To answer that question i would have to go all the way back to my childhood.
We all have those memories of the meals our parents make or in my chase my nan.
We remember the smells and the taste.
On St Helena every family made lets say Curry or tomato paste or plo and every families tasted different, it was the taste that was unique to that momma or that nana or indeed that popa or dad. Even a dish an auntie would make or sharing hot sandwiches at school, each families had different ways of cooking the same dish.
I have tried and tried to make my dinners taste like nana cooked and no luck as of yet, mayb its cos the ingredients here are not the same, or to make it taste like nanas i need to be sat in the family kitchen with all the smells and laughter..........or mayb i just didnt pay attention enough lol.
black pudding made the saint way not like anything that is bought in the shops, fresh skins (pig intestines) fresh blood and fresh herbs and onion, cooked together with already boiled white rice in a frying pan that has probably been used 1000 times for the same thing. Then standing at the sink stuffing the skins and using sewing thread to tie the ends off. Then after over and hour doing this they would go into a massive pot of boiling water. And my god the time it takes from preparation to table is so so worth the taste..... These were one of the first things i asked for when i made the trip home over 15 years ago. I havent had them since..
Plo, now i dont even know if this is the right spelling let me check my St Helena cookbook ...........Pilau is the spelling in the book. and nick named "around the mast." This recipe is bacon (which was made on the island by popa sexton Butchery well thats where we got ours it was perfectly done,) This is to me one of the best dishes nan made, she also did it without the curry powder she used plenty parsley and thyme, it was usually soupy (thin gravy) chicken wing plo, or both bacon and chicken wings. Rice was a big thing in our house, this was a one pot dish as it would be called now. very simple ingredients but cooked in a very effective way. I dont cook this often cos himself dont like rice, like proper irish with his spud...... plo was something that was found in the boot of many cars after a night out, it was cooked and packed up along with an ice cooler with beer, someone would then pop the boot for music and to finish the night we would eat at the pier head...... and if any of us was brave enough we would jump in the water lol . stupid teenagers 😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣.
Food for me are tied to memories, really good memories weather it was nana home cooking or eating out to bbq's with close friends. Im sat here with a fire on and thinking of the fish fries on Ascension, scorching sun and fresh caught fish in the cast iron pan...
This is a memory of many of my friends and i believe it is still done. Food i think on the islands bring people together, its a welcome and to say you are part of the family here. Im sure its the same for most families and i know its done here in ireland. Its a beautiful way to live.
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