How To Cook Caribbean Food At Home

Place the chicken in a large bowl and massage the salt and black pepper into and under the skin. Set aside.

In a mortar, mix together the molasses or brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of the rum, along with the lime juice, white pepper, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, lemon zest and garlic, pounding a little to make a paste. Massage this into the chicken, including under the skin, then cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but no longer than 24 hours.

About 30 minutes before you intend to cook, remove the meat from the fridge to bring it up to room temperature and preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas 6. Place the chicken, skin side up, in a shallow baking tin and bake it for 45 minutes, or until the juices run clear.

Meanwhile, in a bowl whisk together the mango chutney with the remaining rum until combined.

Baste the skin of the cooked chicken with the rum-laced chutney, then return it to the oven for a further 3-4 minutes, until the chutney is warm. Or, if you want extra-crispy skin, heat your grill to high and place the glazed chicken under the grill, leaving it until the skin starts to caramelize. Serve sprinkled with roughly chopped parsley, if you wish.

Preheat your oven to 190°C/170°C Fan/Gas 5.

Cook the macaroni in boiling salted water for 6 minutes, or until it's al dente. Drain it in a colander, tip it back into the pan and stir through the butter until melted.

While the macaroni is boiling, combine the beaten eggs, tomato purée and milk, and three-quarters of the cheese in a bowl. Once you've stirred the butter into the macaroni, add the egg mixture to the pan, mixing until well combined. Then, add the parsley, spice mix, pepper and ginger chilli or pepper sauce and mix again. Season with salt to taste.

Transfer the macaroni to an ovenproof dish, one that will nicely nestle the pie to about 4-5cm deep. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top, along with a little extra black pepper and parsley. Bake the pie for 30-40 minutes, or until it is firm and golden. Remove the dish from the oven and leave the pie to cool and set for 10-20 minutes before cutting and serving.

Pour the Guinness into a small saucepan and bring it to the boil on a medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to a rolling simmer and cook for about 20-30 minutes, until it has reduced by roughly a third. Turn off the heat and set aside.

Pour the milk into a separate saucepan and place it on a low-medium heat with the cinnamon and nutmeg. Once bubbles start to form at the edge of the milk, turn off the heat and leave the hot milk to infuse for 15-20 minutes.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat together your egg yolks and sugar. Discard the cinnamon sticks from the milk and slowly pour it into the egg mixture, stirring continuously, until fully incorporated. Rinse out the pan and pour the egg-and-milk mixture back into the same pan. Place the pan on a low- medium heat and stir continuously with a wooden spoon until it thickens to a thin custard that coats the back of the spoon (about 5-10 minutes, be patient). Remove the pan from the heat and let the custard cool. Pour the cooled custard into a bowl and chill it for about 1 hour.

Combine the chilled custard and whipped cream in a bowl, and stir in your condensed milk. Add 3 teaspoons of the cooled Guinness syrup, taste and if you want it a little stronger add another teaspoonful. Stir to combine, then transfer the mixture into a lidded plastic container and chill it overnight (this will help to give a super-smooth ice cream).

Once the mixture is chilled, strain it through a fine sieve and pour it into your ice-cream maker. Churn it according to the manufacturer's instructions until softly scoopable. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-proof container, pop on the lid and freeze until needed. Remove the ice cream 10-15 minutes before serving, to allow it to soften a little. Sprinkle over the crushed brittle, if using, to decorate.