Caribbean Feast

Ingredients

For the dish

• 200 g basmati rice
• 1 x 400 g tin of coconut milk
• 1 x 400 g tin of kidney beans
• salt and pepper
• 4 corn on the cob
• 300 g oyster mushrooms
• 2 ripe plantains
• ⅛ of a Savoy cabbage
• ⅛ of a red cabbage
• 1 lime
• 3 tablespoons vegan mayonnaise
• 1 ripe mango
• a handful of fresh coriander

For the jerk marinade

• 2 shallots
• a thumb of fresh ginger
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 Scotch bonnet chilli
• 8 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• vegetable oil

Method

First prepare the jerk marinade. Peel and roughly chop the shallots, ginger and garlic, and put them into a food processor (see tip below if you don’t have a food processor). Remove the stalk from the Scotch bonnet, cut in half and discard the seeds, then pick the leaves off the thyme and add both to the food processor along with the soy sauce, maple syrup, juice from half the lime, allspice, cinnamon, 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil and pinches of salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7. Put the rice into a sieve and rinse until the water runs clear, then transfer to a large roasting tray along with the coconut milk, 250 ml of water and pinches of salt and pepper. Drain and rinse the kidney beans and add them to the tray, then stir to combine. Cut the sweetcorn cobs in half, rub 4 tablespoons of the jerk marinade all over them, and add them to the tray. Cover the tray with baking paper or a larger tray, and roast for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, tear any large mushrooms in half and rub them with the remaining marinade. Peel the plantains, cut them into 1cm-thick slices, put them into a bowl, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Remove the baking paper from the tray and discard, then add the mushrooms and plantains to the tray, covering the rice to help it steam. Bake uncovered for 20–25 minutes, turning the plantain and mushrooms halfway.

Meanwhile, prepare the slaw by finely chopping the Savoy and red cabbage. Put both into a mixing bowl along with the juice from the remaining lime half and the vegan mayonnaise. Stir to combine and set to one side.

To serve, top the Caribbean feast with the slaw, then peel and dice the mango and scatter over the tray along with the coriander leaves.

Tip: Don’t have a food processor? Finely chop the shallots, ginger, garlic and Scotch bonnet and add them to a pestle and mortar. Grind until mostly broken down. Add the thyme leaves along with the remaining ingredients and 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Grind into a rough paste.