Windrush 75: ‘Celebrating the food I grew up on’ – Cheridene Green

To mark Windrush Day, Great Britain and England basketball star Cheridene Green, who won a 3x3 silver medal at Birmingham 2022, sat down with her mum, Sylvia, who is a chef specialising in African-Caribbean food and runs the Reggae Britannia Bistro in London, to talk on the importance and influence of Caribbean food in their lives.

Sylvia, a child of the Windrush Generation, also shares three of her favourite African-Caribbean recipes for you to make and enjoy at home.

Sylvia

My parents came from Jamaica to Britain in the 1950/60s. They were asked to come over to work, my mum trained as a nurse and my dad worked on the railways and then worked with plastic mouldings.

I was born here, and for me, growing up as a black child in Battersea, school wasn’t very nice, the neighbours weren’t very nice and people in the shops weren’t very nice, but my parents didn’t take any notice of the prejudice because they were just focused on the job of making a better future for themselves and their children.

I like to say that the Windrush crew built the British Empire. African-Caribbean people have done a lot for this country and not only in nursing, transport, road sweeping and building work.

All my family are chefs, and we’ve all inherited strong taste buds and a knack for getting the best flavour from food. My dad was the main chef in our house, so when he was cooking, I would always be by his side, and he would give me a taste of the food he was making. In a Caribbean home, you would get up every morning and smell the rice and peas cooking with thyme and coconut, curry goat, or cornmeal porridge for breakfast. You could never starve in a Caribbean house.

I remember cooking for my dad when I was 11 and I made him rice and peas, pepper steak, salad and Guinness punch and I gave it to him and he said to my mum, ‘where did she learn to cook like that?’ And he couldn’t believe it. Even before he died, I said to him I’m going to have a restaurant.

The only way the legacy of the Windrush is going to remain is if throughout the generations we continue to tell the stories of the past and remind the young people that this used to happen, that that used to happen, and your parents’ parents helped rebuild the country after the Second World War. Just know who you are, what your ancestors, your family and your people did along the way.

Cheridene

As far as legacy is concerned, I really agree with my mum. It’s important to remind people of what became of that generation – look at what they created from nothing into something. I’m still learning about it all too, like why they’re called the Windrush Generation and hearing about my grandparents journeys, when they came over and what they did, outside of just knowing them as my family members. They’re pioneers. I also have to be part of the legacy and share what I know with my nieces and nephews and just in general.

Every time I make food, I call my mum for advice. I want to learn a lot more about African-Caribbean cuisine and just be able to remember recipes off the top of my head like her. I'm used to the best flavoured food, so I know when something’s not right. I’m thankful for that.

Unfortunately, being a professional athlete, you have to be strict with your diet. I mean I would eat mac and cheese every day but then I wouldn’t be able to run up the court. But I try to intertwin different cultures together, so that I still get a taste of home in my food choices.

Sylvia's recipes

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Ingredients – Spinach dumplings

Salt
Self-raising flour
Spinach

Method

Step 1

• Mix two cups of self-raising flour with one cup of spinach (stuff the spinach into the cup all the way to the top) and fully coat the spinach in the flour.
• Add in one and a half teaspoons of salt.
• Finally, add less than a cup of water and combine it all together.

Step 2

• Portion out the mix to whatever size or shape you want – whether balls or flat dumplings.
• Bring a pan of oil to the boil.
• Once the oil is at boiling, coat the dumplings in plain flour and put them into the pan. Top tip: Coating them in flour will stop them coming apart in the hot oil.

Step 3

• If you are making the spinach dumplings in a ball shape, there’s no need to flip them in the oil because they will turn over by themselves. Once they’re golden brown, they’re done.
• If you are making the flat ones, you’ll have to flip them. Give them five to six minutes on each side until they’re golden brown.

 

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Ingredients – Jerk chicken and jerk sauce

Chicken (whole)
Dry chicken seasoning
Hot pepper sauce
Jerk seasoning
Lemon
Lime
Soya sauce
Tomato sauce
Vinegar

Method

Step 1

• Take the skin off the whole chicken (although if you prefer you can leave it on).
• Give it a clean by rubbing it with lemon and lime juices and vinegar.
• Quarter the chicken and put on your jerk seasoning (Grace jerk seasoning or Dunn’s River jerk seasoning) and then your dry chicken seasoning.
• Really rub them together on the chicken. Top tip: You can put the chicken in the fridge for 24 hours to marinate. But, if you're a top chef, just add extra seasoning to avoid the wait.

Step 2

• If you want to cook your chicken in the oven you can – but that’s roast chicken with jerk seasoning!
• To get that smoky flavour, you’ll need a jerk pan/BBQ.
• Make sure your coals are white before you put the chicken on.
• Put the inside of the chicken down first to ensure the outside gets a chargrilled coating and won’t stick to the grill once flipped.
• Keeping flipping the chicken every 20-30 minutes
• Cut into the chicken to see that the bone is brown. Once that happens it’s cooked.
• Pull the chicken into shreds ready to serve.

Step 3

• To make the jerk sauce mix together the tomato ketchup, lime juice, hot pepper sauce and soy sauce.

Step 4

• If you made flat dumpings, cut them open, place the chicken inside.
• Serve with a dollop of sweet chilli sauce.

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Ingredients - Saltfish waffles with buttery baked beans and plantain

Baked beans (any)
Baking powder
Black pepper
Eggs
Garlic
Ginger
Milk (cows or almond)
Mixed herbs
Pimiento
Plain flour
Saltfish (Cod)
Scallions (spring onions)
Scotch bonnet peppers
Thyme

Method

Step 1

• Soak the saltfish in cold water overnight to remove the salt.
• If you haven’t got time to soak, you can put it in a pot of boiling water, but make sure to pour off the water every time it boils up in order to remove the salt (usually a white foam) and replace the water you’ve poured out with fresh water.
• Once the salt is removed, put the fish in cold water to cool it down.
• Remove any bones and skin.

Step 2

• Fry up the scallions, the scotch bonnet peppers, thyme, garlic, ginger, mixed herbs in a frying pan and then add the fish.
• Put a little bit of water in the pan but try and keep it as dry as possible.

Step 3

• To make the waffles, mix one cup of plain flour, with one egg and one cup of milk (you can use cows, almond or even water) and a teaspoon of baking powder.
• When your waffle pan is hot, put the salt fish in first and then pour the waffle mixture on top and close the lid.
• Meanwhile, cook the baked beans with butter, black pepper and any leftover scallions.
• Shallow fry some plantain in oil and serve.

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