At Home by Myristica
About at Home by Myristica from Chef Michelle Trusselle
To me, Caribbean food means good vibes and happy memories!
With Myristica, I’ve always had two main objectives. The first being to develop the humble street food & authentic dishes we have in the Caribbean by reinforcing the core flavours that make these dishes so special. We view ourselves as pioneering contemporary Caribbean cuisine using modern cooking methods that you would expect to find in any successful modern restaurant.
The other objective was to demystify Caribbean food and to bring it to a mass audience. I believe that Caribbean cuisine is one of the best out there and I think more people need to know about it and to try it.
During lockdown, I came up with the ‘At Home by Myristica’ concept, a more casual version of our supper club but with undeniable flavours of the Caribbean done well, and with a few modern techniques. I delivered flyers locally and was often found on bike delivering Caribbean food to my local neighbours in London's Caribbean cultural home: Notting Hill.
Thanks to my dear friend Adam Handling, I’m now able to take Myristica at Home to the nation!
One love,
Michelle x
Prepared by MasterChef Michelle Trusselle and the Myristica Team:
Our chicken
Described by Marcus Wareing as 'Caribbean royalty on a plate' during MasterChef: The Professionals, our chicken is free range and corn fed. It is from our friends at Cook & Feast London. Marcus is the owner and both he & Michelle went to Westminster Kingsway College together so it's no surprise that the meat he sources is high-welfare and responsibly sourced. It's all hand-prepared by Marcus who is a professional butcher and is then finished by Michelle and her Team.
Our chicken has 4 different steps and takes over 48 hours to get it as good as it gets.
We gently brine our chicken breasts and chicken legs separately, for different lengths of time, to ensure that they are brined just right. As the leg meat is denser than the breast, it requires a different brining recipe which we have worked on and perfected to make sure it is just right.
Then we marinade the chicken in Michelle's delicious blend of Jerk spices before lightly smoking it over spiced oak wood chips. Ideally we would use allspice wood which is traditionally used in the Caribbean for jerk, but as we can't get a hold of that, we've gone with the closest thing that we can source!
After it is smoked, we then vacuum pack the chicken in the marinade and leave it for 48 hours. This method really locks in the flavour!
The marinade is able to penetrate the meat a lot more as the air has been sucked out of the bag and has sealed everything in, under pressure. This means that the marinade has no where else to go, other than into the meat!
Our rice and peas
Rice and peas is well known amongst the Caribbean islands with each island having it's own take as to what 'peas' are used. Lentils, kidney beans, gungo peas & cow peas are some examples of the peas that have been chosen.
Michelle loves basmati rice because of the fact that it can take on so much flavour. Although it can be difficult to get right, the results when done well mean its absolutely delicious!
In our rice and peas we use onion, garlic, red kidney beans, basmati rice, herbs, spring onion, a splash of coconut milk and a single scotch bonnet for flavour!
Don't worry, our rice is by no means spicy, it is just delicious!
Scotch Bonnet Mayo
Fancy a lickle fire to your dish? If you like your spice, we’ve got you covered! We’ve taken the heat of the Scotch Bonnet and blended it through a delicious mayonnaise...moreish!
Fried Plantain
Fried plantain is synonymous with Caribbean food.
It is a relative of the domesticated banana but is a lot firmer and therefore needs cooking out before being eaten. You can also boil it but we find that when pairing it with this dish, pan frying it really brings out it's sweetness.
For those who have not had it before, think of a savoury yet sweet banana!
Sweetcorn with smoked salt & lime butter
We love a bit of sweetcorn! It brings a happy veggie sweetness to the meal and we have opted to create a zesty lime butter coupled with a smoky, salty butter that reminds you of being at a family BBQ in the tropics...
Marinaded Peppers
We’ve chosen the red and yellow variety of the bell pepper for our roast vegetables as we love the texture and flavour that they bring to the plate. We make a marinade which comes separately so you can marinate it yourself to your taste.
Chilli carrots
We’ve done the hard work and prepped the carrots, cooked and marinaded them. They are cooked with chilli flakes and freshly cracked black pepper, ready for you to reheat and serve.
Pineapple & Mint
A classic Caribbean combination, we have prepared a fresh pineapple dish to bring some fruity tropical tastes to get those nostalgic feelings rushing back...add as much or as little fresh mint as you’d like, after all it is your house, your rules.
Salad with a citrus dressing
Packed full of antioxidants, salads are a great way of boosting your immune system. We have picked a fresh mixed leaf salad which is pre-washed and ready for the table. To jazz it up a bit Michelle has created a fresh grapefruit and lime dressing, it has sweetness, tangy freshness and cleans the palate.
