Soul Kitchen,The Wardrobe, St Peter’s Square
To celebrate Black History Month we’re promoting Afro-Caribbean inspired cuisine by looking at some local restaurants, as well as fun exciting Afro-Caribbean inspired dishes that can easily be made at home on a student budget.
Located in the heart of Leeds City Centre, Soul Kitchen offers a diverse variety of authentic dishes from deep south, Caribbean and Creole cuisine with a “Soul Kitchen” twist and a commitment to creating innovative aboriginal dishes.
In particular, many personal reviews (whether this be friends of mine or generally online) have raved about the “Creole Jambalaya” on the menu – which consists of chicken, smoked caribbean sausage, king prawns, bell peppers, rice and peas – for its unique and authentic taste. Offering 3 different menus; Lunch Menu, Pre-Theatre Menu and Dinner Menu, and each contributing a different twist on Afro-Caribbean food, the innumerable options given to seated guests ensures to accommodate for all different taste palates.
Price Ranges around £9-14 for both the Lunch and Dinner Menu, so could be a potential option if your loan has just dropped and you’re feeling a bit frivolous with your money, or just wanting to treat yourself after a long week of tiresome lectures. If the idea of trying a new exciting cuisine interests you, you can find a menu detailing everything they have to offer on their website: http://www.soulkitchenleeds.co.uk/
Plantain Pancakes Recipe
For those of you looking for a sweet alternative to the bog-standard banana, Plantain is a low-growing plant which typically has a rosette of leaves and a slender green flower spike. Most frequently used in many savoury dishes, predominantly in Western Africa and Caribbean countries, it is most commonly prepared by being fried or baked. It’s slowly being infiltrated into European culture, however, still remains relatively unknown amongst the westernised audience so if you haven’t heard of them or tried them before, now is your opportunity to give it a go!
Ingredients
6 very soft, blackened plantains, chopped
1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1 small sweet onion, chopped
3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Canola oil, for the griddle
(1) Mash the plantains in a large bowl with a potato masher
(2) Add the cornmeal, buttermilk, flour, butter, scallions, onion, ginger and salt and mash and stir with the potato masher
(3) Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
(4) Using a non-stick pan or griddle on medium-high heat, and cover with canola oil
(5) Fry the pancakes until they are golden brown
Karis Aldridge
Featured images from The Independent Birmingham and thesweetplantain.com.