Barbados: Bajan Spice

The radio's blasting Gregory Isaacs as I walk into Bajan Spice on a Saturday afternoon, suddenly the DJ pulls up the record, rudely interrupting the 'Cool Ruler', and shouts - 'This one's for Bajan Spice, Clive get my steam fish ready, I'm coming'...show finished and order placed. He arrives excitedly about ten minutes later, leaving his car outside with the doors open and the stereo cranked as he chows down.

For the half hour or so I'm in there the takeaway/restaurant in Nunhead Green Peckham is buzzing with West Indians popping in to collect lunch. The question on everyone's lips 'Is there any souse left?' On Saturday's Bajan Spice offers specials of 'Pudding and Souse' and 'Cou Cou', both lay claim to the title of Barbados's 'national dish'.

'Souse', a Caribbean variation on the Northern European fish preparation, is a fiery concoction of pork (usually trotters, snout, belly and tail) boiled then pickled in lime juice with cucumber, sweet peppers and copious amounts of scotch bonnet. It's served with 'pudding', baked grated sweet potato. Sadly there had been a bit of a run on souse that day so I didn't get to try it, the woman in front of me got the last portion and did a little victory dance. Thankfully there was still some 'Cou Cou' left (pronounced like the nest thieving, clock popping bird).

'Cou Cou' is a thick cornmeal paste with okra which exists in various guises across the islands, I've already encountered, in fact made it, as Antiguan Fungee and Pepperpot. For Bajans I can imagine it's real comfort food but for me it was a bit too stodgy. The accompanying 'Steam Fish' was incredible though, the name's a bit misleading as it's more of a stew. Traditionally made with flying fish I was told, this version had a delicious big tranche of firm, meaty red snapper, bathed in a rich, fishy broth with a hint of coconut milk. It was all washed down with a luminous yellow banana soda, part of a vast selection of Bajan beverages and biscuits under the counter. All in all the meal cost a very reasonable £6.50.

If you're down South East way and interested in trying authentic West Indian cooking that's a bit different from your usual Jamaican standards (they do Jerk chicken etc. too) it's well worth a visit and is supposedly the only Bajan restaurant in London. Oh and if you fancy Souse on a Saturday, make sure you get down there early or call ahead.

Bajan Spice

28 Nunhead Green, Peckham

London, SE15 3QF

Tel: 020 7358 0090

Guyana: Kaieteur Kitchen

We've got four more years to enjoy the culinary and cultural adventure which is the Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, according to Southwark Council's Regeneration Timeline the South London landmark is marked for demolition in 2014.

Built in 1965 it was the first covered shopping centre in Europe, the crowning glory of a development which the London County Council's planners had envisaged as a 'New Sight of London'. They achieved their aim, in a way, though few visit the gyratory and some 2km of subways to marvel at a multi-layered utopia of man and automobile.

Elephant and Castle is consistently voted one of London's greatest eye-sores with its big red bazaar taking a particular bashing. There's little denying that the regeneration project should benefit the area (and hopefully current residents) yet despite all its grimness, for me E&C holds a certain charm. The shopping centre is a living relic virtually unchanged in more than 40 years. Promenading its cracked marble corridors and basking in the faded glow of multicoloured signage and striplighting is Southwark's answer to cruising in a Chevy around Habana Vieja.

Whilst the structure and decor is caught in a twilight of beautiful decay, the centre's shop keepers represent a more modern face of London. There are numerous money transfer centres, Afro-Caribbean hair and beauty emporiums and more importantly some really interesting places to eat. Inside there's a popular Polish cafe, a curry house and a renowned Colombian cafe, shop and restaurant - 'El Bodeguita'.

Outside, in what can only be described as a moat surrounding the retail bastion, is a food court par excellence. The mixture of stands come to life on a sunny day with people eating on ajoining plastic tables, Nigerian, Jamaican and Thai are all represented. The star of the show though is Kaieteur Kitchen serving Guyanese food.

Guyana, a former British colony on the South American mainland is generally considered part of the Caribbean and shares a lot in common culturally with the English speaking islands. Like nearby Trinidad and Tobago there is a strong East Indian influence on the cuisine with over 40% of the country's population descendants of indentured labourers from the subcontinent. Indian breads such as rotis and curries feature heavily alongside dishes with African, European and more so than elsewhere in the West Indies, Amerindian roots.

Passing Kaieteur early one Saturday lunchtime with my stomach as empty as a Greek tax return, the sight of three ample women buzzing around a multitude of pots, frying, stirring and smiling was too inviting. There was no menu so I asked to try the most Guyanese dish... 'pepperpot!' was the unanimous response. Each West Indian island seems to have a dish they call pepperpot, I've already tried Antigua's earlier in my blog, but the Guyanese pepperpot is unique. Theirs is a brooding, dark, hp sauce like morass of all manner of pig and cow parts which tastes incredible.

The secret to pepperpot I was told is 'cassareep' an Amerindian ingredient which is a natural preservative made from cassava juice. The juice is boiled up with brown sugar, cinnamon and cloves to create a thick dark liquid which gives pepperpot its unique flavour and intense colour. In the days before refrigeration, cassareep was a vital addition to stews preserving them almost indefinitely, as long as the pepperpot was boiled well each day it would be safe to eat. Guyanese families tell tales of the same pepperpots lasting for years, with housewives taking and adding ingredients to a stew with an age old base, there's even tales of people inheriting pepperpots.

I was assured my pepperpot was just a couple of weeks old, the constant stewing and concentrating of flavours had broken it down into a thick, molasses like sauce of caramelised meat and spices, a beautiful mix up of oxtail, pigs trotter and chunks of stewing beef and pork. It was served with 'Cook up Rice', a favourite way of using up leftovers in Guyana apparently, which had a generous amount of pork and chicken. A fiery homemade hot sauce of scotch bonnet and mustard was the perfect condiment.

Whilst I ate, the dapper chap in the cap (pictured above) patted me on the back and said, 'It's food that makes you feel good isn't it?' it certainly is and pretty good value at £6.50 for my meal. Lets hope there's a place for Kaieteur Kitchen next to Wagamama's Elephant and Castle in a few year's time.

Bolivia: Parrilladas del Sur

The Elephant Castle/Walworth area seems to be the centre of London's Latino community. A fairly recent influx of immigration from Andean countries, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia in particular has seen the arrival of Latin American grocers, butchers, restaurants and even nightclubs such as the 'Ministry of Salsa'. Each August its streets and Burgess Park play host to the 'Carnaval del Pueblo' Europe's largest Latin American festival.

Stretches of the famously bleak Old Kent road comes to life on the weekend with Latin bars blaring out Cumbia, Salsa and Reggaeton. There are a few really interesting looking places to eat, an Ecuadorian seafood restaurant "Costa Azul' has caught my eye before but recently I managed to drag a few friends to Parrilladas del Sur a Bolivian grill.

I say Bolivian, the restaurant is actually owned and run by Ecuadorians but caters for the area's sizeable Bolivian population with specialities such as salteñas (a type of spicy meat filled empanada or pasty) and anticuchos de corazón ( bite sized beef heart kebabs). As it happens the Friday we went none of these were on the menu but we were treated to the house speciality, a colossal mixed grill (parrillada mixta).

The grill for two included typically Latin American cheap but delicious cuts of beef which aren't readily available or popular in the UK; Flank steak, slightly tough but intensely beefy and juicy, and short ribs, ribs cut across the bone from the chuck, once again they require some gnawing but the meat is rich and flavoursome. Both were cooked well done as seems to be the norm in most Latin American cuisine but were beautifully sealed with a salty, charred exterior.

As well as the steak there was some excellent chorizo (a combination of beef and pork flavoured with coriander and cumin), two huge pork chops, slightly dry but tasty nonetheless and two fine BBQ'd chicken legs made with a secret marinade. Smokey and spicy it tasted like they'd used achiote and a liberal amount of garlic and fresh chili. The grill was accompanied by a fiery chili sauce, baked potatoes, salad and a mound of rice.

In terms of drink the restaurant is plastered with adverts for Bolivian beer "Pacena" sadly supplies were low and we joined the regulars in a can of Fosters. We did get to try an Ecuadorean winter warmer though made from guayusa (a stimulant leaf high in caffeine made into tea), passion fruit juice and sugar cane liquor which had everyone in good spirits.

The place, as with many others I've visited for this blog, feels like you're on holiday it's just such a contrast to the London outside. The site it's on used to be an antique fireplace yard and they've transformed it into a home from home for Bolivians/Ecuadoreans including football shirts on the bare brick walls, posters of Latin popstars, plastic tables and an outhouse toilet that's on the fritz.

The staff were incredibly friendly, although slightly bemused when we came in they managed to dig out the only two menus in English. I'd like to go back when they've got more of the Bolivian specials which seems to be a Saturday night. There's so much to explore in terms of London's South American food, I've already eaten in a few good Colombian places, El Santafereño in Brixton Market is particularly good as is the nearby butchers Las Americas for both Colombian and Brazilian cuts.

My next quest has to be to seek out some illicit Cuy, one of the Andes' most famous delicacies, guinea pig.

Parrilladas del Sur,

186 Old Kent Road,

SE1 5TY,

0207 701 2367