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Le Caribe
Traditional Caribbean Restaurant,
Cocktail and Wine Bar; 20 Northwold Road, Stoke Newington, N16. Tel: 020 7241 0011
Lunch 12:00 noon - 3:00 pm, Tues - Sat Evening 7:00 pm until midnight, Tues - Sat Music
and dancing. Fri, Sat, Sun 10:00 pm 'til late. Jazz Sundays 8:00 pm - midnight
It is easy to miss Le Caribe, which is tucked away on the corner of Northwold
Road, looking every inch an elegant Georgian house. Le Caribe manages to combine the two
aspects of the Caribbean the cool elegant, relaxed feel of its primrose-walled dining
room with its dark funky soca and reggae doused atmosphere in the downstairs bar.
The bar is a great place to meet before going upstairs to dine try the rum punch or
superb cocktails. The Pina Colada is about the best I have tasted not too heavy on the
coconut,large fruity and refreshing, probably extremely alcoholic but slides down very
easily. We were also impressed by the banana daiquiris. Large cocktails are £4.50.
In spite of the enormous diversity of dishes and cooking influences in the Caribbean, most
Caribbean food available in London is traditional and hearty. These restaurants and cafes
provide good, reliable food for the local community. Le Caribe is intent on being a cut
above the rest, while still serving the best of traditional dishes. New dishes will
reflect the vast range of cooking styles in the Caribbean.
The patron, Bilal Ameen, is from St Vincent and has recently acquired Le Caribe. He
intends to place the emphasis on food and will offer a menu which will embrace all
islands.
Rose, a Jamaican friend, and I visited very recently and were met by attentive and
friendly staff. The dining room has a definite colonial atmosphere with its high ceilings
and immaculate linen.
My companion had Jumbie Umbrella (£4.00) a fried croquette of mushroom, saltfish,
peppers and stuffing, which was nice and crisp but was slightly overpowered by the sage
stuffing.
I had Reef Neptune (£3.40), very tender squid in sharp sauce which complemented the
sweetness of the squid. Other tempting appetisers included seasoned crabmeat with avocado
and lettuce (£4.00) and the classic Callaloo Soup (£3.80) which is made from a leafy,
spinach-like vegetable with okra, peppers and cream of coconut.
For mains, we had Curried Spiced Goat (£9.50) in London this is usually made with
mutton, but none the worse for that and it was well spiced,served with rice and peas.
The baked snapper (£9.00) was very fresh, pan fried and served with a creole sauce which
was a little lacking in spice.
On our next visit, we tried the Jerk Chicken (£9.50), which was succulent and peppery,
and red bean stew (£7.00). This is one of the vegetarian options which definitely got a
thumbs up. All main courses are served with rice and peas or mixed West Indian vegetables,
yam, green banana, sweet potatoes and cho cho.
Puddings to indulge in are coconut ice cream (£3.00) or tropical fruit crumble served
with rum flavoured cream (£3.00). After all this you can dance the night away to lively
soca rhythms in the downstairs bar.
I got my first Caribbean cookbook in the early seventies, when many ingredients were not
available. Happily, this is no longer a problem in London. Most of the vegetables, spices,
fish and meat can be found on Ridley Road market or in any of the African or Caribbean
grocers around Stoke Newington.
In the late 1700s, Captain Cook, sailing in the South Pacific, discovered that breadfruit
was a prolific food source. The Governors of St Vincent and Jamaica then introduced the
plant to the West Indies. The Bounty, under the command of Captain Bligh, left Tahiti on
its abortive voyage to the West Indies with over a thousand shoots of breadfruit on board.
On his next expedition, Bligh was successful in bringing hundreds of breadfruit plants
into Kingston Harbour, St Vincent. To this day the breadfruit tree reigns supreme on
nearly all the islands in the Caribbean. Breadfruit can be eaten boiled, mashed, baked or
fried like chips. Here is a recipe from St Vincent:
Stuffed breadfruit
1 ripe breadfruit; a dash of nutmeg; a dash of coriander oils; 1 onion, finely chopped; 2
cloves of garlic, finely chopped; 1 skinned tomato, chopped; 1 tablespoon of chopped
parsley; 250g ground beef, pork, chicken or fish; 1 teaspoon rum or two dashes of aromatic
bitters; salt and freshly ground black pepper; yellow cooking butter; 1 beaten egg; 125g
grated cheddar cheese.
Cut the breadfruit length-wise into two pieces. Add salt, nutmeg and coriander to a pot of
water and cook the breadfruit in its skin until soft. Drain the water and remove the heart
of the breadfruit. Scoop out most of the flesh from the shell and reserve. Set the shell
aside. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion, garlic, red peppers, tomato and parsley
lightly. Add the ground meat or fish, rum or bitters, salt and pepper to taste. Add
another pinch of freshly ground nutmeg. Fry until golden brown. Remove any excess oil.
Mash the flesh of the breadfruit with butter, mix in the beaten egg. Add the meat mixture
and stir well. Place the mixture in each shell. Top with grated cheese and brown in a slow
oven for about half an hour. Serve hot with mixed salad. Serves one. |
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