Caribbean Food Week 2016 – Street Party Spread & Food Festival

Caribbean Food Week 2016 – Street Party Spread & Food Festival

Grace Foods is the number one Caribbean food and drink company in the UK and this month they’re celebrating their fifth annual Caribbean Food Week starting tomorrow, the 22nd of August. Last year I was challenged to create some recipes using Grace Foods products and this year I’ve been challenged to create a spread fit for a Caribbean street party!

This year, Caribbean Food Week is even more special as Grace Foods are also holding their first ever Caribbean Food Week Food Festival. It’s held at Windrush Square in Brixton, London, next weekend — Friday 26th to Saturaday 27th of August — and there will be loads of Caribbean street food, live cookery demonstrations, music and more.

I love trying new foods and coming up with new tasty recipes for my family to enjoy so this was a great challenge for me! We’ve had a really good summer so far in the UK so the weather is even suitable for a Caribbean feast at the moment.

I created three different dishes for this challenge and they’re all vegetarian and really quick and easy. The first thing I made was a tropical salsa that can be served hot or cold.

Tropical Salsa

• 1 onion
• 1 punnet of cherry tomatos
• 1 tin of pineapple slices or chunks
• 1 handful of frozen sweetcorn
• 1 tablespoon of oil
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 2 tablespoons of Grace Foods Jerk BBQ Sauce
• Tropical Seasoning to taste

Chop the onion and fry in the fats until soft. Add chopped tomatoes and pineapple and cook for a few minutes before adding the rest of your ingredients. Warm through and serve hot or chill in the fridge for later.

The second dish I made was a creamy Caribbean vegetable curry that is a bit similar to the Indian Sag Aloo but with Caribbean flavours.

Coconut, Callaloo & Potato Curry

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• Oil to fry in
• 3-4 large boiled potatoes
• 1 tin of Callaloo
• 1 tin of coconut milk
• 2 handfuls of frozen peas
• Jamaican Curry Powder

Fry the onion and garlic in a bit of oil until soft. Add curry powder to taste. A couple of tablespoons is usually right but add more if you want it stronger. Add the remaining ingredients and cook through until hot.

Lastly I made some spicy fritters using potatoes, peas and beans. Crispy on the outside, soft in the middle and full of flavour.

Spicy Coconut, Peas & Beans Fritters

• 2-3 large, boiled potatoes
• 1 tin of Peas & Beans
• 3 tablespoons of desiccated coconut
• All Purpose Seasoning
• Hot & Spicy Jerk Chicken Fry Mix
• Oil to fry in

Mash the potatoes. Add the Peas & Beans and mash a bit more. Mix in the coconut, a couple of tablespoons of Jerk Chicken Fry Mix and All Purpose Seasoning to taste. Heat some oil in a frying pan. Shape the mash into mini burger shapes and fry for a few minutes on each side until crispy and golden.

The curry would be lovely with rice but we kept the street food theme in mind and served all three dishes in a wrap so that the food could easily be eaten on the go. We added a bit of natural yoghurt to the wraps too which was a lovely addition to balance the spiciness.

If you want more heat, the Hot Pepper Sauce from Grace Foods is perfect!

We needed a tropical drink to go with our Caribbean style food so I mixed ice cold Mango Flavoured Aloe Vera Drink with Jamaican Style Ginger Beer for a refreshing fruity and spicy mocktail. An addition of spiced rum would have made it even nicer!

The weather was perfect for the event — hot, sunny and summery and we really enjoyed these dishes.

Find out more about Caribbean Food Week 2016 and Caribbean Food Week Food Festival here:

• Facebook: caribbeanfoodweek
• Twitter: @caribbeanfoodwk
• Hashtag: #CFW2016

Read more about the products on the Grace Foods website.

We were sent a basket of products to include in this post and challenge. As always, all my posts are 100% honest and all thoughts and opinions are my own.