Sicily - A Foodie's Perfect Holiday.

True food lovers will know that one of the best things about going abroad is the opportunity to taste another culture, and this was certainly the case for Carine. This Easter she travelled to Sicily for a well-deserved break - though it may come as no surprise to you that she spent the most part of her trip tracking down, eating, and cooking delicious food!

Sicily’s vibrant food culture is world famous, with pasta dishes to rival those of mainland Italy, Arabic influences which have survived since the 10^th century, and – of course – seafood. It makes perfect sense then that the first thing Carine did on arriving in Modica was to seek out a fish market. After a considerable hunt, she found one, and on the evenings where she simply could not be kept from cooking, she treated her family to Spaghetti alle vongole made with fresh clams, and a whole octopus.

Although Sicily is well-known for its fish and its pasta, the ingredients which stood out to Carine were a little more unusual. The first was wild fennel which, along with wild thyme, oregano, and mustard, she saw growing in abundance. Part of the carrot family, this aromatic plant is one of Carine’s favourites to forage – especially when visiting her husband’s family in Sweden. Unlike its more common cousin, Florence fennel, when cooking with wild fennel you use the yellow flowers and feathery leaves, rather than the bulb itself.

The second was carob pods (also known as St Johns-bread and Locust beans), a member of the pea family often used as a chocolate substitute. Mildly sweet, the carob pods are mostly eaten dried or are ground into carob powder which is used to replace cocoa powder. Carine came across it everywhere - from carob-flavoured liquor to ice-cream.

  

And speaking of chocolate, there was a fair bit of Cioccolato di Modica involved in Carine’s trip (as is to be expected when travelling with a small child!) This traditional Sicilian chocolate is made from a recipe inspired by the Aztec’s xocoatl. It is characterised by its grainy texture and aromatic flavour which results from heating the cocoa at a low temperature so the cocoa butter melts but the sugar does not. This crumbly, specialty chocolate can be found all over Sicily…and currently there’s quite a lot of it in Carine’s kitchen too!

Finally, Carine and her family were lucky enough to eat at some wonderful restaurants as well so for anyone planning a trip to this wonderful island, here are Carine’s top picks.

1) La Locanda del Collonello, Modica

  

 

2) Osteria dei Sapori perduti, Modica

3) Osteria Antica Marina, Catania

4) Ristorante al Duomo, Taormina 

And stay tuned for our next post later this month, where we will be talking about an extraordinary couple fighting to keep one of Sicily’s oldest food traditions alive. 

Winter Warming Pot Au Feu

Well, we promised you a delicious, hearty winter-warmer, so that’s exactly what you’re getting this week – it’s Pot au Feu! This classic French dish is a staple during the winter months and it’s got everything you might want on a cold January night after work. Literally translated as "pot on the fire", (doesn’t get much cosier than that, eh?!) this dish uses mostly winter vegetables and the best cuts of beef for stewing. It is one of Carine’s favourite classic slow-cooked stews - earthy; meaty and full of vegetables, served in a clear broth which is – and here we quote – “scrumptiously delicious”.

Sounds pretty good, huh? Let’s get started! This recipe serves 6 people, and can be a real showstopper, or you can simply keep it all for yourself and have it several days in a row!

Ingredients

• 1.5kg Beef (choose the best cuts for stewing – we recommend oxtail, cheeks, brisket or additional lean beef)
• Beef bones for deeper flavour (optional)
• 3 large carrots
• 2 sticks of celery
• 2 potatoes
• 2 turnips
• 2 medium leeks
• 1 onion
• 5 cloves
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Bouquet Garni (2 bay leaves, 5 fresh sprigs of thyme, parsley – traditionally tied together with cooking string, but this isn’t strictly necessary!)
• 1 beef or vegetable stock cube (optional)
• 10 black peppercorns
• Coarse sea salt (to taste)

Method

1) Tie your meat with cooking string to help it keep its shape while it cooks. If you can’t find cooking string, cut the meat into big chunks instead.

2) Peel the carrots, wash your leeks and celery, then cut all into large chunks.

3) Peel your onion and stud it with the cloves.

4) Place your meat, stock, and bones if you have them in a large pot and add 5 litres of cold water.

5) Bring to the boil and skim the broth regularly, removing the foam.

6) Once the mixture no longer forms a foam on the top, turn down the heat and add the rest of the ingredients.

7) Bring the mix back to the boil, cover it then let it simmer over a very low heat for a minimum of 4 hours (if you have a slow-cooker, you can use this, turning the setting to “Low”).

8) To serve, remove the meat and vegetables from the broth and place them on a plate, then ladle over a little broth. Carine serves her pot au feu with Dijon mustard or Dijon Mayonnaise, but we’ll leave your condiment choices up to you.

Bon appetite! We hope this warms your cockles. If you do have a go making this at home, get in touch on Twitter and let us know – we’d love to hear how you got on! 

The Story of Marie's Little Jar

“As I develop food and recipes from time to time I come across special a flavour that goes beyond one dish. Marie’s Little Jar is the result of those special flavours.”

When Carine’s not busy running supper clubs or making food for the Supper app, she can be found in her kitchen, coming up with exciting new products for her line Marie’s Little Jar.

How it all started:

Marie’s Little Jar was born from Carine’s deeply-held belief that everyone should aim to cook more at home. At the same time, she understands that not everyone has the time and resources necessary to make delicious meals from scratch every day of the week. Thus was born Marie’s Little Jar, a range of products designed to bring that little extra oomph to your cooking, for minimal effort.

“Marie” is Carine’s first name, and the “Little Jar” indicates that little kitchen secret, that jar of something special you always have in the cupboard. In other words, Carine is opening her kitchen to you, in order to make your life tastier and simpler.

None of the sauces in the MLJ range conform to one specific cuisine, but Carine is continually influenced by the cooking and ingredients of her home country – Cameroon. Cameroonian food makes creative and unexpected use of spices, a theme which carries through all of Carine’s cooking, including the Marie’s Little Jar range and, to this day, many of the spices she uses come straight and only from Cameroon.

What makes MLJ unique:

• The sauces are raw and use only natural preservatives and no additives
• High in flavour
• Minimal processing
• Focuses on “free from”, suitable for vegans
• Besides the Cameroonian spices, all produce is sourced locally
• Increasingly made from foraged produce
• Encourage sustainability.
• Made locally in Carine’s home kitchen

What’s in the range:

Marie’s Little Jar features a range of kitchen goodies - from flavoured sauces, marinades, and jams, to flavoured salts and other tasteful kitchen combinations.”

The Green Sauce – This basil-based sauce is Carine’s secret weapon, developed to add that extra zing to your homemade dishes. It is both a marinade and a condiment - not quite pesto, not quite hot - the exact spices and herbs in this sauce are a closely-guarded secret, but we can promise you, you will love it. Originally created as a marinade for grilled meat, it is ideal for a BBQ.

The Red Sauce – Sun-dried-tomato-based, this warming Mediterranean-inspired sauce is ideal for pasta and fish dishes. The perfect speedy supper without compromising on taste.

The Hot Chilli Pepper Sauce – CAUTION: this sauce is HOT HOT HOT. Made from a highly-confidential mix of spices and chilli peppers, this fiery concoction is packed full of unexpected flavours. Very spicy and utterly delicious, this is a welcome addition to any dish you want to pack a punch.

What’s coming in 2016:

As well as developing her “free from” collection further, Carine has some exciting new additions to the Marie’s Little Jar roster.

The Foraged Range:

• Wild Garlic Pesto
• Wild Apple & Rosehip Chutney
• Blackberry
• Elderberry-Caper

The Flavoured Salt Range, made with real sea-salt from France:

• Cacao, Rosemary & Vanilla-flavoured Salt - Perfect for slow roast (Lamb)
• Penja Pepper-flavoured Salt - Highly-flavoured white pepper from Cameroon, perfect for grilled meat and fish
• Pork Rub-flavoured Salt -Ideal on Pork
• Red Wine-flavoured Salt - Perfect for stew
• Pink Grapefruit & Thyme-flavoured and Lemon & Lime-flavoured salt -The perfect finish for your salads

It looks like 2016 is going to be a delicious year! If you want to try any of the products mentioned here – head to the Facebook page and keep an eye on her Twitter to find out where she will be selling next!

Urban Foraging - Chestnuts

Chestnuts are a fabulous, wintry ingredient which can be used in all sorts of Christmassy recipes – whizz them into your stuffing for a little earthiness, add them to a nut-roast for your vegetarian friends, or simply roast them and eat them with a little salt. You can buy chestnuts in your local supermarket for around £1 for 100g, perhaps a little more or less if you go for a trendy farmers’ market, but we’re going to give you a few tips on how to find them for free, right on your doorstep!

Carine loves to forage, be it for windfall plums spotted by someone’s garden, or mushrooms in the woods of Sweden, there is nothing she likes better than to be out of doors, looking for food. And chestnuts are some of her favourites which can be found in the heart of London, so she took us urban foraging to demonstrate.

The two locations she chose this week were Clapham Common and Putney Heath – both medium-sized green havens most commonly used by dog-walkers and families with small children. I’d love to tell you exact locations, but Carine has sworn me to secrecy – partly because part of the fun is stumbling across these treasure troves yourself and partly because...Carine doesn’t want you stealing all her chestnuts! She spotted the trees on Clapham Common one day when she was taking her daughter to playgroup and it goes to show how little these natural foodbanks are signposted.

Here are a few tips to follow to ensure you find a bumper crop:

1) When it comes to nuts, there is a high possibility that a squirrel or two will beat you to it. Since they need the food too, we don’t suggest you fight them off, just try to go early on in the season and there will be enough for you both.

2) Make sure you know the difference between the chestnuts you can roast and eat (“sweet chestnuts” - larger) and the chestnuts you make conkers with (smaller). Take a look at our pictures to be sure.

3) You’re going to need gloves because chestnuts can be very spiky – if you don’t have suitable hand-wear, place your chestnut on the ground and gently prise them open with your feet, rolling them around a bit first with your foot to loosen them up.

4) Try to go for ones which are already starting to open – this shows they are ripe.

5) Chestnuts often come with three or so inside – two little ones and one big one, go for the biggest.

And there you have it! The perfect winter day out – pick your area, bring the family (and plenty of gloves) and go exploring! You don’t need to look just for chestnuts either, while we were out, we also found some apples and Carine plans to whip something up using them both. So keep an eye out for that and, until next time, happy foraging!

And, to see a bit more, check out Carine's YouTube channel HERE.

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Liebster Award

This week, I was lucky enough to be nominated for the Liebster Award by the lovely Naomi of Make-Bake-Travel!

The Liebster Award is a chain award, passed on by bloggers to other bloggers in recognition of great blogging work. 

The Rules

1) Thank and link back to the blogger who so kindly nominated you

2) Answer the 11 questions they have asked you

3) Nominate bloggers who have a following of  less than 200 on Bloglovin’

4) Ask them 11 questions

5) Notify the nominees

So first, here are my answers to Naomi’s questions

1) What's made you really laugh recently?

Seeing someone acting macho and underestimating my hot chilli sauce before he tried it. The look on his face afterwards was priceless!

2) If you had to choose one food to live on what would it be? 

Seafood.

3) What did you want to be when you were little? 

Originally I wanted to be a doctor, but I soon changed my mind... Food was way more fun!

4) If you could have one superpower what would it be?  

The ability to make people happy and peaceful.

5) What is the best thing you've ever done? 

My Daughter.

6) Three things you can't live without? 

My family, My Kitchen and My creativity.

7) Name a destination that's on your list to visit and why? 

I fancy travelling through South Asia to learn more about the culture and the cooking habits.

8) Who or what inspires you the most? 

Occasionally my surroundings, but mostly people. Listening, watching, and interacting with people is my best source of inspiration.

9) What is your favourite recipe? 

Succulent slow-cooked Beef Ribs served with Bulgur Salad and Roasted Pumpkin. Mmmm.

10) What keeps you blogging? 

The urge to share my passion with others.

11) If you could choose anywhere to live, where would it be?

I would split my time between London and the South-West Countryside in France.

And now for my questions!

1) If you could only eat one cuisine for the rest of your life, what would it be?

2) Why did you start writing a blog?

3) Tell us about a memory that’s tied to food for you.

4) What are your top 3 things to do in your spare time?

5) What would your last meal on Earth be?

6) What’s the hardest thing about blogging for you?

7) Name your top 3 dinner party guests, dead or living, real or fictional.

8) Cooking – love it or hate it, and why?

9) The UK or abroad and why?

10) What is your favourite thing about your blog?

11) Top tips you would give someone who wants to start blogging?

And, finally, my nominees!

Yellow Green Watering – (@yellowgreenwate)

Hedge Fund Girl – (@HedgeFund_Girl)

Survival Survival Blog –  (@SweetSurvival)

Eat Wear Wander – (@EatWearWander)

Joy Travel Food - [Formerly London Tastin] (@Londontastin) 

Get Festive, French-style.

Although her gastronomic roots are firmly planted in Cameroon, Carine spent much of her life in the culinary capital of the world: France. Renowned for its unparalleled ingredients, and world-famous cooking techniques, we thought it was about time we paid homage to France through a festive supper club, chez Carine.

To celebrate that wonderful country and this most joyous time of year, Carine will be hosting “A Very French Christmas” on the 4^th and 18^th of December, for a limited number of selected guests, in her warm and inviting home in Brixton. This 6-course menu will showcase some of the greatest French dishes and the most delicious French produce and is bound to get you in a Yuletide mood.

The theme will be all things French – so dig out your favourite beret and come in your finest Breton stripes. It is the season of giving, so we are asking you to bring a small gift, costing no more than £5, to do Secret Santa with the other guests at the party. We will also be giving some gifts in return, with every guest receiving a goodie bag, along with their swapped Secret Santa gift.

Christmas tasting menu

Welcome Amuse-Bouche

Butternut Squash Velouté with a Truffle oil emulsion

Crispy Salad

Grilled White Fish with sauce beurre meunière, served with braised baby veg.

Duck à l'orange confit with potato gratin dauphinois

Chocolate Marquise with Pain perdu crumble and Ice Cream.

Coffee & Nibbles

There will be only 10 seats per event, so get booking now to avoid disappointment! Tickets can be bought HERE so get your skates on! We look forward to welcoming you all and à bientôt!

So you think you know BBQ...

Just over a week to go until Matango’s fabulous event Le Grill takes place in Whitechapel on Thursday 19th November!

This is not your average BBQ, ladies and gentlemen, this is a BBQ inspired by Carine’s Cameroonian heritage, and the food she loves to eat. There will be a taste of the tropical, deliciously smoky meat, fish, and vegetables and - most importantly - Carine’s secret marinade, from her line of sauces Marie’s Little Jar.

This week, Carine has been working with the guys at Far Out Food – trialling, testing, and tasting in order to come up with the best menu possible, and you can get an idea of what that looks like on our YouTube channel HERE.

Just in case you missed last week’s post, we’ll remind you that at Le Grill we will be holding a competition to find a name for Carine’s delicious secret marinade “The Green Jar”. Whoever wins will receive a special prize and the pride of seeing their chosen name on hundreds of jars of this unique and wonderful sauce.

We’re still keeping the food a surprise for you all, but just for an idea, you might tuck into –

Sample Menu

Welcome nibbles to dip in a hot sauce.

Flame-Grilled Mackerel or Halloumi with a wintry Fennel and Beetroot salad.

Grilled Chicken or Aubergine, cooked with “The Green Sauce” from Marie’s Little Jar and served with a light, warm Lentil salad.

Barbecued Pineapple tossed in spicy syrup.

So get booking, this is one BBQ not to be missed! If you still haven’t got tickets for the 19^th you can buy them HERE.

Try a True Taste of Africa!

Exciting news, ladies and gentlemen, if you can’t make it to tomorrow night's Matango: A True Taste of Africa supper club, we will be holding another one in just two weeks’ time, on November 12^th. Each of Carine’s Matango supper clubs explores the culture of a different country, and this one will provide a way for Carine to share the food of her homeland, Cameroon, with you.

Come prepared for some tastes and smells you have never before encountered as Carine often makes dishes and uses ingredients you may never even have heard of. In the past, she has served Ndole, Miondo or Poisson braisé, authentic Cameroonian dishes which have been handed down from generation to generation. Carine might be cooking with exciting ingredients such as Cocoyams and Mbu – and if you don’t know what those taste like… well you better buy a ticket and come taste them for yourself!

Sample Menu

Street-food style appetiser of Banana and Cassava beignet with a choice of chilli dip or Carine’s secret green sauce from Marie’s Little Jar.

Starter of Avocado and Prawn salad, in honour of Cameroon’s name*.

The fish course will be a white fish, steamed in banana leaves with Carine’s special spice blend, served with cassava fries.

The meat course will be Smoked chicken in peanut sauce, served with fragrant rice.

There will be a palate cleanser to make way for dessert!

Dessert will be spiced, roasted banana, served in a spicy syrup, with mango sorbet.

Finally, there will be Coffee and caramelised coconut balls.

You will also take away a homemade goodie bag, filled with some of the things you have tried this evening.

*Cameroon was originally colonised by the Portuguese, who arrived in 1472. Upon arriving they noticed the abundance of prawn and shrimp who lived in the country’s Wouri River. Because of this, they named the territory Rio dos Camarões (“River of Prawns”), and it has been called ‘Cameroon’ ever since!

There will be flavours and ingredients like you have never tasted before, so come hungry and free of expectations and we can guarantee you a warm and wonderful evening.

Get your tickets HERE!