Kick-off Your Spring Kick Back With Flavor

With spring here, we are ready to step outside and rejoin our group of friends during intimate gatherings and weekend vibes. Good food, good drinks and great company are all you need to jumpstart your spring after what feels like a lifetime of blistering cold weather.

To help us impress our loved ones with our cooking skills we enlisted Chef Corwin, a seasoned culinary professional who has cooked in some of the best and most highly esteemed restaurants, including Michelin star kitchens. His Jamaican heritage and worldly exposure to South Korean, Hawaiian and Southern cuisines give him the ability to get truly creative in the kitchen. Melding together his Jamaican heritage, his fine dining background, and his worldly exposure to various cuisines, he is able to bring a multitude of flavors to your plate.

Curry Chickpea Chana, Handmade Roti, Tamarind

Chickpea Chana Ingredients:

2 Can Chickpeas

1 Can Coconut Milk

1 Potato

1 Yellow Onion

4 Cloves Garlic

1 Knob Ginger

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

3-4 Tbsp Curry Powder

1 Cup Water

Salt- To Taste

Roti Flatbread Ingredients:

325g All-Purpose Flour

50g Bread Flour

1 oz Softened Butter

5g Yeast

10g Sugar

12g Salt

Instructions:

Using a cutting board and a sharp knife, rough chop onion, ginger, and garlic and set aside. Peel your potato and cut it into large cubes ensuring you place them into a container with water to prevent oxidation. Drain two cans of chickpeas and give them a rinse under cold water and set aside. Using a medium-sized pot on medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and your chopped vegetable mixture. Sauté until the vegetables begin to sweat and become translucent. Season with a touch of salt. Drain the water from the potatoes and add the potatoes to your pot. Season generously with 3-4 tbsp of curry powder and mix everything together. Add 1 cup of water and cover with a lid. Allow the mixture to come up to a boil and remove the lid. Add your coconut milk and continue to cook for 15 minutes. Add half of the chickpeas to the mixture and adjust the flavor with a touch of salt. Once the potatoes are fork-tender, continue to cook until the liquid has reduced by half. Turn off the heat and using a hand blender, puree the mixture until nice and smooth. Add the remaining half of the chickpeas to the mixture and turn on low heat. Allow the chana to cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat, place into a container, and place in your

Coconut Curry, Callaloo, Yams

Curry Recipe:

175g Leeks

225g Yellow Onion

50g Garlic

75g Ginger

2 Bay Leaves

3 Sprigs Fresh Thyme

1 Stalk Lemongrass

3 Cans Coconut Milk

1.5 quarts Water

2 Sprigs Curry Leaf

5 Kaffir Lime Leaves

2 Cups Jamaican Curry Spice Blend

1 Cup Grapeseed Oil

2 Tbsp Sesame Oil

Instructions:

In a medium size pot on medium heat, add grape seed and sesame oil. Add your onion, leeks, ginger, and garlic, and begin to sweat the vegetables until translucent. Add your curry powder to the mixture and stir to toast the spices and incorporate it into the vegetable mix. Season with salt to begin melding the flavors together. Add your coconut milk to deglaze and dilute with water. Bring up to a simmer and reduce your heat slightly. Add your lemongrass, kaffir lime, curry leaf, bay leaf, and thyme, and allow to cook for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat, and add the curry braise to a Vitamix blender and blend on high power in small batches (ensure not to overfill the blender to avoid a mess due to the expansion of heat inside of a blender). Strain and reserve the curry braising liquid.

Take your yams (sweet potatoes are a comparable substitute) and season them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a thyme sprig. In a preheated oven at 350 degrees F, add your seasoned yams on a baking sheet tray lined with parchment paper and bake until fork tender. Remove from heat and cool down. Peel the outer layer of the yams off and portion the yams using a knife, cutting them into medium to small dice-sized pieces.

In a separate small pot on medium heat, add a tablespoon of grapeseed oil and begin to sweat garlic, ginger, and onion lightly. Add your callaloo and begin to cook down (place a lid on top of the pot). Allow the callaloo to cook to fully release its liquid. Season with salt and pepper. Check every 10 minutes until the texture of the callaloo is nice and tender but not overcooked.

Variations of Coconut, Pineapple & Guava

Ingredients:

1 Can Coconut Milk

1 Can Coco Lopez

1 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1 tsp Ground Nutmeg

1 tbsp Vanilla Extract

1 tsp Ground Clove

1/2 of a Ripe Pineapple

3 small Guavas

2 cups Guava Puree

4 oz Dark Rum

1 Cup Raw Cane Sugar

Salt- to taste

Instructions:

Place your coconut milk and coco lopez into the refrigerator to chill (2 hours minimum). Once cooled, open the coconut milk and Coco Lopez and scrape off the coconut fat into a mixing bowl, reserving the coconut liquid. Season with spices and vanilla extract. Whisk the coconut mixture until fully incorporated and no longer grainy (you can use a hand blender if necessary). Season the mixture with a touch of salt and place into a container, and return to the refrigerator to set.

Using a sharp knife and cutting board, peel your pineapple and small dice the fruit. Set aside half of the fresh pineapple. In a small saute pan, add your sugar and a touch of water and allow to caramelize on medium heat. Once you achieve a caramel, add your pineapple and begin to cook on medium-low heat ensuring the pineapple is fully incorporated into the caramel. Add your rum and light on fire (flambe) and allow the pineapple to roast, absorbing all of the flavors. Sprinkle a touch of salt to season and allow to cook for another 5 minutes until the pineapple is sweet and caramelized (there should be no more liquid in the pan). Remove from heat and cool down the caramelized pineapple.

In a small sauce pot add your guava puree/concentrate and your sliced guava and cook until they become soft and tender. In a Vitamix blender, blend your guava into a puree. Remove from the blender and strain into a container.

Now comes the good drinks part. Ring in spring with a cocktail to celebrate the warm weather on the horizon. Ketel One Vodka and Zacapa Rum have both provided their takes on seasonal serves, using iconic flavors that only start to show up once the first blossoms bloom.

As we begin to shed the layers, brighten up our wardrobes, and mix floral or fruity notes into some of our favorite recipes, it’s a great time to think about how else we can welcome spring. Changing up your cocktail routine for the new season is one of these ways to keep your sipping experience fresh.

Fruity flavors reign supreme in springtime, and Ketel One Botanical created a spritz perfect for any brunch-time toast. The Peaches & Cranberry Spritz includes Ketel One Botanical Peach & Orange Blossom, cranberry bitters, and a bit of bubble. Meanwhile, Zacapa Rum created The Queen’s Road, which uses orange juice to create a crisp cocktail that could easily replace any mimosa.

Should someone be looking for a drink that’s a bit more classic, the Ketel One Vodka Peach Tea-Ni and Zacapa’s Zegroni hit the mark. While the Peach Tea-Niuses fresh lemon juice and white tea create a signature serving perfect for a garden party, the Zegroni is a fresh twist on the bitter classic.

Peaches & Cranberry Spritz

Ingredients:

1½ ounces Ketel One Botanical Peach & Orange Blossom

2 dashes of cranberry bitters

3 ounces Fever Tree soda water

Garnish with cranberries

Method:

Combine all ingredients and serve in a wine glass over ice. Garnish with a cranberry.

The Queen’s Road

Ingredients:

1.5 ounces Zacapa 23

.5 ounce orange juice

.5 ounce lime juice

.5 ounce ginger syrup (1:1 fresh ginger juice to sugar, blended)

.5 ounce honey syrup (1:1, honey:water)

1 dash Angostura bitters

Garnish: mint, orange peel

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a mixing tin and shake with ice. Strain into a chilled rocks glass over ice. Garnish with mint and orange peel.

Ketel One Vodka’s Peach Tea-Niuses

Ingredients:

1.5 oz. Ketel One® Vodka

0.5 oz. fresh lemon juice

0.5 oz. simple syrup

1.5 oz. white tea (steeped with white cranberry juice and fresh muddled raspberries)

2 dashes lemon bitters

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass and shake with ice. Double strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a lemon twist and raspberry.

Check out the 2023 Power Issue.