Calypso chicken burger and coleslaw
It's miserable outside! And with more floods predicted over the next few weeks and January dragging on and on, life is pretty drab at the moment. To cheer us all up Levi Roots will be in the kitchen to spread a little Caribbean sunshine with his delicious calypso chicken burger and coleslaw.
Calypso chicken burgers
Makes: 6
I got the idea for cooking chicken in foil at the Boston Jerk Festival in Jamaica. Boston is the HQ of barbecue, so where better to learn a trick like this? It means the chicken burger stays together in one piece and is easy to cook and eat.
Ingredients
6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs5 spring onions, roughly chopped2½ tbsp freshly chopped coriander15g snipped chives1 tbsp roughly chopped fresh root ginger2 garlic cloves1 tsp salt1 organic egg150g fresh mango, cut into small dice
2 courgettesolive oil, for brushing6 burger buns, butteredjuice of 1 lime2 large tomatoes, sliced thickly1 red onion, finely sliced (optional)
Method
Put all the burger ingredients except the mango into a food-processor and whizz to a rough paste. Tip into a mixing bowl and carefully stir in the mango. Alternatively, finely chop everything by hand and thoroughly mix together with the egg and then the mango.
Form the mixture into 6 patties. Place each patty on the side of a large rectangle of foil. Fold the foil over and scrunch the edges together to make secure parcels. Put the parcels in the fridge to firm up for 1 hour, or overnight if you want to get ahead.
Cook the chicken in the oven for 30 minutes at 180c. You can prick the foil with a fork to let the juices run out or leave them as they are. Meanwhile, slice the courgettes into thin lengths, brush with oil and barbecue them alongside the parcels until patched with brown on both sides, and soft and floppy in texture.
Remove the burgers from their foil, brush with oil and barbecue on both sides until lightly browned
To serve, squeeze a little lime juice over the burgers and place them in the buns with a nice slice of tomato, a couple of slices of courgette and some red onion, if you like
Hot and fruity Caribbean coleslaw
Serves: 8
A million miles away from those heavy creamy coleslaws, this is one to wake up your taste buds. It’s fruity, hot and even healthy. I could eat this just on its own it’s so delicious. And it’s a wonderful contrast to all that hot barbecued meat. Make a big bowlful!
Ingredients
½ Savoy cabbage½ white cabbage½ red onion, peeled½ small mango3 tsp hot mustard100ml cider vinegar8 tbsp soft light brown sugar105ml olive oil½ tbsp X Hot Reggae Reggae Sauce2 red chilis, halved, seeded and cut into fine sliverssalt and pepper
Method
Remove and discard the cabbage cores and finely shred the leaves. Slice the onion wafer-thin using a mandolin if you have one. Peel the mango and cut the flesh into matchsticks.
Put the mustard in the base of a large bowl and stir in the vinegar and sugar, whisking as you do so. Add the oil, salt and pepper and Reggae Reggae Sauce. Toss in the cabbage, mango and chillis and mix well. Taste for seasoning.