Real Food with Mike

Here's how it goes.


Assemble your ingredients:


For the jerk marinade:

-1 tbsp freshly ground allspice (don't use previously ground spices for this if you can help it)
-2 tsp dried thyme (if using fresh, which I don't like for this, use a full tablespoon)
-1 tsp nutmeg
-1 tsp freshly ground cinnamon
-1 tsp ground clove
-1 tbsp chopped garlic
-1 inch section of ginger, chopped into pieces
-3 jalapenos, stems removed, cut into pieces
-1 to 2 serranos, stems removed, cut into pieces
-1/4 cup soy sauce (may need more, start with this amount)
-Juice of one to two limes depending on how much you like the flavor
-small handful of fresh mint leaves
-Freshly ground black pepper


Pretty simple for this: grind it all up in a food processor until it is a runny paste consistency, then apply to your meat of choice and marinate for at least 4 hours, overnight if possible. I used fileted chicken breasts because they were on sale and because I didn't want to be cooking them forever, you'll want to use split bone-in breasts if you have the time. Note also that I only cooked these under the broiler because I don't have a grill at my current place - if you do have a grill, even just a gas one, use that for the best end result.



For the rice:


-1.5 cups jasmine or basmati rice (or other long grain rice - jasmine and basmati are preferable because they have a sweet, nutty taste and aroma)
-2.25 cups chicken stock
-1/2 red onion, chopped
-Several cloves garlic, chopped
-1 large jalapeno, chopped
-1 serrano, chopped
-1/2 tsp each: ground cloves, ground allspice, ground coriander, ground nutmeg
-Large pinch kosher salt
-Lots of freshly ground black pepper


Sweat your onions, garlic, and jalapeno with the salt/pepper until translucent and mostly soft. Add your rice and cook for about a minute over medium heat or until you begin to smell a nutty aroma. Pour in your chicken stock (preferably already nearly at a boil on another burner) and your spices and bring to a boil, then reduce to low and clamp on the lid for about 15 minutes or until rice is just tender and liquid is all gone. At this point you can stir in some kidney beans to make Jamaican Rice and Peas (don't ask me why they call it peas and not beans) or simply taste for seasoning and serve as is alongside the other stuff.


For the plantain/sweet potato cakes:


-3 medium plantains, peeled and cut in half
-2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
-Olive oil
-Salt
-Pepper
-2 tbsp soy sauce
-1/2 cup finely diced red onion


Roast your plantains and sweet potatoes by drizzling with olive oil, salt and pepper and cooking at 450-500 degrees, covered, for approximately 30 minutes or until a knife pierces the flesh and pulls out with no resistance. Allow to cool THOROUGHLY.

Once cool, place the potatoes and plantains into a food processor along with the soy sauce and red onion and pulse until the consistency seen in the picture below. If the mixture is too tight, add a bit of olive oil to loosen it up. Once combined, taste to make sure that seasoning is correct (adding more soy sauce if necessary), crack some fresh pepper into it, then set aside.

To cook: simply heat a large skillet over medium-medium high heat with vegetable or canola oil. Form the mixture into patties and fry until both sides are golden brown.



Make sure to serve this meal with plenty of your favorite hot sauce and lots of finely chopped red onions. :yum:


To the purists: no, this jerk is not really authentic at all because I did not use scotch bonnets or habaneros. Part of that was because manxk and I agreed to throw down with jalapenos as the key ingredient, but also because a lot of people can't handle real jerk - shit is HOT.



Anyways, enjoy :wavey:


Pics (mostly in order)