Dear LPG, 

It seems that these days, I start every post about my Independence Day kitchen experiences with the same words, and sadly, this one is no different.  

I did look for something straightforward to try, and Zimbabwean Ifisashi seemed like a good idea at the time. Let’s look at the pros and cons. Greens are the main ingredient of this dish, and we can never have too many of them. I also considered the lateness of Lent this year and the fact that so many people give up meat during the season. 

I would be lying if I did not mention that another thing that I check before making my culinary decision is that as many of the ingredients as possible are easily accessible.  If my international cooking experience has taught me nothing else, I have learned that there has to be some advantage when cooking things you have interacted with, even if the main one would not be your first choice. Some parental principles seem to stick with you all your life, and I always remember my mother telling me that all greens are good…

These particular recipe instructions were straightforward, although I must have added more water than I should have.  There were only two taste testers this time.  I made up half the team, and we agreed that I needed another go.    The taste was OK even though we paired it with vegetarian burgers because of the time of year. Still, the look of my version of the dish was a bit ‘spottier’ than the pictures the internet had to offer, even though I put the nuts in my smoothie maker, which I thought was the ultimate pulverising machine.

For my next trick, I thought a trip to the Marshall Islands might be worth considering, even though I knew very little about them until I came across this dish. I have chosen their national dish, Marshallese Grilled Fish, with a bit of Chukuchuck on the side for this month. Hopefully, it will taste great and look more like the online version. As I always say at this point, what could go wrong? 

CB, Lewisham.

CB links us to the internet’s version of her proposed  May fish dish…

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