Natural Flava by Craig and Shaun

Editor Keith Kendrick cooks some quick and easy plant-based Caribbean recipes

AA weekly ritual in our house is fried chicken. I soak skinless thighs in buttermilk and beaten egg, then dredge them in three kinds of spiced flour before deep-frying in batches. It’s my teenagers’ favourite dish, bar none. I’ve made it with all kinds of flavours, including madras, Korean-style, and that famous high-street one that uses 11 herbs and spices. But I’ve never tried it without chicken – until now. Natural Flava, a new book from the brothers behind Original Flava, is packed with Caribbean-inspired vegan recipes. Their plant-based fried ‘chicken’ recipe is one of my favourites. An ingredient I’d never tried before is a revelation: banana blossom. Widely available in cans, it’s the purple-skinned edible flower of the banana plant. It’s crunchy with a satisfying pull-apart texture. An instant hit! Craig and Shaun’s heritage is Jamaican, and they travelled there in 2018. Divided into chapters that take you from starters through to desserts, Natural Flava showcases the dishes the brothers enjoyed at vegan cafés on their travels. The experience exposed them to Ital food, derived from Rastafarian culture. ‘Rastas eat a natural diet free from additives and chemicals,’ they say. ‘Growing up in a Caribbean household, we don’t remember having too many vegetables on our plate, but now we want to inspire people to eat more plants, so we’ve found a formula that involves giving plant-based food the same treatment as meat or fish; it’s all about the seasoning and preparation.’