It may not shock you to learn that I fucking love cooking shows. With Nigella currently off-air, and having tired of Come Dine With Me (something I didn't think possible until I set it to series-record on my freeview box), my attentions are turned to Levi Roots' (of Reggae Reggae fame) BBC2 show, Caribbean Food Made Easy.
Reggae Reggae sauce carries the tag-line, 'Put Music in Your Food', a sentiment that I feel sums up Caribbean food quite nicely. Alongside the complex, aromatic, and delicious flavours, the cooking of the Caribbean is about community, fun, music, and having a good time with your dinner. If cottage pie is the miserable bastard moping in the corner of the party, jerk chicken is the wild-card handing around shots of tequila.
All this food love Mr Roots had me feeling got me thinking about vegetarian Caribbean food. Jerk marinade is a flagship flavour, and with the blank canvas that is tofu screaming to be marinated, Jerk Tofu seems like a bit of a no-brainer. Simply slice it into strips, soak it in the marinade, stick it on the BBQ (or a hot griddle pan, since we don't have quite the same weather over here) and you've got yourself a party on your tongue.
Squeezing lime into the sweet potato, another key Caribbean, ingredient adds even more delicious flavour into the mix.
This dish is especially tasty with the mango salsa from my Chili Lime Chicken with Mango recipe, or even just some sliced fresh mango and it would be rude not to splash on a bit of Reggae Reggae!
Ingredients (serves 2)
250g block of tofu
4 tablespoons of Jerk Marinade (doesn't matter which, see what you can find in your supermarket. If you get dried, make into a paste with a little oil)
1 large sweet potato
1 lime
1 handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
Mango salsa or fresh sliced mango to serve
Directions
Slice block of tofu into strips around 1inch thick. Place in a bowl and stir in jerk marinade to coat. Cover and leave to infuse for 1-2 hours.
Peel and chop the sweet potato into cubes. Boil until tender, drain and mash.
Squeeze juice of the lime into potato and stir in with chopped coriander. Cover and set aside.
Heat a griddle pan until almost smoking. Place tofu in the pan and cook for 2-3mins on each side to heat and chargrill.
Serve strips of tofu on a pile of sweet potato mash, topped with mango salsa/slices and a splash of Reggae Reggae.
Image Via Eat'n Veg'n