TikTok cooking sensation Nathaniel Smith’s Jamaican heritage influences his dishes – which are full of spice, flavour and personality
COMPILED BY: ALI GRAVES PHOTOGRAPHY: STEVEN JOYCE
Plantain Waffles
MAKES 6
Ingredients
150g plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
½ tsp salt
100g oven-baked or steamed
sweet potato, cooled
1 ripe plantain
60g light soft brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
60ml vegetable oil,
plus extra for coating
2 eggs, separated
200-220ml oat or cow’s milk
To serve
Blueberries and/or raspberries
1 banana, sliced
Almond butter
Golden syrup
1. Preheat your waffle maker to a medium–high heat.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a bowl. Put aside.
3. Now you want to blend the sweet potato and plantain. Don’t worry if you don’t have a blender, you can mash it instead. The little lumps of plantain provide a great texture to the waffles, plus it also means one less dish to wash! Add to the bowl.
4. Next, add the brown sugar, vanilla, vegetable oil, egg yolks and milk to the bowl. Whisk until smooth.
5. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form – this will take about 3–4 minutes by hand or 1 minute with an electric whisk. Fold the egg whites into the batter, as you don’t want to knock all the air out.
6. Spray your waffle maker with cooking spray, or brush with oil. This step is crucial, or your waffles will stick.
7. Place the batter into the waffle maker, leaving about 1cm gap at the edge as it will spread once you close the lid. Cook for 4–6 minutes.
8. Serve with berries, banana, almond butter and golden syrup, or place into an oven at 90°C fan/110°C/gas mark ¼ for up to 30 minutes to keep warm until you’re ready to serve.
Vegan Rasta Pasta
SERVES 4
Ingredients
500g pasta (fusilli or penne)
3 mixed bell peppers
½ onion
4 spring onions
3 garlic cloves
2 tbsp olive oil
3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 tbsp wet jerk marinade
¼ tsp ground turmeric
300ml tinned coconut milk, shaken
1 Scotch bonnet pepper,
pierced a few times
2 tsp all-purpose seasoning
50g vegan cheese
Salt and pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1. Bring salted water to the boil.
Add the pasta and cook for 2 minutes less than the instructions. Drain and reserve 150ml of the water.
2. Roughly slice the peppers to around 5mm thick, thinly slice the onion and spring onions and mince the garlic. Save the sliced green ends of the spring onions to garnish.
