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Fortunes smiled on Charita Jones - aka Momma Cherri - whose life and restaurant were turned around after she appeared on Gordon Ramsays Kitchen Nightmares. Here she chooses her top menu of Afro-American food from her new book, Soul In A Bowl.
Momma Cherris life transformed overnight when chef Gordon Ramsay came into her kitchen.
She was cooking up a storm at her Soul Food Shack restaurant in Brighton but facing closure and financial ruin, so in desperation agreed to take part in Gordon Ramsays Kitchen Nightmares television series.
Momma says: Gordon Ramsays intervention was our salvation. Im proud to say that the big difference between Momma Cherris and the other places featured on the programme was that he loved our food.
He said it was the first time he had cleaned his plate during the whole series. We got on great and have since built on all his wise suggestions for the business side.
Two years on, and now with a bigger and extremely successful restaurant, she reveals her culinary secrets for Afro-American food in her new book, Momma Cherris Soul In A Bowl.
Momma - her real name is Charita Jones but no one could ever pronounce Charita so I dont use it - explains: Soul food is a style of cooking that developed in the American Deep South when black people were enslaved and expected to survive on leftover scraps of food.
They just got on with cooking up some of the tastiest meals imaginable, in giant seasoned cast-iron pots. Its delicious, easy and economical food.
Mommas signature dish, traditionally eaten on family occasions like Sunday dinner, is jambalaya, a rice dish first served in New Orleans.
The beauty of this easy dish is that you can substitute or add whatever you like. Its a great way to use up whats in your kitchen.
MOMMAS MEAT JAMBALAYA
(serves 6-8)
4 chicken breasts (skinned preferably)
juice of one lemon
3tbsp Mommas Cajun Seasoning (see below for recipe or order from:
www.soulinabowl.com)
3tbsp vegetable or olive oil
2 onions, 1 roughly chopped, 1 thinly sliced
1 red, 1 green and 1 yellow pepper, half of each diced and the other
half cut into strips
1tsp crushed garlic
1tbsp ground cumin
1tsp cumin seeds (optional, but it adds a nice touch if you have them)
1tsp salt
1/2tsp ground black pepper
4 chorizo sausages, skinned and sliced
1 chilli, preferably Scotch bonnet, seeded and finely chopped, or left
whole
400g easy-cook American style rice
1tsp turmeric
450g mixed vegetables, eg 1 carrot, diced, 1 courgette, diced, a handful
of peas, a handful of green beans and a few broccoli and cauliflower
florets (or you could use a small bag of frozen mixed vegetables)
1 litre water or chicken stock
1tsp gumbo file (order from www.soulinabowl.com)
500g peeled raw king prawns or crayfish
a handful of mushrooms, sliced
First of all you need to prepare the chicken. Cut the chicken breasts into thin strips. Sprinkle over the lemon juice, then one tablespoon of the Cajun seasoning, and set aside to marinate while you cook the
jambalaya.
Place a large saucepan over a medium heat and add one tablespoon of the oil, followed by the chopped onion, diced peppers and crushed garlic. Stir in one tablespoon of the remaining Cajun seasoning and half the cumin, plus the salt and pepper, then add the chorizo.
Cook for about five minutes, until the onion and peppers have softened and the chorizo begins to release some of its juices. The spices will give off their fragrance and coat the pan, which will enhance the dish. I call this seasoning the pot.
Now stir in the chopped fresh chilli. Remember that the Scotch bonnet chillies are very hot; if you have any cuts they will burn you. If you are worried about the heat level, a useful tip is to leave the chilli
whole and add it to the dish with the water or stock, removing it after 10 minutes. Its unique flavour will be released but the heat will be kept to a minimum.
Add the rice and stir well, then add the turmeric and the remaining Cajun seasoning and cumin. Stir everything together until the rice is fully coated, then add the mixed vegetables and the water or chicken stock.
Bring to a simmer and add the gumbo file, if using. Simmer, uncovered, over a low heat for 20 minutes. When the rice has swollen and is almost cooked, add the prawns or crayfish and simmer for a further 8-10 minutes, until the shellfish are cooked. Adjust the seasoning according to taste - you might want to add a touch more chilli.
Now for the final ingredient: the stir-fried chicken. Heat the remaining two tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan, add the chicken and stir-fry for two minutes. Add the sliced onion, peppers and mushrooms
and stir-fry for three minutes more, until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. Place on top of the jambalaya and serve immediately.
MOMMAS CAJUN SEASONING
10g ground cayenne pepper or chilli powder
10g ground black pepper
10g ground garlic powder
10g ground coriander
10g ground cumin
7g dried chilli flakes
7g white sugar
60g dried onion flakes
25g dried mixed herbs
7g grated nutmeg
50g salt
Put the ground spices and all the other ingredients except the salt into a food processor or spice grinder and blend it to a fine consistency. Be careful not to breathe it in, as it will get you sneezing. Mix the blended seasoning with the salt and store in a jar. It should keep for at least a month - or you can store it in the freezer if you want to keep it for longer.
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