Levi Roots - Grill it with Levi

CONTENTS

101 fresh, fast, flavoursome recipes for the barbecue or grill. Levi Roots shows us how to bring the sunshine into our kitchen, whatever the weather.

LEVI ROOTS of Dragons Den fame, is a cook, entrepreneur and musician. His journey from Jamaica to Brixton to international acclaim is one of the UKs most heart-warming success stories. Since he first appeared on our screens in 2006, Levis Reggae Reggae brand has gone from strength to strength, and his Reggae Reggae Sauce is now one of the bestselling sauces in the UK. Having played football with Bob Marley, sung to Nelson Mandela, wowed the crowds at the Notting Hill Carnival and written a number of successful cookery books, Grill it with Levi is the recipe book that epitomises his experiences and key influences. Levi lives in Brixton, London.

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Published in 2013 by Ebury Press, an imprint of Ebury Publishing

A Random House Group Company

Text Levi Roots 2013
Photography Ebury Press 2013

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Photography: Martin Poole
Food stylist: Sara Lewis
Props stylist: Tamzin Ferdinando

ISBN 9780091950804

Ive always wanted to write about barbecue: this book is me! Most of my inspiration, foodwise, has come from its great flavours and its communal feeling of getting together to have fun.

People love to barbecue because you can do it anywhere, anyhow, in any fashion that you want. We do it to celebrate and party, but now this way of cooking has become integrated into everyday eating. You dont have to wait for summer or a special event to dust off the grill. You dont even have to go outdoors! The flavours you associate with barbecue are also delicious if you cook the food under a grill or on a griddle pan in the kitchen. All these recipes are fantastic to eat whether you are indoors or out.

Why do we love to barbecue so much? For a start, there are all the flavours: meat, fish, vegetables and even fruits are all great cooked over smoke and glowing charcoal, and given that special chargrilled flavour, especially with the extra magic of spices and sauces.

And barbecuing is so easy! Theres not much in the way of preparation. Then its straight on out, no pans, and you can cook the food together. It has to be the most relaxing way to entertain just grill and chill.

In the Caribbean, this style of eating is all about the party and the sharing. On birthdays and other big events theres often a big cookout. You get this fantastic smell from miles away and follow it to the event.

Fire has always been an attraction to humankind and quite often the barbecues in Jamaica are in the darkening, chilling-out time, with music and everyone enjoying cooking and eating. During the day, you can order your barbecue food from a shack on the beach, go for a swim and come back to enjoy some jerk fish or chicken when its ready and delicious.

Barbecues are best kept simple. Back in the day, the workers in the sugar cane fields would just dig a hole in the ground, light a fire and cook the food on the ashes. From this, barbecue in Jamaica developed into jerk food. Originally, this was about preserving food with spices and long, slow smoking. Nowadays, jerk is defined more by the flavours you put on the food and the taste has spread. Its one of Jamaicas gifts to the world!

The most crucial jerk flavour is allspice, the seed of the beautiful pimento tree. Jamaica is called the land of wood and water and this is one of our national trees. The wood is used for the cooking and the berries squashed up with a mortar and pestle to flavour the food. Another essential is Scotch Bonnet, the national chilli of Jamaica. Other kinds can be used, but they wont give you quite the same heat and authentic flavour. Also into the mix goes fresh ginger, garlic and perhaps some nutmeg, thyme, black pepper and spring onions.

At my barbecues, I always have on hand my Sunshine Kit of these spices and flavours, and you can create your own. One things for sure: you couldnt have a bland jerk dish!

Barbecue is a personal way of cooking and everyone has their own style, wherever and whatever they are preparing. For me, its good to marinate the meat or fish in advance to add another layer of flavour, especially if you dont have the smokiness of an outdoor charcoal barbecue.

As well as chicken and other meats, fish and seafood are great to barbecue and grill. As a boy growing up in the Caribbean, I used to put the fish that I caught straight in the ground, in the hot ashes. These days, I still barbecue a whole fish, leaving the scales on so they act like tin foil to protect the flesh.

You can also roast fish and other foods by wrapping them in foil. Its so easy theres no fuss at all. Just add anything into the parcel that gives more flavour and makes it more of a meal, whether its spices and spring onions, or vegetables such as potatoes and carrots. Then add a bit of liquid to keep it fresh and get a bit of steam going on, and perhaps a flavoured spiced butter. Close it up and when the parcel is opened its all juicy and buttery on the inside.

Another aspect of barbecue and grilling that I love is that the flavours are so vivid and yet its a really healthy way of cooking that retains the goodness of the food. Meat and fish are cooked so quickly that they are juicy and tender. Vegetables are so full of flavour that they are part of the main event, not a sideshow, whether its chargrilled ears of corn, roasted peppers, sweet potatoes, colourful kebabs or salads.

If youre planning a barbecue party, dips and bites are essential, it just gives your friends something delicious to nibble on while the food is cooking. Ive given you some of my favourites all easy to prepare in advance.

And with the main course, I hardly need to mention that sauces add yet more magic to the food. Chutneys, marinades, ketchups (try my banana one ), relishes, mustards, rubs and barbecue sauces are all part of the flavour explosion.