By Nayana Mena
Christmas and the festive period is a magical time for families young and old across the world. Regardless of race or background it is a time where people come together to reflect on the year just gone, share each other’s gratitude, enjoy each other’s company, spread joy and eat real good food!!
Here at African Plate we believe that good food brings people together to celebrate good times. So in this blog I will be revealing all the food that you do not want to miss this Christmas as well as how to spice up some Christmas classics with our very own treats.
Everybody is different when it comes to preferences of certain foods during the festive period but let us begin with what foods are guaranteed to make it off the shelves this christmas. Turkey, Salmon and other cooked meats are quite common to have in little nibbly bits like starters or ‘Hors d’oeuvres’ and even as a main course during the Christmas feast. Roasted vegetables including carrots, potatoes, onions and parsnips are also essential to a good festive meal. For those with a sweeter tooth, mince pies, fruit cake, puddings with custard and an assortment of flavoured chocolates always go down a treat. But, my absolute favourite thing at christmas time are all the pastries and biscuits that I find myself eating and sharing with others. Comment down below and let us know what your Christmas essentials are and what others can try this Christmas too.
Now I will be sharing how to add that ‘African Plate’ twist to some of your Christmas classics that I have just mentioned. Turkey can be quite dry and bland if you do not season and cook it well. Although it is extremely popular around this time of year many state that the common ‘Turkey’ is quite boring. So to avoid this I would recommend that you season your Turkey with a paste of butter, garlic, roast herbs, thyme, honey and a combination of African plate ‘Cameroon Pepper’ and our ‘Barbeque Mix’ as well as cooking it on a low and slow heat to guarantee the perfect juicy bird. Now seasoning your veg is optional but it is something that I always tend to do because flavourful food always tends to be the best food. I just love the taste of garlic and herbs on my roasted vegetables. To add that African plate twist, you could add a sprinkling of our ‘Ami Ami mix’ to add some extra tastiness to your meal.
Here at African Plate we believe that you cannot have a hearty Christmas meal without a serving of Jollof rice on the side. Although it is not part of most peoples typical christmas dinner it can make a nice enhancement and add colour to your plate of food (you can shop our jollof rice seasoning in the products list). Some other foods that can make a nice enhancement include our range of snacks. At christmas time people are always open to trying new foods and fusing diverse cultures of food to do this. Why not try our African Plate Kilishi (which is a type of beef jerky) alongside your other christmas snacks and appetisers and add that real punch to your food. Our African Plate ‘Crunchies’ are also a nice sweet treat to nibble on alongside your desserts or any time throughout the day. They are made from a combination of coconut candies, caramelised peanuts and flaky ‘Chin chin’ which are all things that are delicious and add to the overall feel of christmas.
The main point that I would like you to take away from all of this is that Christmas is what you make it. We want you to make this Christmas and every Christmas to follow an incredibly special one filled with joy, laughter and great food. So with that being said, try new things, spread love and always add that African Plate twist to your cooking.
Lastly, if you need help looking for a gift this christmas, Our incredibly special Christmas hampers are now available to purchase for yourself or a loved one containing all your African Plate favourites so do not miss out!!
(Please share with us what your christmas ‘must haves’ are and lets start conversation – after all that is what Christmas is all about)