My Modern Caribbean Kitchen

Jackson, an Olympic boxer and head chef of My Brother’s Workshop in St. Thomas, offers a bright and accessible survey of Caribbean cuisine. Over the course of 70 dishes, Jackson serves up page after page of mouth-watering fare, including traditional favorites like Johnny Cakes, pigeon peas and rice, stewed chicken, and Kallaloo (a spinach and okra soup), as well as his own flavorful creations, such as sweet and savory pumpkin fritters, coal pot saltfish cakes, and Anna’s Christmas “Spirited” Coquito, a creamy concoction with notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and coconut rum. Some dishes, like whelks and rice or conch in butter sauce, may be a locals-only dish due to the specificity of their main ingredients, but most of the recipes—such as quick-and-easy No Mess Curry Chicken, fungi (a Caribbean twist on polenta), and a 30-minute beef soup—call for common ingredients. Jackson gives recipes for juices—limeade and passionate papaya mix-up—that can be drunk as is, or mixed with rum or vodka. Jackson truly evokes the flavors and senses of the Caribbean islands. (July)