COOKING THE MARLEY WAY
THE KITCHEN IS DEFINITELY THE MOST POPULAR PLACE TO HANG OUT at the Marley house. There you’ll find music, family, laughter, conversation, and of course lots of delicious, fresh, and pure food being chopped up to go into a salad or pot or simmering away on the stovetop. Life is one giant celebration, right? And we are great at finding any reason, big or small, to gather friends and family for a good party. Some parties, though, well, they are for adults only! So put the kids to bed or send them to a friend’s house because it’s grown-up time. When I want to let loose and just have some fun, I’ll enhance a dish (or three!) with some Herb—just enough to get our spirits high and bright, not enough to put us all into a trance . . . what fun would it be if we were all just asleep on the sofa? Whether I’m cooking “clean” or with a kick, my food often has an island beat to it because those are the flavors I grew up with and that I crave.
Jamaican culture—from food to music—is alive. It is bright and fresh and bursting with spice and a feel-good positive attitude. Anytime you put a Jamaican dish on the table it’s like a party already, so when you add an Herb enhancement to the recipe, it kicks up the decibels that much more. Using Herb—whether you smoke it, vape it, or eat it—is, to me, just another part of eating clean and good. Herb is natural—it’s a plant from the ground that is as pure as a bunch of thyme or parsley. While edibles are fun, they also are really so much better for you than drinking a cocktail, which can be loaded with all kinds of who-knows-what ingredients. Herb doesn’t impact your liver and it’s not loaded with calories or sugar, so as far as intoxicants go, it’s a nice and natural ingredient you can actually feel really good about putting into your body. In this book, I’ll teach you how to control how much you add to a dish so you can control your high as easily as choosing whether you’ll have one glass of wine or two.
My kitchen is casual. Check your ego at the door! Here is a place to be free and happy and just let go. You’ll often find people gathered around the cooktop eating some seasoned rice straight from the pot or ripping off the crispy edges of a lasagna before it has a chance to hit the table. I love entertaining—from big gatherings on weekends to cozy dinners with my closest friends. This cookbook truly reflects the way I eat—an eclectic and mostly vegetarian mix of vegetables and grains that’s as good for your body as they are for your spirit and soul. My daddy chose to live his life in peace, happiness, and in unity with others. We ate a lot of fish and vegetables at home, though sometimes when at a friend’s house I’d eat what they were serving—maybe curry goat, curry shrimp, brown stew chicken, oxtail with butter beans—I threw down when I got out of the house (forgive me, Mom and Dad, but confession is good for the soul).
Since I was eighteen, I’ve eaten a mostly vegetarian diet. In part I was inspired by my grandmother and namesake, Cedella, who was rarely sick and always just glowed and was radiant. I definitely feel the difference in my spirit and energy when I fill my diet with as many organic fruits and vegetables as I can and if using dairy products and eggs, I always buy organic, antibiotic-free, and cage-free. I know a vegetarian diet is not for everyone, though, so the recipes in this cookbook reflect that philosophy. You’ll find a few recipes here and there calling for saltfish, fried fish, or pan-cooked escovitch-style fish as well as jerk chicken (always use humanely raised and preferably organic, please!).
My parents believed in whole and natural foods—Dad was drinking green juice decades before it was available in just about every grocery store! We ate very little sugar and did lots of cleanses and drank tonics to clean our blood and our insides. They believed in eating for health, and we always ate lots of nutritious home-cooked meals, many that came from our own garden. Mom loved going outside and picking fresh mint for Daddy’s morning tea. For Saturday dinner, she’d whip up her Ital stews (Ital deriving its name from the word “vital,” with the letter “I” being front and center to symbolize the connection to nature and to one’s self, with the goal of eating as cleanly as possible to increase your life energy). On Sundays, the family would gather for dinner around two o’clock. This was our time together, our moment to enjoy laughter and music and a little “reasoning” with Daddy and Mommy. I’m sure, when it was time to chill with friends, my parents probably experimented with adding Herb to food. Forty years ago, they most likely did what everyone else did and chopped some bud up and added it straight to a curry or stew. I think Daddy would be excited to see the evolution of how people cook with Herb now, how far cooking with herb has come (and how delicious it can be!), and how much fun and enjoyment people get when they experience an Herb-spiked dish. I’m really excited to share these family recipes with you and finally to have the opportunity to publicly marry them with Herb.
THE JAMAICAN PANTRY
Jamaican cuisine draws on influences from around the globe. British, Spanish, African, Indian, and Chinese flavors and cooking styles have all impacted our food and culture. The ingredients aren’t too exotic—I’m talking thyme and coconut, cashews and Scotch bonnets, peppers and plantains, and ginger and curry.
My cooking is always fresh and good, vegetable-forward, and (for the most part) organic and healthy. I am crazy for Jamaica’s national dishes like ackee (our national fruit) and saltfish, roast breadfruit, fried dumplings, rice and peas, stews and escovitch fish, but I also love lasagna, homemade guacamole, and hummus—not necessarily Jamaican but oh man, so good! Of course we all splurge every once in a while . . . who could live without the richness of extra-cheesy macaroni and cheese in their lives or brownies so fudgy they stick to your teeth! But even when I’m cooking something “American” like macaroni and cheese, it usually includes a taste of my island upbringing—from allspice to pumpkin or dried sorrel. Here is an idea of some of the ingredients that you’ll find in my cupboards and in my recipes.
ACKEE: This is a fruit that grows on trees in Jamaica. Only the yellow portion is edible—the black seed is poisonous (as is the yellow fruit if the ackee is underripe!). When cooked, ackee (AH-key) has a look and texture similar to scrambled eggs, even though it has a sweet and fruity flavor. Ackee is available in cans, but I only like it fresh—ackee plus codfish is not only a delicious breakfast dish but the national dish of Jamaica.
ALLSPICE (PIMENTO): The dried berries look like peppercorns but taste like a happy combination of cloves and nutmeg. Allspice berries and ground allspice are used in a lot of traditional foods, and are essential to jerk seasoning and paste (perhaps this is why some call allspice Jamaica pepper). The tree and leaves are used to make pimento wood (which comes in the shape of logs or wood chips) and dried pimento leaves. Both add that exquisite taste to jerk chicken cooked outside on the grill . . . yeah Jamaican style.
ANNATTO: Seeds from the achiote tree, annatto is what’s used to give cheddar cheese its orange color. The seeds are bloomed in hot oil and then discarded; the infused oil offers up an earthy taste and orange color to whatever you add to the pot next.
CALABAZA PUMPKIN: A large pumpkin with a velvety texture and a nice rich flavor, calabaza is similar to dense squashes like kuri and Hubbard varieties rather than more watery types like butternut. If you can’t find calabaza, you can substitute yam or acorn squash.
CALLALOO: This leafy green (a variety of amaranth) is a staple in Jamaican cooking and is used as a side dish and as a stuffing for dumplings. You can find fresh callaloo at most Caribbean markets. I’d rather substitute spinach leaves or amaranth leaves (available in some farmers’ markets) than use canned callaloo if I can’t get the fresh leaves.
COCONUT MILK: Coconut milk is a big source of flavor in Jamaican curries, soups, and sweets. Coconut milk is made by pureeing the meat of brown coconuts with a bit of water. You can buy it canned for convenience, but really nothing beats the fresh, rich flavor of fresh coconut milk (see here).
COCONUT OIL: Cold-pressed coconut oil is made by extracting the oil from the coconut meat without using heat or chemicals; as a result, the oil retains its antioxidant properties and phytonutrients. Unrefined coconut oil typically has a fuller, more coconut-y flavor than refined coconut oil; however, it also has a lower smoke point (350°F versus 450°F for refined coconut oil). Refined coconut oil is bleached and deodorized, and chemicals are sometimes used to extract more oil from the meat. It’s also not uncommon for refined coconut oil to be partially hydrogenated, meaning it will contain trans-fats. For all of these reasons I strongly recommend you use only unrefined coconut oil.
CURRY POWDER: Introduced to the islands by the English through colonization, Jamaicans have made curry powder their own by curbing the strong flavor (often from fenugreek) with more turmeric. If you can’t find Jamaican curry, Indian curry powder can be used instead—maybe add an extra pinch of turmeric to soften its taste.
GINGER: From ginger beer to curries and Sorrel Punch, we Jamaicans love our fresh ginger. Use the edge of a teaspoon to scrape away the thin skin before finely chopping the ginger or grating it using a ginger grater or a Microplane-style rasp. Young ginger tends to be more tender and less fibrous than mature ginger.
GREEN BANANAS AND PLANTAINS: Green bananas are simply unripe bananas. They will be starchier, drier, and have less sugar than a ripe, sweet banana and you may need the help of a paring knife to peel away the skin. Plantains are even starchier and denser than green bananas and are sold in varying stages of ripeness from green to yellow and even black. The green ones are used for making tostones or can be simply boiled and served with a stew or Curry Rundown as a potato replacement. Yellow and black (extra-ripe) plantains are used for making sweet and sticky maduros (fried banana slices).
GROUND PROVISIONS (ROOT VEGETABLES AND POTATOES): We do love our hearty potatoes, yams, and other ground provisions in the Caribbean. Yuca (also called cassava, manioc, or, when dried and ground, tapioca flour) looks like a long sweet potato with a bark-like skin. It’s fantastic baked like steak fries. Yellow yams are quite popular in Jamaica and throughout the Caribbean—you can find them in Caribbean markets. They are larger and wider than yuca, also with a bark-like skin, though, unlike yuca, they are sold un-waxed. When handling yellow yam, wear gloves or hold the yam with a towel to steady it on the cutting board as you peel or slice (the compounds in the juice of the yam will make your hands itch!). Yellow yam cooks up with a nice, dry texture—like a sweeter version of a russet (baking) potato. Jamaican sweet potatoes are also different from the sweet potatoes you find in the U.S. First, they’re not as sweet! Second, they are white fleshed with a red skin. If you don’t have a Caribbean market nearby, you can try substituting Jamaican sweet potatoes with batatas found in Latin and some Asian markets. It’s not exactly the same, but it comes closer than American sweet potatoes.
GUAVA: The size of a medium lime, guava is a wonderfully fragrant fruit. It can be used fresh in drinks or can be turned into a preserve, jelly, or paste. You can find guava paste in specialty food stores, usually in the cheese area. If you’re in a Caribbean market, it’ll be with the jams and such. Spanish quince paste, called membrillo, is a good substitute if you just can’t find guava paste.
HEMP SEED: See here.
PASSION FRUIT: Small and wrinkly with maroon and yellow mottled skin, passion fruit is not a looker but, oh man, does it taste delicious. Fresh passion fruit is quite tart and while it smells beyond heavenly, it packs a sour punch. You can buy it fresh in many grocery stores (slice it in half and scoop/squeeze the pulp out into a fine-mesh sieve then use the back of a spoon to press it through) or look in the freezer section for passion fruit puree. In a pinch, you can use passion fruit juice or even melt passion fruit popsicles and just reduce the amount of sugar called for in your recipe.
PIGEON PEAS: Rice ’n peas, where would we be without you? The peas I speak of are pigeon peas, also called “gungo” peas, a dried bean that, when cooked, has a wonderfully mild flavor and smooth texture. Like all dried beans, the peas need to be soaked overnight before cooking. They’re also sometimes labeled gandules in Latin markets.
SALTFISH: With so much fresh fish in the sea, why do we Jamaicans eat so much saltfish? Well way back when, cod fillets preserved in salt (like Portuguese bacalao) were traded to sugar plantation owners in exchange for Jamaican rum and molasses as a cheap protein source for the plantation’s slaves. Eating salt-preserved fish became the norm and a key ingredient to many of our dishes, from ackee and saltfish to saltfish cakes and one-pots (here). Cod is the most common saltfish, but pollack and hake can also be salted and dried.
SCOTCH BONNET PEPPER: According to legend these incendiary chiles are so-called because they resemble a Scottish person’s hat. In food terms they look like habaneros but have a sweeter flavor (though they’re still plenty spicy). You can use them chopped or poke a few holes in one and drop it into a soup or stew for a slow-going roll of heat. Like all chile peppers, a lot of the heat comes from the seeds, so remove them for a milder dish and, for goodness sake, wash your hands and keep them out of your eyes!
SUGAR: I like to cook with coarse cane sugar in my food. Sugarcane is a renewable resource that can grow back after being cut down, while sugar beets, the source of much granulated sugar, have to be replanted every year. Cane sugar is also minimally processed and has a toasty flavor. We also use honey, demerara (or turbinado; essentially like sugar in the raw), regular brown sugar, and occasionally molasses in our cooking.
