My neighbour Karen, also a single mum, who comes from a Jamaican background, has started a sideline in selling proper Jamaican food to other mums outside the school gate. She’s named herself Msricenpeas. Parents are flocking to buy tubs of her rice and peas, callaloo and jerk chicken. I can’t blame them – it’s delicious, healthy and, whilst seemingly simple, it’s time-consuming to make properly.
Rice and peas is the mainstay food of Jamaican cuisine. ‘Peas’ are beans, and the further south, the darker the legume. Caribbean islands near to the Southern States of America will often use the black-eyed pea as I have. Jamaicans use the pinto bean. Islands closer to South America will use the small black turtle bean. The smaller the pea, the sweeter it is.
Karen kindly gave me her recipe. A couple of pointers: it surprised me that she soaked the peas with garlic and onion ‘to soften them’. Softening those peas is important. And I had some fresh coconut, so I cooked my peas with a few large slices. It lent a rich depth to the flavour.