Motherland: A Jamaican Cookbook

Product Information

Motherland is a recipe book, but more than that it is a history of the people, influences and ingredients that uniquely united to create the wonderful patchwork cuisine that is Jamaican food today," writes Melissa Thompson in the introduction to her debut cookbook. Bloomsbury has signed debut cookbook Motherland, fromjournalist and founder of London pop-up Fowl Mouths Food Melissa Thompson.

And then there is one of Jamaica's most famous signature dishes, curry goat – goats were introduced by the Spanish, but the dish was created following "the introduction of indentured servants from India". Preheat the oven to 140C fan/gas mark 3. Butter a 20cm tart tin and remove the pastry from the fridge. Dust your worktop with flour and roll out the pastry into a circle roughly 28cm in diameter. Roll the pastry around the rolling pin and unroll over the tart tin. Carefully push the pastry into the edges of the tin and leave the excess rising above the rim.

Reviews

Though sometimes brutal, Motherland doesn’t shy away from the 500-year story that makes Jamaican food the unique cuisine it is today," the synopsis reads. A cookbook charting 500 years of influence on the vibrant cuisine of Jamaica, written by acclaimed food writer Melissa Thompson.

Commenting on her book, she said: "I’m really chuffed to be publishing Motherland with Rowan and Bloomsbury. Jamaica’s food is so special, born out of a set of very unique circumstances, so it’s been a huge privilege to be able to write this book."

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A few years ago, I experimented with browning corn in butter before adding it to fritters. It gives a lovely, subtly toasted corn flavour that reminds me almost of popcorn. Meanwhile make the pastry. Using your hands, rub the butter and flour together until the mix resembles breadcrumbs. Mix in the sugar and egg yolk and then add the measured water a little bit at a time, until the dough comes together. Don’t knead any more, just wrap in cling film or greaseproof paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes. To make the corn fritters, mix the flour, baking powder, egg and milk together to form a stiff batter. Leave to rest while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Alongside Motherland’s strong sense of place and history – there are essays on life in Jamaica under British rule and the significance of the Rastafari Ital diet – it is filled with recipes for the food Thompson grew up with and has eaten on trips to Jamaica, as well as new creations from various stages of her life. So she wrote this book, what she calls ‘a cookbook with historical narrative,’ weaving Jamaican recipes with essays about the impact of slavery, colonization, and immigration on Jamaica’s cuisine. It’s worth mentioning that this beautiful book includes a map so you can connect flavor with place. Original Flava: Caribbean Recipes from Home by Craig McAnuff and Shaun McAnuff – Best for Authentic Flavors In a separate pan, fry the spring onions, garlic and thyme in the oil for 5 minutes over a medium heat. Add the drained peas or beans (reserve their liquid) and the rice and stir to coat. Add the scotch bonnet, if using, then the coconut milk. Pour in 100ml of bean liquid: either use the bean-cooking water or the liquid from the tinned beans, making the latter up to the necessary amount with tap water. Surely that’s a seal of approval. And Melissa’s debut cookbook has been well received elsewhere too, named as one of BBC Radio 4’s Food Programme Books of the Year 2022, and in the top cookbooks for The Telegraph, Financial Times and The Observer. So, what’s next? ‘Well, I’m in talks about doing a television series. And I could maybe see myself writing more history books. Or cookery books. I’m just not sure I’d combine the two again!’Thompson is a recipe developer and writes about food for The Guardian, Condé Nast, and the BBC — and she learned to cook Jamaican food far from the island, so she knows how to write recipes for the home cook. Instructions are clear, ingredients are easy to find, and the whole vibe of the book is consistent with Jamaica: inviting, colorful, chill. And delicious.

Now take a plum-sized amount of dough, roll it into a ball, then squash it into a disc about 5cm across. Repeat to shape all the dumplings. I became well-known enough that I was asked to write a book about Japanese comfort food, but I didn’t feel it was my place to do so. I wasn’t particularly nervous of cultural appropriation (she’s of Jamaican and Maltese heritage) but, although I’d done my research and knew where my food sat within Japanese culture, I didn’t feel I was immersed enough in it.’Visually stunning with wonderful writing and recipes, it's a love song to the people, food and history of Jamaica and is sure to be a classic' Sarah Winman