base recipe for dumplings and pea stew but also in 3 days I cooked 3 dinners in a row. We want to share this joy: a testament to the culture of Jamaica, the fun, fantastic FLAVAs, and the stories behind the food, straight from the people of Jamaica.I know a lot of people who love to cook, myself included, but I don't know a single person who owns a kitchen scale. Classic recipes like Ackee ‘n’ Saltfish, Oxtail, Curry goat, Jerk Chicken and Caribbean favourites like Garlic butter lobster and Trini doubles. Jamaican food also has an authentic vegan history with the Rastafarian Ital diet ('Ital' is a natural, unprocessed, plant-based diet used to promote wellness).