Autumn has well and truly arrived; 3C here this morning. Time to get out the slow cooker and make some hearty food. I have a great butcher, Hatto & Son, specialising in meat from British farms. Some times I go with a list and some times I go in and see what looks interesting. One day there was goat meat, prepped for stewing. Of course I bought it. Oh happy accident that has resulted in one of our favourite recipes; slow cooked goat curry Jamaican style. If you can’t get goat or mutton, then stewing lamb is a good substitute.

The Davinator accompanied me on a business trip to Jamaica and we stayed in a quirky little place. The evening menu was soup, plus a choice of three main dishes. If there was goat curry, the Davinator chose it every time. There was a great cook in that kitchen – cooking her authentic heart out every night. This is my homage to her great cooking.

I put mine in the slow cooker but you can also use an oven proof stock pot and put it in a low oven. I make this recipe for 8 people and start it about 10 am for dinner at 6 pm. Let’s get cooking.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 large onion
• 15 cloves of garlic (you can omit)
• 200 grams of ginger (I used pre-chopped from a jar, but fresh is amazing if you can get it)
• 200 mls olive oil
• 4-5 scotch bonnet chillies (see photo below) or equivalent heat
• 1 tablespoon of dried curry leaves (worth finding and buying)
• 6 thyme sprigs (or 1 tablespoon dried)
• 8 tablespoons mild curry powder
• 1.5 kilos goat or mutton diced
• All purpose flour for dredging the meat
• 2 cans (400 grams) chopped tomato
• 500 mls lamb or beef stock (recommend lamb stock cubes if you can find them)
• 2 cans of beans; pinto, kidney or black eye peas as you prefer
• Lemon juice
• Fresh cilantro (coriander)

Instructions

1. Get your slow cooker out. Dredge the meat in flour and place in the dry bowl of the slow cooker or your casserole dish. Turn it to high while you prep the remainder of the ingredients. If using the oven, say 150C or 300F.
2. Put the onion, ginger, chillies and garlic (if using) in your food processor or chopper and blend to a paste. As always, be very careful when working with fresh chillies. Use gloves or oil your hands beforehand and wash them thoroughly after. Do not touch your face!
3. Heat the oil in a deep fry pan. Add the onion mixture and cook until softened: 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Add the curry leaves, thyme, curry powder and salt (say 2 teaspoons). Cook for 5 minutes.
5. Add the tomatoes and the stock. Bring to a boil, back down to a simmer and reduce for 10 minutes.
6. Carefully pour the sauce over the meat and stir gently to combine.
7. I cooked mine for 6 hours on ‘low’ heat, you know your slow cooker, adjust the time accordingly. For oven cooking – probably 3 to 4 hours.
8. About an hour before the end of the cooking time, drain the beans and stir in. I remove the lid at this point to thicken up the sauce. Taste and see if you want more chilli and adjust accordingly.
9. Add the lemon juice and coriander just before serving.

I serve with flatbread and rice; it’s tasty and rich. If you’ve gone a little overboard with the chilli, serve with a big scoop of Greek yoghurt to cool it down.

Thank you for reading the blog. Let me know if you’re cooking the recipes, publish photos and tag me @mamadolson on Instagram and Twitter.