BYOB, sea urchin, shish kebab and Michelin-starred meals - a week and half back in LDN

A famous English writer once said "when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford” - and this Londoner couldn't agree more.

Despite having moved myself half way across the world, my hometown will always be in my heart. Coming back to visit for Christmas has been an absolute treat. As well as baking lots, hosting a Colombian themed party and, of course, eating my body weight in turkey and chocolates over Christmas, I have also been lucky enough to eat a lot of meals out. Here is a rundown of some of my recommended spots for those of you hanging around in this brilliant city.

Home Sweet Home ( although no...I don't live in Big Ben. But somehow Golders Green is a bit less impressive).

Bintang in Kentish Town is one of those places you can rely on. Good food, friendly staff and great value, it serves up tasty pan-Asian food with dishes which take inspiration from all corners of the globe (crab empanadas and roti breads feature amongst more traditional dishes such as pad thai and tom yum soup). I should also mention it is BYOB - an instant plus in my books, and with the most expensive dish on the menu at £13, Bintang is a definite cheap eat. Grab some friends, buy a bottle of wine and enjoy - recommended dishes include the gua boa rolls and the seabass.

The highly-recommended Gua boa rolls. Comes with either tofu, duck or beef filling - mmmm.

Atari-ya on James Street, just round the corner from Selfridges.

Amidst a day of Christmas shopping on Oxford Street, my mum and I bypassed the usual chain restaurants for lunch and took a chance on a small sushi bar just off Oxford Street. After battling the slightly confusing menu (as it would seem, you could essentially order any fresh sushi you fancied), we sat ourselves down in Atariya. 

Truely delicious, and yet shall remain nameless.

This deluxe mixed sashimi-sushi bowl above was a combination of tasty sushi rice, crunching veg and Japanese pickle, a wide array of sashimi, along with fish eggs, crab, egg omelette and even sea urchin (odd looking, rich and creamy tasting). It was a very good choice - such fresh fish and just a great mix of things I wouldn't have otherwise ordered. Along with two miso soups, edamame beans, six tuna rolls and two drinks the whole lunch was £28 pounds. For an authentic sushi lunch mid-shopping session at £14 pounds a head, Atariya proved to be a gem of a find. Nip in next time your in Oxford Street for some fresh and wonderful tasting sushi made to order.

You can never go wrong with a good ol' Shish kebab.

Faced with so many choices for places to eat in London, I've been trying to eat food that I know I won't be able to find in Barranquilla. And although Barranquilla actually does offer up great Arabic food, it is mainly based on Lebanese dishes - and while that is all delicious, I am a sucker for a Turkish (just check me and my meat mezze in Golders Green). Queue a visit to Kilis Kitchen, off Upper Street. A mix of Turkish, Syrian and Lebanese cuisine, here we enjoyed a set lunch, which offered a great selection of dishes, including old favourites such as Shish kebab and dishes I hadn't tried, such as a Kisir starter - cracked wheat with walnut and hazelnut, with a mixed herb sauce. Although the service was a little slow, at the price of £7.50 two courses, or £10 with dessert, I thought the food was excellent and extremely good value. Sadly we were all too stuffed for pudding, which was a shame as options included rice pudding, crumble and stuffed figs. Next time I'll save room, as I will definitely be returning.

Moving on from one set lunch to another, it would appear the Bidmead girls are suckers for some lunchtime value. However...here it gets a little fancy. Arbutus is a Michelin-starred bistro restaurant, where the kitchen's aim is to 'turn seasonal and inexpensive food items into affordable and interesting dishes'. At £20 for a set three-course lunch, this is accessible fine-dining which provides unique twists on classic dishes.

My choice of dishes included rillettes of pork for starters (similar to a terrine or pate), with the most succulent lamb for mains, topped off with a classic English custard tart to finish. My mum chose more or less the same while my sister, the fish-eating vegetarian, had sardines for starters and sea trout for mains, both of which looked (and tasted) exquisite.

Top Left to Bottom right - Rillettes of pork, sardines, lamb with goats curd, Sea trout, Custard tart and Pumpkin mousse with milk ice-cream.

While a Michelin-starred restaurant is hardly the first thing to pop up when thinking about cheap eats, Arbutus is a great place to be able to experience something a bit special. £20 for three courses is outstanding value when thinking about the quality of the food, and if you are looking for something a bit different I cannot recommend it enough. (It does get busy so booking is recommended, if not essential).

Overall, London has been good to me! Being back in a capital city with absolutely endless options of cuisines and eateries has been wonderful, and I've really enjoyed sharing all these great places with my friends and family. But for now, it's time to head back to the Caribbean coast, where the sea, sun and sand awaits. Until next time...

Fiesta Colombiana!

I've had an absolutely great time being back in the UK. I've been catching up with friends and family, soaking up all things British and enjoying what feels like a million cups of tea (and many a mince pie too!). As happy as I am to be reunited with these British delights, I also wanted to share a bit of Colombian cuisine with my friends here in London too.

Before leaving Barranquilla I hit up the supermarket to stock up on certain Colombian goodies. With a night out in London on the cards, I thought it was the perfect excuse to host a Colombian themed pre-party at mine.

I assessed what ingredients I had to hand (along with what would be available in the UK), and set out making my menu. To drink I chose typical aguardiente (think sambucca but smoother), agua panela cocktails (brown sugar water...in my opinion made to be mixed with rum), and juice from a fruit called borojo, as I had brought over the pulp.

To eat, chicken wings and traditional arepas were on the menu, made with corn flour which I bought from Colombia. These were topped with guacamole and tomato salsa, which also went nicely with the patacones al horno I served (recipe found here). On my local high street I even managed to find yucca, a root vegetable popular in Colombia. The yucca was boiled and served with fromage frais, which I hoped would be some kind of equivalent to the delicious costeño dip suero, which is a bit like sour cream.

When one of your desserts comes from a package, you know you're in for a classy dinner.

And of course - dessert was compulsory. The cake from my previous post featured, as did natilla - a traditional Colombian flan, made from panela, served with cream and strawberries. This came freshly from the packet, and I felt very retro chic serving flan with whipped cream.

To list all the recipes here would be far too lengthy, but really a lot of them were quite basic. The tomato salsa was simple but classic, from none other than the goddess that is Delia Smith (check out her recipe here). 

The chicken wings (seen above in the glass bowl) were marinated in a last minute concoction of what I deemed to be a 'Colombian-inspired' sauce, and they turned out to be really tasty.

To give them a go, you need:

'Colombian style' marinated chicken wings

-2 tbsp cumin seeds, ground
-2 garlic cloves
-Generous drizzling of olive oil
-A spoonful of chilli sauce (depending on how hot you like it)
-A tablespoon of crunchy peanut butter
-A large handful of coriander leaves
-Plenty of salt and pepper
-3 tbsp of thick greek yogurt.

All whizzed in a blender, this made a lovely thick marinade for the wings. Coat wings in marinade from anything up to 24 hours before serving (the longer the better really), and then cook at 180 degrees for about 45 minutes.

Soon enough, the food was ready and the feast was served!

My retro flan and passion fruit sponge were accompanied by the very welcome addition of Celebrations - and now I really feel like it's Christmas. Overall it was a lovely evening spent with wonderful people, catching up and sharing a great variety of food (and drink...). 

Here's to Colombian food reaching London, and catching up with old friends. I intend on bringing back a few British treats to Barranquilla too, but fear the delights of Heinz baked beans may be lost on the Barranquilleros. Still, a girl can always try!

British Baking (with a Barranquillero twist)

Guess who's back in London for Christmas? After bidding a brief farewell to my beloved Barranquilla, I touched back down in London to spend Christmas with my friends and family back here in the UK. One of the many exciting things about being back home is being close to all the little things I love - especially my collection of cookbooks!

I do really love a good cookbook.

I spent an evening curled up in bed back with my old friends Nigel Slater, Nigella Lawson and Mary Berry. Having brought back various Colombian goodies with me, I could just envision one of Mary Berry's traditional English cakes with a new Colombian twist to it. And what cake is more traditional than the classic Victoria Sponge? Proving that often less is more, this simple sponge cake with just a touch of jam, cream and fresh berries is a much-loved classic and an iconic British bake. Dare I fiddle with this?

Fiddle I did, and to much success! Replacing the British strawberries with Colombian arequipe (dulce de leche to Argentinians,caramel to you and me), a touch of coconut and a passion fruit cream, here is my twist on the traditional English sponge.

Ingredients

For the Cake:
225g of butter (at room temperature, plus a bit extra for greasing the tins)
225g of caster sugar
225g of self-raising flour
2 level tsp baking powder
4 large eggs

For Filling:
200g Arequipe/Caramel
150g cream cheese
100g double cream, whipped
100g icing sugar
2 generous tbsp of desiccated coconut
Passionfruit pulp from 5 passion fruits

Equipment:
Two victoria Sponge tins
A good whisk!

(Have you noticed anything about the measurements for this cake? Equal amounts of butter, sugar, and flour. Add in 4 eggs and 2 tsp of baking powder and you have the backbone of about 100 delicious sponge-cake recipes. Learn these ingredients, practice this cake, and you have mastered a classic. How easy is that?!).

Method:

Line cake tins with cake tin liners or grease with some butter. Preheat oven to gas mark 4/180 degrees/350 Fahrenheit.

1) Cube butter and place in a large bowl. Add in the caster sugar, flour, baking powder and eggs (crack in one at a time).
2) Here you can use a hand or electric whisk to combine ingredients. You want to do this at a slow speed to gain a nice soft mixture which should drop off your whisk when lifted up.
3) Spread mix evenly between two tins and pop in your preheated oven for between 20-30 minutes, until cakes are starting to shrink away the sides and are springy when pressed. Take out and leave to cool - and when cooled the cakes can be removed from tins.
4) Now time for our filling! Get out your arequipe (or caramel, should the case be - carnation sell a
good ready made one), and spread with a smile on top of the base layer. If it's a little tough, a quick blast in the microwave helps its spreadability.
5) To make the icing, firstly whip your double cream until it is thick. Then add in cream cheese, your desiccated coconut, icing sugar and passionfruit pulp.

(To get your passionfruit pulp, simply put seeds in a strainer, and mush into the mesh with a spoon.)

6) Sandwich second sponge on top, and smooth over a bit more cream. Here your artistic license is at play - warm up and drizzle over some more caramel, dot on a few passion fruit seeds - whatever your heart desires!

A simple sponge cake tropically transformed into a coconut, caramel and passion fruit delight. Serve with a nice cup of English tea, or a shot of aguardiente (a Colombian alcoholic spirit) - that choice I will leave up to you!

Offally Good Stuff

Read any guide book that refers to Barranquilla, and you probably won't be stopping by. Often referred to as 'just a stop on the way to the far more agreeable Cartagena or Santa Marta' (Lonely Planet direct quote), Barranquilla is not one of the coast's touristic hot spots.

Oh so many beautiful...apartment blocks?

But for that, I love it. Barranquilla is a real coastal Colombian town, where the local phrase is 'cogerla suave',  meaning take it easy (unless you're from a Spanish-speaking country where coger has quite a different, naughtier meaning, but we'll ignore that for now). Life is relaxed, and people like to dance, spend time with friends and generally enjoy themselves. And what better way to enjoy yourself then a night out on the town, dancing away to the sound of salsa.

La Troja - a Barranquilla Landmark.

La Troja is a Barranquilla institution and was described perfectly by a friend here as 'an attack on the senses'. It's loud, bright and crowded - and an incredible amount of fun. Playing purely salsa, if you're looking for an authentic barranquillero night out, this is the place to come. The crowd is mixed, and you're just as likely to find a group of young ex-pats here as you are a solitary salsa-dancing senior. It's the kind of 'anything goes' type of place, which makes me love where I live.

A few beers down...

Perhaps another one of my main draws to La Troja is the atmosphere around it. If you can't grab a table inside, head out to the off-licence in front, where there is always a massive crowd chatting, dancing, and generally soaking up the salsa. Also surrounding it are an array of street food stands. While the majority might head for a simple chuzo en palo (meat skewer with potato), the more adventurous of us head elsewhere.

Think of it as a Colombian late-night Maccy D's.

You'll find me at El Piqueteadero, where my love of all things meat has found its match. Forget your typical Friday night drunken kebab, because here the party-goers late night food of choice comes in the form of pigs ear, lung, intestine, tongue...if it's a piece of meat you'd never consider eating, you're likely to find it here, deep fried and served alongside tiny boiled potatoes.

Cutting up some tongue,with a bit of intensine to the side and lung infront.

These often neglected parts of meat are known as offal (or 'variety meats') in English and visceras in Spanish. The term offal refers to just organ meats, but can also be used to describe cuts such as ear and tongue. There are two different types of offal, labelled either 'red' or 'white'. Offal such as liver, heart, tongue, lungs, kidney and spleen are labelled as red, due to the fact these parts are more 'meat' like. Cuts such as intestines, stomach, brains, and sweetbreads come under the white category, due to their appearance and slightly more foreign taste and texture.

No donner kebab here I'm afraid.

However, be it red or white, the idea of eating an animal's insides seems to creep a few people out. But listen up meat eaters. If you're perfectly happy to buy a pre-packaged, pumped up chicken breast in the supermarket yet squirm at the idea of getting down to the butchers and buying some blood sausage, I'd have a second think. In this day and age we don't need to eat meat. We can find all the necessary protein and vitamins we need through other sources, and the process of feeding animals reared for meat creates an enormous amount of pollution. There's also of course the ethics behind it all, but I don't feel this post quite warrants discussion on that. If we choose to continually kill animals for food, I think it is important to make full use of the meat available. A great documentary on the meat industry is Get Vegucated, and if you want to know more on the topic I really recommend it. 

                               

If you'd eat a sirloin or rump steak, you're eating a cow's arse. I ask...how far is that from eating its kidney or liver? Or, if your like me and want to try it all, opt for some black pudding (morcilla), pig ear, sheep lung (bofe), cow tongue, a sausage called longaniza and intenstine. Well...at least that´s what my bowl from El Piqueteadero consisted of.

My picada, a little bit of everything.

While it was good to try it all, I established a few things. This was not the finest black pudding I had eaten, pig's ear is surprisingly delicious, lung isn't my favourite, and tongue is almost too much like a normal cut of meat to even earn it's offal status. I´ve now visited La Troja on numerous occasions, and even if not to eat there I will always pass by and have a chat at El Piqueteadero. Perhaps it's odd that I'm now a recognised face at the fried offal stand, but otherwise how would I check out the variety of odd things on offer, and know what is still left to try? As it stands, testicles and cow udder is my next nibble of choice. Stay tuned for that!

Bollocks in a bowl. Well, not quite, but on the list for the next time!

Munching in Medellin

After three months of living here on the Caribbean coast, I felt it was time to take a break from the relaxed pace and eternal sunshine of Barranquilla and head for the big city. Not quite ready for the cold climate and 8 million strong population of the capital Bogotá, I opted for a 5 day trip to Medellín.

The metrocable of Medellín, stretching into the hills.

Medellín is a city which has seen phenomenal changes in the past 10 years. Once the home and headquarters of the infamous drug baron Pablo Escobar, it has transformed itself from what was at one point the world's most dangerous city into a thoroughly modern, innovative and prosperous metropolis. The teleferic cable cars seen in the picture above are just one example of how the city has made huge changes in order to help its citizens, allowing people from poorer neighbourhoods in the hills to access the city with ease.

All fantastic news, and it gets even better, as this wonderful city is also home to some absolutely cracking comida. The bandeja paisa is arguably Colombia's national dish, and it hails from the region of Antioquia, of which Medellín is the capital. So naturally, on my first day in the city, I set out to sample this famous dish in its hometown.

I wasn't alone, as I had my very own paisa tour-guide, Ana Maria. I met Ana when travelling in Peru, and it was great to be able to catch up again in her home town of Medellín. She took me to a place called Hacienda in the city centre, which was decorated like a traditional Colombian ranch estate.

Being in a restaurant that served nothing but paisa food, and with what was supposedly the best bandeja paisa in the city, my order was a no brainer.

Avocado, fried pork, ground beef, rice, black sausage, chorzio, an arepa, a plantain slice, kidney beans and a fried egg combine to make this almighty dish. A whole lot of food? Absolutely. So tasty you can't really stop eating it? You bet!

Rolling out of lunch, I felt full, but very excited at what other meals Medellín was about to offer up. And turns out, it wasn't all deep fried pork rind either. In fact, quite the opposite. 

Saludpan is a health-lovers paradise. Located in the trendy neighbourhood of Laureles, it serves fresh, healthy dishes, with many raw specialties,gluten-free and vegan meals in the mix too. A far cry from the fried empanadas and cheesy arepas we had been munching on, it was a nice opportunity to nourish our slightly over-partied and under rested bodies.And believe it or not, bandeja paisa was even on the menu here too!

Bandeja paisa....ish?

A vegetarian version of the dish, this featured on the set lunch menu, which also came with a quinoa or vegetable soup and a fresh juice. This veggie version included brown rice, soya beef and sausages, with vegetables instead of kidney beans and no fried egg. My verdict? If you eat meat, I'd stick to the original, but for a veggie this is a great way to sample a slight variation on one of the countries best-loved dishes. And even for a carnivore like myself, it's probably best to keep the consumption of fried pork rind down to just once or twice week.

After all that healthy vegetarian fare, it was back in search of some typical Colombian comida. On a whim, a friend and I decided to head out of the city and into Sabaneta, a smaller town located in the north of the city, a metro and bus ride away from the town centre.

El Pelegrino in Sabaneta

A very humble and local neighbourhood, Sabaneta was a lovely change from the hussle and bussle of the city centre, and the fun yet over-priced and gringo-fied fancier barrios in the south.We headed to El pelegrino for a quick snack, but soon realised it was probably rude not to opt for a bandeja. Not the full out bandeja paisa,we went for what I consider the best parts - meat, meat, and more meat.

Chorizo, morcilla, fried chichurron, boiled salted potato and arepa. Just a light snack...

After this quick bite, which consisted of some of the best blood sausage I've had, some room was left for dessert. Buñuelos are round balls of a simple dough with the addition of costeño cheese, deep fried and sometimes topped with sugar. Freshly cooked, these balls actually weight a ton! Torn apart and dipped into hot chocolate or coffee, these are often eaten for breakfast or as an afternoon snack.

Buñuelos in the making at El Pelegrino

The finished product, with a good old cafe con leche.

Leaving Sabaneta, it was back into Medellin. But not for long, as being the eager tourists we were, we wanted to get the most of our brief time in the city. Our next trip was to Guatapé, a picturesque village 2 hours outside of Medellin. Famous for its Piedra del Peñol which is just outside the town, this enormous rock can be scaled by any tourist who dares. It actually has stone steps, making the ascent far more climber friendly...however there are 571 of them. Get ready for a hike!

It goes without saying that the reward for such a steep climb is a wonderful lunch. We searched around town for any place that smelled good, looked full, and would refuel our worn out selves after our climb.

La Fogata was the place. Translating as 'The bonfire' in English, La Fogota serves up basic, no-frills food at its best, in a scenic location alongside service with a smile. Guatapé is located right next to the river, meaning almost all the restaurants in the town offer up fresh fish. Sat down at La Fogota, I found myself torn between what would inevitably be a wonderful bandeja paisa and some tasty fresh fish. Not to worry, as my ordering anxieties were soothed by the compromise in the form of a bandeja trucha.

Instead of the three meats that normally come in a bandeja paisa, in this dish the meats were replaced by a wonderful barbecued trout. The fish had been marinated in a tomato-paprika sauce and really was delicious, and everything else that came with it was spot on too. Of course, some people opted for the classic bandeja paisa, and I must say it did look good.

Hope you're feeling hungry...

Overall, Medellín was an absolutely great trip. The city itself is fun, modern, and having changed so much in the past 10 years it really is an amazing place to be in. The friendliness of the people and character of the place makes it a great place to visit and definitely left me wanting to return. And the food? Any town that can claim a dish consisting of three different meats as their own gets a thumbs up from me!

Plantain, how do I cook thee? Let me count the ways...

Commonplace in many Latin American and African cuisines, the plantain is a member of the banana family. Its colour varies from green to black depending on its ripeness, and while inedible raw, this starchy vegetable lends itself to a wide array of both savoury and sweet dishes when cooked. Here in Colombia you can't go far without finding some platano somewhere along the line, and recently I've been testing out a few recipes. Starting with ripened plantains, here are two variations of how they can be served, either savoury or sweet.

The 'Jacket Plantain'

The other day, getting home tired and hungry, I routed around for some dinner. Faced with these simple ingredients:

I could feel a good late night dinner calling. To make this savoury, stuffed plantain, you will need:

-1 yellow ripe plantain

-2 tomatoes, finely chopped

-1/2 onion, finely chopped

-1 can of tuna

-1 avocado, sliced

-1 lime, for a bit of juice squeezing

-Adobo seasoning (this is just a mix of paprika, oregano, salt and pepper. Use these if you have!).

Method
1) Slice off the ends of the plantain and place it in an oven, heated to 190 degrees. Leave to cook for 20 minutes, and get on with your filling.
2) Heat some oil in a pan, and cook the onion until it takes on a translucent colour. Add in your seasoning followed by the tomatoes, and cook for 10 minutes.
3) Open and drain the can of tuna, add it into the pan. Turn off the heat and add in avocado chunks. By now your plantain will be cooked - take out of oven, carefully peel off skin and slice in the middle to open up like a book.
5) Place in your tomato filling, and finish with a squeeze of lime juice and avocado slices.

A quick and healthy dinner, in under 20 minutes

That's dinner done then! But what if you've already had your dinner, and are looking for something sweet to finish it off? Well here is potentially the easiest dessert recipe ever. With a similar cooking method to the 'Jacket Plantain', this sweet dessert contains the wonderfully exotic flavours of coconut, papaya and mango. 

Plantain 'Split'

-4 ripe plantains
-1 mango, cut into chunks
-1/2 papaya, cut into chunks
-1 can of coconut milk
-2 tbsp brown sugar
-Handful of desiccated coconut for sprinkling

Method
1) Preheat the oven to 190 degrees, cut the ends off the plantain and place them in their skins in the preheated oven..
2) While they are cooking, get on with making your coconut cream. Pour coconut milk into a bowl and add in brown sugar. Either with a whisk, hand whisk or blender, whizz up milk until it takes on a thicker texture. Once it looks like it has a bit of body, it's ready.

Curvaceous coconut cream.

3) When plantain skins are black (20 minutes or so), take them out of the oven and (just like for the jacket plantains) peel them and open up like a book.
4) Now pour/spoon over coconut cream, and pile on fruit. Sprinkle generously with desiccated coconut, and a touch more cream for good measure.

A tropical treat for any day of the week! Feel free to play around with the fruit you use to fill your plantains. Maybe you could go for some berries? Perhaps even some chopped up oranges with a dash more sugar would go well. It's a really easy dessert and a nice spin on a well-loved classic.

For the next recipe, I have looked to common food trends for inspiration. The popularity of dishes such as spaghetti squash and cauliflower crust pizza highlights how we can use vegetables to substitute certain carbohydrates. While traditional pizza and pasta is wonderful, a slightly lighter substitute every now and then is a nice way to try out new recipes, as well as being a healthy option. This next recipe replaces rice with green plantain, and works really well - give it a go and see what you think!

For my Plantain Fried Rice, you will need:

-1 large green plantain

-1/2 onion

-1 red pepper

-1 green pepper

-Half a can of sweetcorn

-Drizzle of honey

-Salt and pepper

-Dash of chilli sauce

-Lime zest (a tad)

1) Firstly you want to chop your plantain really small. I managed this with a box cutter, which pushes the veg through a grate, but this could be just as easily done with a knife.

Your 'rice' grains'.

2) Cook your onions for 2-3 minutes, just to give them a bit of colour. Then, add in your plantain, tomatoes, red and green peppers. Add in salt and pepper along with lime zest.

3) Stir well and make sure it doesn't burn. As you don't want this to be greasy, if it looks like it's sticking to the pan add in some water. 

4) Cook for a further 10-15, add in sweet corn, and just before taking off the heat add your drizzle of honey and chilli sauce. Finish with a squeeze of lime and that's it! 

A great veggie meal in itself, or why not thrown in some grilled fish or seafood on top?

Continuing on with our green plantain and healthy alternatives, we arrive at the popular dish that is patacones. Patacones are fried plantain rounds that often sit alongside many other fritos, which are a typical street food. Cheap, tasty and filling, these fried snacks will certainly keep you bouncing until lunch.

30p for a frito...i'll take 3 please!

Patacones are not once but twice fried green plantain rounds. While delicious, they obviously aren't the most health-giving food out there, so I took on a challenge. Could I make healthier, baked patacones,without making any Colombian abuelita shudder in disgust at the very concept?

The answer? Yes! Easy to make, and far better for you than the original, these baked patacones will allow you to sample some Colombian food while watching your waistline. For this recipe you will need:

-1 green plantain

- Drizzle of olive oil

-Salt

-Lime...

And that's it! And as if this wasn't simple enough, we're even going to use a microwave. If you don't have one, just stick it in the oven, but for double the time.

Method
1) Cut off the ends of the plantain, and slice the skin all along one side, so steam can escape.
Microwave at full force for 6 minutes, or in the oven at 200 degrees for 12-15. 
2) Chop diagonally into 3-4 cm slices and use whatever you have to hand (a pan, a chopping board, a glass) to flatten each slice into a flat round.
3)Place on a baking sheet, generously cover with olive oil, salt, and a squeeze of lime juice. Bake at 200 degrees celsius for 15-20 minutes, turning over once or twice.

And out come delicious, crispy baked patacones! Sure they taste different to their fried siblings, but they are still darn good. These serve as a great base for a whole range of toppings - try your hand a typical colombian hogao (a tomato and onion sauce) or why not try some guacamole? Equally you could try some cooked up mince meat, or even a poached egg. Or, serve as they are, with another shake of shake and squeeze of lime.

With four different recipes, ranging from savoury to sweet, you've got no excuse not to give these dishes a whirl. Put down your dreary old potato and try something more exciting. Rich in vitamin C and A, plantains are paleo-friendly and are incredibly versatile and easy to cook with. So what are you waiting for? Head on down to your nearest international supermarket or large supermarket and get cooking!

Stomach soup, fried pig ears and building roofs - and it's only lunchtime!

'Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper'. Or, if in Colombia...just eat lunch. Because here, lunch is not to be taken lightly, both in the figurative and literal sense. The typical almuerzo corrientazo (lunch offer) consists of a side of soup, rice, either beans or lentils, possibly plantain or yucca, a salad and a piece of meat or fish.The price will range from COP 5,000-10,000 (£1.50-£3.00). This makes this midday meal a great way to sample the local cuisine without breaking the bank. Here's a look at some of my recents lunchtime eats here in Barranquilla.

I've found myself in a few comedores (cheap eat places) where a health and safety officer might have a heart attack, but as I'm still standing to tell the tale and continuing to seek out these places, I'd say the dubious state of hygiene only adds to their rustic charm.

Who needs a kitchen when you have some pots on the street?

Tatuzmo is probably 'rustic charm' personified. This cornerside comedor, with it's thatched roof and outdoor kitchen, is about as low-frills are you can get. The speciality here is soups, which all come accompanied with rice and agua panela (sugar cane water).

Sopa de Mondongo

Each soup comes served in a bowl of totuma - the dried and hollowed out shell of the fruit from the totuma tree. The photo above is an enormous bowl of mondongo - tripe soup. Now this may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I absolutely adore this dish. And given that it's a delicacy here I'd say that's not just my weird offal-loving self speaking either. This whole meal cost COP 6,000 and is the best mondongo I have ever had (but ssssshh....just don't tell Juan Miguel. If you don't know who he is, check out my previous post). To anyone over here in Barranquilla, this place is a must visit. Find it at Carrera 56 # 49.

'The city centre....is inhabited by wild street commerce - it's actually one market stretching to the river like a flatttened shanty town'. Welcome to my city! This extract comes from a Lonely Planet guide to Colombia, and it is indeed true - the city centre of Barranquilla is a lot like mayhem. But those people who endure its chaotic streets, merciless bus drivers and general disorder will be rewarded.

Food in the centre has character, personality, and quite frankly I'll take that over sterile, soulless chains serving me my food in air conditioned shopping centres any day. From every fresh fruit under the sun to fried pig ears (really), if you're looking for a bit of excitement this is the place to go. On my most recent trip into town, I was on a mission to find the best almuerzo around. Upon recommendation, I headed to Osteria Yeimar for a corrientazo.

Osteria translates as oyster bar, but given that this is downtown Barranquilla, it was less oyster bar and more fisherman's shack. But a very fine fisherman's shack, serving everything from cocteles de camaron (special seafood cups, not alcoholic cocktails) and cazuelas of seafood, which are gorgeous seafood stews. I opted for the set lunch, but when choosing my fish, my Spanish failed me - I was left clueless as to what anything on offer actually was. Not to worry, as the owner simply took me to the kitchen to select whatever fish I fancied.

I went for the mojarra, and while I'm still unsure of an English translation, all I can say is it was a good choice. A meaty fish with not too many bones, it came whole and deep fried, accompanied by coconut rice, patacones and salad. When having to choose between a typical costeño lunch in the heart of the 'wild street commerce' and a Subway sandwich in a shopping centre? You know where to find me.

Osteria Yeimar, Cra 43 Calle 34, centro.

The ever-smiling Ede

Ede works in our school, and her general job is to keep everything clean, everyone happy, and as a side - well fed. With Ede you can order your own almuerzo corrientazo straight to the staff room, for the wonderful price of COP 5,000. Below is pollo guisado (chicken in a tomato based sauce), coconut rice, yuca and avocado salad. The soup on the side is mote de queso - a typically costeño cheese and yam based soup.

Aswell as teaching at my school, I've also spent a fair bit of time at our nearby university taking dance classes. It's a huge university which offers up a wide array of places for students and staff to grab a bite to eat. You can dine at one of the fancier restaurants on campus, or, of course, grab a corrientazo. One particularly good place is called Rancho Norte, just outside the uni. 

This was carne gusiada (beef in a tomato sauce) with white rice, black eyed beans, salad and plantain, Oh, and should be leaving hungry, there's chips too. The soup is actually sopa de hueso, which is bone soup. If you think of it as just a tasty meat stock (which it is), the weird sounding name shouldn't phase you. That enormous jug of drink is all for me, and is iced tea, which is very popular here. A sad moment when I was first offered 'tea' and thought I had landed in a country that drunk tea like the brits. Perhaps, but theirs is ice cold with tons of sugar. PG tips : I miss you.

 Here in Colombia I've been working with a charity called Techo, which means roof in English. Techo is an organisation which helps build emergency housing for people living in substandard housing throughout Latin America. I work in the area of detection, and each Sunday we visit certain neighbourhoods to carry out interviews with families.Through these interviews we then assess the needs of each family, and from there assign housing to those in most need. It's an incredible charity, and if you want to find out more click here.  

The families who receive emergency housing are obliged to provide a percentage of the cost for the housing. As a means of raising this money, after one of our visits to a neighbourhood in nearby Galapa, we were all invited by a family to a delicious almuerzo.

This lunch consisted of a lentil, plantain, yucca and beef soup, which came alongside pollo guisado, rice and salad. It was a really tasty lunch and just what we wanted after a tiring yet rewarding mornings work. The price we paid for the lunch all went as a contribution to the families portion of the cost for their new housing. 

Happy volunteers on a Sunday visit to La immaculada, Galapa.

Aswell as leaving satisfied and well-fed, it was great to know we were also able to be a part of the families fund-raising efforts for their new home. 

From stomach soup to the wild city centre and it's fried pig ears (but far more enticing fried fish), to cheese soup and being part of a families fundraising efforts, you've caught a glimpse into lunch in Colombia. It is a time to take a break from the day, sit back and enjoy a proper meal. And I like this way of living a lot. How many people eat lunch at their desk? How many people have skipped lunch, due to a lack of time? Take a note out of Colombia's book, and eat lunch. And plenty of it too!