I thought it prudent this week to take a break from my food tour, and speak of a current subject that affects us all: the basic right to food. I am no economist, but we are all witnesses to the rising oil prices which are approaching record-breaking levels and which in turn affect the price of everything, provisions especially. Recently, our neighbour island Haiti suffered terrible food riots due to the 40 per cent increase in costs, making many go hungry.

Nothing breaks my heart more than knowing that there are people out there who have no clean water to drink and empty stomachs. This is a grave international issue, but it is also a national concern. Those of us who shop for groceries on a regular basis are feeling the pinch. I can buy the same number of items this week for one price, and the following week, the same items are more expensive. The rising prices are happening so quickly that I am inspired to plant a little vegetable garden. I started last year with my little herb patch; why not a few vegetables? As suggested by The Honourable Christopher Tufton, Minister of agriculture, I am also encouraging us to eat more cassava.

We do need to grow more of our own food, and get creative cooking it. The trading price of rice, the world’s beloved and cheapest grain, has climbed over the last month alone by 68% and is now attracting over US$25 per 100 pounds. In some countries, rice is being rationed due to scarcity and in others, you will witness stockpiles of rice in warehouses which cannot be sold. As a result, some restaurants in developing countries have had to close down because it is too expensive to operate. Rice-producing countries, such as India, are also beginning to reduce their exports to overseas countries in order to protect their domestic markets.

I recently read an article by a BBC journalist, Kate Thomas, entitled “Liberians drop rice for spaghetti”, which showed that there is a rise in pasta cook shops in Liberia, a nation which traditionally consumes much rice, because people cannot afford it any longer and are tailoring their national palate by using pasta to replace rice. You will recall that Liberia suffered from a terrible civil war, and unlike Jamaica, its agricultural sector is nowhere as advanced as ours.

Ironically, we need to upgrade our system of growing here, but when you put it into context and compare us to other developing nations we really are not badly off, therefore we should take pride that we are in a position to properly take advantage of our fertile soil.

According to financial analysts Bloomberg, from March 2007 to March 2008, the price of basic food commodities such as corn has risen by 31%, rice 74%, soya 87% and wheat, a whopping 130%! This is why times are tough for our bakeries and bread production. You really can’t quarrel with them, because external influences are out of their control.

What is an elementary solution? Simply start growing! In England, you will find allotments in urban areas. Basically, an allotment is an open area with soil, which hasn’t been used, and is transformed into a mini vegetable farm. It could be an open piece of land at the end of a neighbourhood street, and the people collectively tend to the land and plant potatoes, tomatoes, corn, pumpkin, and fruit for example, basically, whatever can be grown in that particular geographic spot.

Given this background, Jamaica produces wonderful root vegetables such as yam, sweet potato, dasheen, coco and the now en vogue cassava. Here are two cassava recipes from other countries with similar climates to ours, and also in keeping with the international trend my column has been following in recent weeks. However, I have to add a recipe for my favourite Jamaican cassava treat, bammy.

Remember to support local produce, encourage our farmers, and if you have a bit of idle land in the country, or a spacious garden, why don’t you reserve a patch and get planting? If you can’t do it yourself get somebody to do it for you and create a job or two!

Cuban Yucca

Yucca is the Spanish word for cassava. I ate cassava in this style of preparation when I lived in Miami and dined with my Cuban friends. Try this recipe as a side dish with some grilled pork chops and steamed greens.

Ingredients:

3 cassavas, the sweet variety

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup olive oil, warmed through

2 limes, juiced

Method:

Peel, remove fibrous centre and chop cassava into chunks.

Cook in salted water for about 20 minutes. Drain and remove from water.

Mash the cassava, as you would potatoes.

Add garlic, lime juice, warmed oil and mix well.

Brazilian Style Cassava and

Cheese Fritters

I tried these from a buffet line during breakfast at the hotel I stayed in when I was in Rio de Janeiro. Simple and yummy!

Ingredients:

3 cassavas

200g sharp cheddar, shredded

4 eggs, whisked

1 large stalk escallion, finely chopped

Couple sprigs of cilantro, finely chopped

Salt and pepper, to taste

Olive oil, for frying

Method

Boil the cassava for 20 minutes, drain, and mash (as in the above recipe)

Add remaining ingredients except oil and mix well.

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan.

To make a fritter, use a tablespoon and pick up a heaped amount of the mixture and drop gently into hot oil, continue like this until all the mixture is used up.

Fry on each side for about 3 minutes or until golden brown.

Jamaican Bammy

Everybody loves bammy, especially with fried fish. The steamed variety tastes great too, but to be honest, I have never cooked it this way myself, so this recipe is for the fried variety. If you don’t have the time or inclination to make it from scratch, there are some great ready-made products on the market which my mother uses sometimes and soaks in milk prior to frying. You will need muslin cloth, a 10-inch ring mould and a small round frying pan.

Ingredients:

1 pound sweet cassava, grated

1 can of coconut milk

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Method:

Place the grated cassava into the muslin cloth, and squeeze out excess liquid.

Add salt.

Press a cupful into mould ring to make circle shape, conversely you can place it directly into a greased frying pan and press down hard.

Fry on both sides until the shape holds and it begins to change colour. Remove from heat.

Prepare a large bowl with the coconut milk and place the bammy inside and soak for 10 minutes.

Remove and continue frying the bammy until golden brown on both sides.

Bon Appétit!

Jacqui Sinclair is a Cordon Bleu-trained chef/food stylist & hotelier. She has worked in the world of food photography and film in Europe. A bon vivant, she is passionate about sharing her food secrets with enthusiastic home cooks.