Yemi Adelekan is a food writer and blogger who was a semi-finalist in the 2022 series of BBC TV’s Masterchef competition.

Every Saturday Yemi writes on the Stray Ferret about her love of the area’s food and shares cooking tips – please get in touch with her if you want her to review a restaurant, visit your farm, taste the produce you sell or even share a recipe.

October is a delicious month filled with vibrant food celebrations from honouring heritages to savouring seasonal flavours. 

With Black History Month, it’s a time to celebrate African and Caribbean influences in our cuisine. Dishes like jerk chicken, collard greens, and Jollof rice bring bold flavours that tell stories of resilience and tradition.

Later on Diwali—the Festival of Lights—fills kitchens with vibrant sweets and savoury treats. Known for its celebration of triumph over darkness, Diwali dishes like samosas, laddoos, and gulab jamun symbolise warmth and joy.

And of course, October wouldn’t be complete without seasonal autumn goodies from pumpkin-spiced lattes to apple cider and hearty stews, celebrating the richness of autumn ingredients.

Cooking with a fellow MasterChef semi-finalist

As part of Black History Month celebrations, I hosted a cook-a-long with Junior MasterChefUK 2024 semi-finalist Caleb Joseph. 

He made a delicious, Carribbean-style prawn coconut curry, which I paired with my flatbread topped with Za'atar, coriander, honey and olive oil dressing. 

It was a perfect recipe for autumn evenings, when many of us don’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen, so I'm sharing it with you, to make those darker evenings a bit more cosy.

Prawn Coconut Curry 

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes.

Ingredients

• 350g Argentine Prawns​.
  
• 2 tbsp of vegetable oil.
  
• 400ml coconut milk​
  
• Half an onion, diced.
  
• 1 tbsp garlic paste​.
  
• 1 tsp chopped Ginger​
  
• ½ tsp thyme​.
  
• 7 seeds/½ tbsp pimento seeds or powder.
  
• 2 tbsp curry powder.
  
• 1 tbsp coriander leaves to garnish.
  
• 1 tbsp finely chopped or grated tomatoes​.
  
• 2.5 tbsp all-purpose seasoning​.
  
• 1/2 tbsp black pepper​.
  
• 1 tsp sugar​.
  
• Salt to taste.
  

Method

• Clean and pat dry prawns.
  
• Season prawns with ½ tablespoon of curry powder and 1 tablespoon of all-purpose seasoning. 
  
• Set aside for about 10 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients like dicing your onions, ginger, tomatoes, coriander.
  
• To make the sauce, add your garlic paste, chopped ginger, pimento seeds and oil to a cold saucepan and fry till fragrant, (approximately 2 mins on low heat).
•  Add curry powder and shallots and fry on medium low for a further 2 minutes.
• Add in your finely chopped tomatoes and fry for 1-2 minutes.
• Add seasoned shrimp, coconut milk, all-purpose seasoning, black pepper, sugar and thyme and reduce soup on medium-low heat with the lid off to allow sauce to come to a slight simmer.
•  After about 5-6 minutes, check the shrimp for doneness, taste soup and add salt and or black pepper to taste if required.
• Turn off heat and sprinkle with chopped coriander.

Quick naan bread with Za'atar honey dressing

Ingredients

For the bread

• 250g self-raising flour.
  
• 200g of full fat Greek yoghurt.
  
• Pinch of salt
  

For the Za'atar honey dressing

• 100g unsalted butter melted or 100ml of extra virgin olive oil.
  
• 1 - 2 tbs of honey.
  
• 2 level tsp of Za'taar spice.
  
• 1 handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped.

Method

For the bread

• Mix self-raising flour, salt and Greek yoghurt in a bowl with a wooden spatula; once the mixture comes together, turn on to your work top or flat surface and knead with your hands until it comes together.
  
• Place the dough back into the mixing bowl and cover with cling film or tea towel.
  
• Rest the dough for 20 to 30 minutes.
  
• Divide your dough into 4 portions.
  
• Lightly dust your work top with flour, then roll out one portion of the dough using a rolling pin to a round or oval shaped flat bread.
  
• Repeat with the remaining dough portions.
  
• Heat a little oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium to high heat; cook the naan bread for 1 – 2 minutes on each side until golden brown.
  
• Transfer to a plate and immediately brush over with the Za'atar dressing.

For the dressing

• Add the butter or olive oil and honey to a small pan and gently heat on low setting to melt the butter and honey; alternatively, melt in the microwave on low power for 15 – 20 seconds.
  
• Once melted, add the Za'atar spice and fresh chopped coriander. Brush over cooked naan.
  

Yemi's top tip: To make a cheesy version of the naan bread, make a dip into each portion of dough, add a handful of shredded mozzarella, and pull the edges together to fully cover. 

Roll into a flatbread and cook. You can also add spices to the yoghurt to create spiced flatbread.