Cassava craze
Published:Thursday | June 6, 2013 | 12:00 AM
Krysta Anderson, Food Writer
For a few years now, cassava has been the new carbohydrate taking Jamaica by storm as Jamaicans explore more ways to enjoy the staple.
Last Wednesday, to kick-start the Cassava Expo held at the University of Technology, a new cookbook was launched paying homage to the staple. The co-author of Celebrating the Culinary Wonders of Cassava, Janeen McNish, incorporates her own unique twist on recipes that use cassava as the main ingredient.
She told Food, "We started working on the book in 2008, after then Agriculture Minister Dr Christopher Tufton had made a big deal about the starch. We participated in a launch at the retro culinary expo, put on by the JCDC, and it was good. My team and I then decided to write this book, as we believe that as a country we need to secure out local foods and consume more of our locally grown foods that are easily accessible and readily available. Cassava is a positive step in growing what we eat, and eating what we grow, which is what is really important."
The dedicated team, who worked assiduously in creating the cassava recipe book, includes McNish, an experimental foods lecturer at UTech, who is also a caterer and dietary food consultant, vegetarian food specialist, and experienced restaurateur, chef Ceretsie Campbell, and nutritionist Shereen Eyre.
FIVE-YEAR EFFORT
McNish explained that the book took five years to complete because they wanted to get it right. "Because of our basic knowledge in culinary arts, we examined the chemical reaction cassava had on different types of food. This took a great deal of time, but we got through and are very proud of the end result."
The end product of the recipes were proudly displayed during a luncheon at Lillian's Restaurant. Those present got a first-hand experience of just how cassava can enhance both taste and quality of traditional meals.
On the menu was purée of red peas soup, which used cassava as a thickening agent as well as an edible garnish. For the main course, cassava fettucini pasta was served with chicken and for dessert, cassava pudding, bammy charlotte, and cassava banana cake.
The recipe book is now available at Kingston Bookshop and Bryant Bookstore.