A taste of Ealing with top chef

Nov 14 2008 By Pamela Lalbachan

Hi, I’m Pamela Lalbachan and over the next few months, in this new food and drink section I’ll be bringing you an update on what’s going on, what to look out for and where the eating hot spots are in the Ealing, Acton and Hammersmith areas.

West London is a superb patch for the food lover. It has an enormous choice on offer if you’re eating out or in. You can find international cuisine from Persian to Polish (and everything between and beyond). And if you fancy making your own seek and you will find all kinds of fruit, vegetable, meat, fish and general foodstuffs to prepare a Thai fishcake, a Caribbean curry goat, a Grecian Kleftiko or a good old fashioned Sunday roast. In a nutshell, it’s a damn fine place to live.

I’m the author of The Complete Caribbean Cookbook and I teach all types of cookery around the country. Many years spent in Sydney gave me the great privilege of being exposed to some of the best cuisines the world has to offer. In this column, I will be sharing with you news of what’s going in our local communities, restaurants, markets, schools and anywhere else that shines a light for food lovers.

As a regular cookery tutor for Divertimenti (a terrific cookery school and shop, worth a peek), I enjoy passing on recipes I have learnt along the way. In my last class I taught Cuban cookery to an enthusiastic and relaxed group of cooks. Many of them had not tried Cuban cookery before so it was a joy to share with them how Spanish and African cookery ended up on the same dinner plate. Caribbean cooking was probably one of the first skills I learned as a young girl. I was, by the age of seven, peeling cloves of garlic for my grandmother. And from that day on, standing alongside her floral apron strings, I was critically appraised for my performance in the kitchen. Yep, no holes barred. It’s in the family, that brutal assessment. My mother too, didn’t hesitate when she once told me at the age of fourteen, that my roti dough was so firm [that thrown from afar] ‘it could kill a man’. Yet that keeping-me-in-my-place put me good stead for the future.

I have spent almost all of my adult life passing on what I have learned in various kitchens around the world to others. And in this, my first contribution to the Ealing Gazette’s food and drink site, I’ll be sharing with you some Cuban recipes from my recent class.

I should add that just recently, as some of you may be aware of, it was International Week. And many of our local schools celebrated that with a week-long schedule of activities and learning. I keenly prepared some Cuban food to be sold at the International Day food stalls at my daughter’s school in Ealing. As mentioned, having impressed and satisfied a fee-paying audience at Divertimenti I thought I was about to make history at the school with record-breaking sales. But as ever, always being kept in line, my food was the last to sell! Yes, I bought some it myself. Anyway, looking forward to updating you all in the coming weeks and in meantime here are some, other Cuban recipes for you to enjoy with a mojito or two:

Enchilada de Camarones

The different Spanish-speaking Caribbean islands have a version of this superb dish. The fresh herbs combined with tomatoes and vermouth makes a delicious salsa for the fresh prawns. While the preparation is lengthy, the cooking time is short so prepare this dish close to serving.

1 lb (1/2 kg) uncooked king prawns, peeled with the tails left on

juice of 1 lime

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

sweet green pepper, seeded and finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed

2 small red chili peppers, seeded and finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh coriander, finely chopped

teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped or teaspoon dried

6 medium-sized ripe tomatoes, peeled and seeded and chopped

teaspoon ground cumin

1/3 cup extra dry white vermouth (dry Martini)

salt to taste

teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

lime wedges, to garnish

Pour the lime juice over the prawns and mix well. Leave to marinade until needed.

In a large frying pan heat the olive oil over a medium heat and gently saute the onion for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for several seconds. Add the chili peppers, chopped tomatoes, parsley, coriander, oregano and cumin and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the prawns and vermouth and cook over a medium low heat until the prawns are cooked through, about 4-5 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve with lime wedges.

Serves 4 as main course or 6 as an appetizer

Pollo Borracho - Drunken Chicken

This popular dish has many recipes, not just in Cuba but in Latin America.

2lb small chicken pieces, skin removed

salt and pepper

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

teaspoon dried oregano

approx. cup Spanish olive oil

1 large onion, sliced

2 shallots, sliced

1 bay leaf

cup dry white wine

cup light rum

cup unpitted large green olives, drained (preferably Spanish)

1. Wash the chicken pieces and pat dry with paper towels.

2. Season with salt, pepper and the oregano.

3. In a large ovenproof dish, heat the olive oil over a medium heat and brown the chicken pieces well on all sides. Remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside.

4. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the onion, shallots, garlic and cook, stirring until the onion is soft, around 6 minutes.

5. Add the bay leaf, rum, wine and olives and stir combining all of the ingredients. Return the chicken to the pan, cover and cook over a low heat until tender, about 45 minutes – 1 hour.

6. When cooked, remove the bay leaf and serve.

Pamela Lalbachan’s next cookery class will be A Passage From India (a hands on class that takes a look at Indian food that has travelled around the world. Students will learn about Indian-influenced food in Malaysian, Singaporean, Sri Lankan, Trinidadian and more) Venue: Divertimenti, 227-229 Brompton Road

London, SW3 2EP on Saturday 21 February 2009 at 11.30. For more details contact Divertimenti on 020 7486 8020