Caribbean food may be known for its deep flavours, comforting dishes and generous use of seasoning, but that does not mean it has to take hours to prepare.
Brothers Craig and Shaun McAnuff, the duo behind food platform Original Flava, have spent the past decade sharing accessible Caribbean recipes with their online community.
The pair, from South London, began filming basic cooking videos in their grandmother’s kitchen in 2016 and have since amassed close to one million followers, released cookbooks and appeared on the BBC, Sunday Brunch, Buzzfeed, BET Network, London Live and Reprezent Radio.
Their fourth cookbook, Easy Caribbean, features 80 traditional and modern recipes designed to deliver authentic Caribbean flavours with less fuss.
“As fathers, we’ve had to adapt,” explains Craig McAnuff, 37. “Oftentimes, we’re in a rush to do something, we’re tired from a long day or we’re cooking for the family and doing a long meal prep for the week.
“We wanted to maintain that authentic Caribbean flavour and those authentic Caribbean recipes, but make them in shorter times and with everyday equipment in our kitchens like air fryers and pressure cookers.
“This book is about the same authentic flavour, but with less fuss and less hassle.”
Here, McAnuff shares his tips for making easy Caribbean dishes at home.
Build your collection of essential ingredients
For anyone trying Caribbean cooking for the first time, McAnuff recommends starting with a small selection of fresh ingredients and versatile seasonings.
“Garlic, onions, spring onions and Scotch bonnet are essentially used in every single recipe,” he says. “If you’re making a curry, then you’re looking at spices like curry powder and seasonings like all-purpose seasoning. I’d say those things are the main things that you need.”
He adds that browning sauce can be used to add colour and flavour to gravies and stews.
However, beginners do not need to buy a cupboard full of unfamiliar products before they start cooking. “If you have spring onion, garlic, bell peppers, Scotch bonnet and the basic seasonings in your house, you’re pretty much halfway there,” McAnuff says. “It’s then about getting the poultry or vegetables and cooking them in that Jamaican way.”
Do not assume big flavour means complicated cooking
McAnuff believes some people are intimidated by Caribbean food because its rich appearance and flavour can make the cooking process seem more complex than it is.
“You think of Jamaican food and think it tastes amazing, so much must have gone into this to make it – but it’s really not that at all,” he says. “It’s really simple processes and often key foundations of ingredients that are used.”
“Jamaican food is very palatable. It’s not overly complex ingredients, it’s just a way of cooking and combining different spices and seasonings together that you might not have done before.
“It might be combining garlic with cinnamon, or spring onions with a really sweet product like browning sauce. You don’t necessarily think about combining those things, but that’s what Jamaican food is about.”
Make use of your air fryer
An air fryer can offer a simple starting point for people who enjoy jerk chicken but are not confident preparing it using more traditional cooking methods.
“There’s an air fryer jerk chicken recipe in the book,” says McAnuff. “You can literally get a store-bought jerk machine, put it on there with some seasonings and then put it in the air fryer.”
Let a pressure cooker do the hard work
Traditional dishes that usually require a long cooking time can become more manageable with a pressure cooker or slow cooker.
“We use the pressure cooker at home,” McAnuff says. “Before we go to work, we put on the seasoning for goat meat and season it as we usually would for an authentic Jamaican curry goat recipe. We throw it in and, by the time we get home, it’s all cooked.”
Although cooking Caribbean dishes slowly over the stove remains a good method, McAnuff stresses that convenience does not have to mean compromising on flavour. “You can do also do it with convenience and cook smarter, which is where the pressure cooker comes in,” he adds.
Try rice and peas in a rice cooker
Rice and peas can feel daunting for those who struggle to get rice right, but a rice cooker can make the process easier and free up time to prepare other parts of the meal.
“The rice and peas technique is seasoning the peas, boiling the peas and putting in the rice and seasoning,” McAnuff explains. “There are a few elements to it, but the rice cooker definitely makes it a lot easier. It’s a smarter way to cook it alongside other things.”
Start with a quick noodle dish
For a fast midweek meal, McAnuff recommends the curry chicken noodles from the new book, which he says can be ready in around 30 minutes. “It was so, so good,” he says. “It was cut pieces of boneless chicken seasoned with curry powder, garlic, Scotch bonnet, bell peppers and spring onions.”
The chicken is browned first to create caramelisation, before noodles are added towards the end of cooking.
“The curry sauce on the noodles was absolutely delicious,” McAnuff adds. “It cooked so fast, it was spicy and it was just so wholesome. I’ve got some left over for today as well, so that’s a win for me.”
Cooking food that brings people together
For the brothers, making Caribbean cooking more accessible is also a way of preserving the recipes and memories passed down through their family.
McAnuff recalls staying at his grandmother’s house and waking up to staple Caribbean breakfasts, as well as spending weekends eating with relatives.
“It gives you that real comforting feeling of togetherness and knowing that you’re really going to enjoy the food you’re about to eat,” he says. “That’s the feeling we had growing up and what we’re always trying to emulated in our cooking and with our families today.”
The brothers now run workshops for children and parents, alongside sharing recipes through their books and online platforms.
“Food is a pivotal part of Caribbean culture,” McAnuff says. “It’s a unifying time for families to get together and sit around the table.
“Whether it’s at a barbecue or a family gathering, those things are very important to our culture. It shapes who we are, it shapes our conversations and our personalities, and it’s a real driving force in keeping families together.
“We want to continue that legacy and those traditions through our cookbooks.”
Jerk butter steak with sweet potato wedges
“Succulent, juicy steaks cooked to perfection, glazed with a jerk butter and topped with a jerk gravy. Served with sweet potato wedges – quick, easy and pure flava!” says McAnuff.
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
4 ribeye steaks (about 900g total)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp jerk seasoning
130g butter, softened
2 tbsp jerk marinade
2 beef stock cubes
200ml jerk BBQ sauce
For the sweet potato wedges:
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp all-purpose seasoning
Sea salt
Method:
1. Pat the steaks dry with kitchen paper, then rub with olive oil and coat all over with the jerk seasoning. Let them marinate at room temperature for at least 30 minutes so the flava soaks in.
2. While the steaks are marinating, make the sweet potato wedges. If cooking them in the oven, preheat the oven to 200C fan/220C/gas 7. In a bowl, toss the wedges in the olive oil, paprika, garlic powder, all-purpose seasoning and a pinch of salt. Spread the wedges on a tray and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden and tender. If cooking in the air fryer, place the wedges in the basket in a single layer and cook at 200C for 18-20 minutes, shaking halfway through, until crispy on the outside and soft inside.
3. To cook the steaks, preheat the grill to 200C or heat a heavy frying pan or cast-iron skillet over a medium–high heat until smoking hot. Cook the steaks to your liking, flipping halfway through: for medium-rare, cook for 9-10 minutes total (internal temperature of 54-57C); for medium, cook for 10-11 minutes total (58-60C) and for medium-well done, cook for 11-12 minutes total (61-66C).
4. Let the steaks rest on a chopping board for 10 minutes.
5. While the steaks are resting, mix 115g of the butter with the jerk marinade to make your jerk butter. Melt it in the frying pan over a low heat, then return the steaks to the pan for 2-3 minutes and baste well so every bite is full of flava. Remove the steaks from the pan once again.
6. For the gravy, melt the remaining butter in a small saucepan. Whisk in 250ml of water, the beef stock cubes and the jerk BBQ sauce. Simmer for 4-5 minutes until the gravy is smooth and slightly thickened.
7. Serve the steaks with the sweet potato wedges and the gravy on the side for people to help themselves.
Roasted plantain and chickpea salad with mango-lime dressing
“Sweet roasted plantain slices tossed with fresh greens, juicy veggies and a zingy mango-lime dressing. Light, colourful and full of Caribbean sunshine. Dis one perfect as a side dish, or to enjoy as a healthy meal when yuh waan eat clean but still keep di flava,” says McAnuff.
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients:
2 ripe plantains, peeled, then sliced into rounds
1 x 400g tin of chickpeas, drained
1 tbsp olive oil
100g rocket leaves or mixed salad leaves
½ cucumber, sliced
½ red onion, thinly sliced
400g cherry tomatoes, halved
Sea salt
For the dressing:
1 ripe mango, peeled, destoned and diced, or 350g frozen mango, defrosted
Zest of 1 lime
Juice of 2 limes, plus extra to taste
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp honey or maple syrup, plus extra to taste
½ scotch bonnet pepper, deseeded (optional)
Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 200C fan/220C/gas 7, or if cooking in the air fryer, proceed to the next step.
2. In a bowl, toss the plantain slices and chickpeas with the olive oil and season with a pinch of salt.
3. Tip the plantain and chickpeas into an oven tray and roast for 20 minutes, turning halfway through, until the plantain is golden and caramelised and the chickpeas are crispy, or place the plantain slices in a single layer in the air-fryer basket and cook at 200C for 7 minutes. Turn the slices and add the chickpeas, then continue cooking for a further 7-8 minutes until everything is golden brown.
4. While the plantain and chickpeas are cooking, prepare the dressing. In a blender, add the mango, lime zest, lime juice, olive oil, honey or maple syrup, scotch bonnet, if using, and a pinch of salt. Blend until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust to your liking – add more lime juice for tang, or more honey or maple syrup for sweetness.
5. Assemble the salad by adding the rocket leaves or mixed salad leaves to a large serving bowl, then top with the cucumber, red onion and cherry tomatoes. Toss in your chickpeas and plantain slices. Drizzle over the dressing, toss gently, and serve right away.
Flava tip: Keep any extra dressing in a jar for up to three days – it works perfectly on grilled chicken or fish or even in a quick wrap.
Coconut and lime cheesecake pots
“Fresh, zesty and creamy wid a Caribbean sunshine kick! These likkle no-bake pots are quick, simple and perfect for family or when friends pass through,” says McAnuff.
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients:
200g digestive biscuits, crushed
75g unsalted butter, melted
300g cream cheese
200ml coconut milk
100g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Zest and juice of 1 lime
150g coconut flakes
Method:
1. Tip the crushed biscuits into a mixing bowl. Add the melted butter and mix well, then press the biscuit mixture equally into the bottom of 4-6 small glasses or ramekins.
2. In another bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, coconut milk, icing sugar, vanilla and half of the lime zest and all of the juice until smooth. Spoon it equally over the biscuit bases. Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.
3. While the cheesecakes are chilling, heat a dry frying pan over a low heat. When hot, add the coconut flakes and toast for 20 seconds or until starting to turning golden and smelling toasty.
4. To serve, top the cheesecakes with the toasted coconut flakes and sprinkle over the remaining lime zest.
Flava tip: Add a likkle dash of rum to the cheesecake mix if yuh making it for grown folk – proper island vibes!
‘Original Flava, Easy Caribbean: 80 quick and easy recipes with feel-good flava’ by Craig and Shaun McAnuff (Bloomsbury Publishing, £25).
