Steamed Cabbage and Motherland

Motherland: A Jamaican Cookbook, written by Melissa Thompson, pairs 80 recipes with over 500 years of history and beautifully written personal stories. A few highlights include Oxtail Nuggets with Pepper Sauce Mayo, Smoked Mackerel Rundown, Seasoned Callaloo, Fried Dumpling, and Guinness Punch Pie. I will also be sharing her recipe for Steamed Cabbage following the review.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Interlink Books in exchange for my honest review. All comments and opinions are my own. This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Melissa Thompson

Melissa Thompson is a food writer and cook. She was born in England to a Jamaican father and Maltese mother.

In 2014, she started a supper club in her living room. It grew into sell-out pop-up locations across London. She then left newspaper journalism to focus on her passion for cooking.

Melissa is also a columnist for BBC Good Food magazine and her work has been featured in The Guardian, Condé Nast Traveller, Stylist Vittles, Waitrose Weekend, Waitrose Food, and more. She won the Guild of Food Writers’ Food Writing award in 2021. This is her first cookbook.

Motherland

Melissa begins Motherland with a short introduction and family memories. She fills the pages between the chapters with Jamaica’s history from the island’s first known inhabitants in 500-650 CE from the Ostionoid culture to the Taíno, impact of Spanish and British colonization, enslaved men and women from West and Central Africa, indentured workers from India and China, and present day.

She states, “Motherland is a recipe book, but more than that it is a history of the people, influences, and ingredients that uniquely united to create the wonderful patchwork cuisine that is Jamaican food today.”

Chapters are divided according to the following: Snacks; From the Waters; Provision Grounds; Yard Birds; Meat; Grits, Grains & Hard Food; Something Sweet; and Drinks & Preserves.

For those unfamiliar with the country, she has also included a map of Jamaica (Yamaye/Xaymaca) with the capital (Kingston), major cities, places of interest, and regions.

The end of the book has a glossary with descriptions of notable ingredients and cooking notes.

The photography is provided by Patricia Niven. Most of the recipes are paired with a full page photo of the finished dish. There are a few step-by-step photos to demonstrate techniques such as forming Bammy, Quick Roti, and Coconut Milk. Photos of Jamaica’s landscape, people, and food accompany the history and stories.

Measurements are listed in US Customary and Metric. Titles are written in English. Each recipe includes a headnote with personal stories, history, yield, helpful tips, and ingredient notes.

Steamed Cabbage

The Steamed Cabbage recipe was so easy with such wonderful flavors. It also all comes together in less than 30 minutes with minimal prep.

A small cabbage is shredded, then steamed in vegetable stock with a combination of onion, garlic, bell pepper, fresh thyme, carrot, and a Scotch bonnet.

Melissa recommends pairing the Steamed Cabbage with Fried Fish (recipe in book) or simply with boiled rice.

A Few Tips

Use a firm white or green cabbage that will hold up to steaming without losing its texture.

Take care not to color the onion. It should cook just until softened.

Remove the Scotch bonnet from the pan before serving.

For the vegetable stock, you can use store-bought or homemade. Melissa has a recipe for homemade vegetable stock in the book.

Other Dishes

I also tried the Curry Fried Chicken (CFC), Macaroni Cheese, Hard Dough Bread, and Peanut Punch.

Melissa made the Curry Fried Chicken (CFC) to bring together her love of fried chicken and curry chicken. The resulting flavors are absolutely fantastic. Pieces of chicken are marinated in curry-spiced coconut milk, then coated in a spiced potato starch cornmeal breading, and fried until golden. To serve, it is paired optionally with Scotch bonnet rings, Coco Bread, and/or Pepper Sauce Mayo.

The Macaroni Cheese was another huge hit with the family. Cooked macaroni is folded into a thick three cheese sauce along with softened onions and baked until golden and bubbly. Melissa recommends pairing it with her Thyme-Roasted Tomatoes.

I am so excited for the variety of bread, dumplings, and more within the Grits, Grains & Hard Food chapter. The Hard Dough Bread was a great spot to start. This yeast-based loaf is slightly sweet with such an incredible texture. I can’t wait to try the Coco Bread next.

The Peanut Punch was Chad’s favorite. It also comes together incredibly easily with just a blender. Peanuts (or peanut butter) are blended with condensed milk (so good), water, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and optionally rum for a creamy and refreshing drink.

Motherland is a fantastic pick for those interested in Jamaican cuisine and the history and people behind the food. Recipes range from quick and easy meals to more intricate desserts, breads, and sauces. One of the chapters is entirely vegan and mostly Ital.

Most of the ingredients are readily available in larger American grocery stores. Having a Jamaican/Caribbean market nearby will be helpful in locating items such as saltfish, callaloo (for those in Northern Virginia, I have seen Callaloo at Lotte Plaza Market in Chantilly), fenugreek seeds, Scotch bonnet, fresh seafood, pork belly, tamarind extract, oxtail, dried sorrel, goat meat, chocolate balls, cassava, and breadfruit.

Steamed Cabbage Recipe

Excerpt from Motherland

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5 from 3 votes

Jamaican Steamed Cabbage

A recipe for Jamaican Steamed Cabbage from the cookbook, Motherland. Shredded cabbage is steamed with onion, garlic, bell pepper, thyme, carrot, and Scotch bonnet.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Jamaican

Keyword cabbage, Caribbean, Jamaica, Jamaican, vegetable

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

0 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 4 Servings

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion finely sliced
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 1/2 red or orange bell pepper finely sliced
• Leaves from 2 thyme sprigs
• 1 medium carrot cut into matchsticks
• 1 Scotch bonnet
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 small cabbage core removed, shredded
• 1/2 cup (scant, 100 milliliters) vegetable stock

Instructions

• Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
• Cook the onion for a couple of minutes, then add the garlic, pepper, thyme, carrot, Scotch bonnet, and salt.
• Cook for another couple of minutes- being careful to not color the onion- and then add the cabbage.
• Mix well, pour in the stock and cover.
• Cook for 5 minutes until the cabbage is tender, then serve, picking out the whole Scotch bonnet, if using, or warning your guests not to eat it!