Cool Coconut Rice ‘n’ Peas with Funky Plantain

Ingredients:2 x 15ml spoons olive oil, 1 onion, 1 red pepper, a few drops of Tabasco (hot pepper sauce), 2 x 15ml spoons fresh or dried thyme, 200g long grain rice, 400ml can coconut milk, 500ml water, 400g can black eye peas.

1. Peel onion. Make a bridge with your hand and cut the onion in half. Put the flat sides down on the board.

2. Hold the onion firmly, with your hand like a claw. Slice across without cutting through the root.

3. Turn the onion round and still holding it like a claw, slice in the other direction.

4. Cut the top off the pepper and pull out the seed head.

5. Cut a slice from the base.

6. Cut down the side of the pepper and open it up into a long strip. Remove any seeds and the white fibrous strips.

7. Stack two or three pieces of pepper on top of each other and cut into strips.

8. Turn the pepper slices round and cut into small dice.

9. The prepared vegetables should look like this.

10. Put 2 x 15ml spoons of olive oil into a large saucepan.

11. Add the onion and pepper and sauté for 5 minutes until soft.

12. Add a few drops of Tabasco sauce.

13. Add 2 x 15ml spoons of fresh or dried thyme.

14. Add 200g long grain rice.

15. Add 1 x 400ml can of coconut milk.

16. Add 500ml water.

17. Bring the mixture to the boil then simmer for 15 minutes until the rice is cooked and the liquid absorbed. Stir occasionally and add more water if necessary.

18. Whilst the rice is cooking, prepare the plantain. Start by cutting off each end.

19. Make two parallel cuts through the skin along the length of the plantain.

20. Peel back the strip of skin.

21. Remove the rest of the skin.

22. Cut the flesh into slices approximately 2cm wide.

23. Heat up some olive or groundnut oil in a frying pan.

24. Place the slices of plantain in the hot oil and fry for 2 or 3 minutes.

26. Turn over and fry on the other side until golden brown.

27. Drain on kitchen paper to remove any excess oil.

28. These should be golden brown and crisp on the outside. You may like to sprinkle a little salt on them.

29. Ten minutes before the rice is cooked, drain the can of black eye peas and rinse under cold running water.

30. Add the peas to the rice mixture.

31. At the end of cooking, the liquid should all be absorbed.

32. Serve the rice ‘n’ peas with the plantain accompaniment.