Sumayya Usmani shares culinary secrets with Haitian cook Peggy Brunache including a delicious recipe for pork grillot

So what brought this Haitian-Miami bred girl to Scotland? Hers is the most romantic of stories: it was love, after meeting her now husband Andy Shearer, online while she was finishing her doctoral studies at the University of Texas.

Peggy moved to Scotland in May 2006, and trained as a historical archaeologist. Today, as well as a university teacher, she is a culinary consultant and has worked with Perth’s Southern Fried Music Festival since its inception 10 years ago. This yearly festival celebrates vibrant Southern American food, culture and music.

Peggy describes the flavours she grew up with as "loud flavours" which are best characterised as sour, salty, spicy, hot and sweet – the five sensations that balance flavour in your mouth. She identifies that "loudness" with music: like the reggae and Cuban salsas that played while food was cooked during the festival, the food flavours were "musical" on the tongue. For example the smell and sound of garlic cooking in hot oil, was like music in flavour and sound. In fact she says, it wasn’t unusual to see people jump up and dance as they took a bite of the food.

As far as her Haitian childhood memories are concerned, the stand-out flavours are citrus: vinegar for meat, sour oranges and scotch bonnet peppers. Peggy loves chilli and says: "If there’s no heat, then what’s the point? Sometimes it’s a staccato prickling heat on the tongue. But most times, it’s a languid but fruity hotness that blankets your mouth. And our meat marinade has to be made using sour oranges. Lemons and limes are poor substitutes. Combine sour oranges with garlic, white vinegar, salt, herbs, scotch bonnets ... only then can you begin to 'clean' meat for the eventual frying, baking or roasting.”

The concept of "cleaning" isn't alien to me. In most South Asian cookery, we marinate and take out any pungent and acrid flavours in meat using strong citrus, and it is interesting to see other warm-climate countries do the same. Spices play a huge part in Peggy's cookery; cloves, cinnamon, thyme and oregano, were staples in her home.

“Haitians perfume rice and beans with cloves while the dish cooks," says Peggy, "and Haitians are the only ones who make ‘diri ak djon djon’ [black rice]. Djon djon is a unique mushroom that grows only in the mountains of Haiti. Once collected, the black mushrooms develop the most pungent odour. However, once the rice cooks in djon djon-infused [black] water, the dish loses the pungent scent and takes on a strong but more subtle bouquet with a woody and exquisite taste.”

The generosity of the people she grew up with has influenced her cooking too. “Everyone I knew had large gardens with several fruit trees. Most of my neighbours were Haitian or from other islands like Cuba and Jamaica. Most of us had at least one mango tree.”

I was very excited when Peggy shared a story which reminded me of picking raw mangoes as a child. “My Jamaican neighbours taught me to eat raw green mangoes with salt,” she says.

Peggy grew up in a hotbed of cross-cultural cuisine. Here in Scotland, far removed from her colourful childhood, she retains her passion for home cooking, but most of all, the exotic flavours of nations that dance, sing and share abundant food with neighbours, friends and family.

Haitian pork grillot by Peggy Brunache

Griot/griyo/grillot (pronounced "gree-O") is one of our best-loved dish. It’s fried, marinated pork shoulder chunks, often served with fried plantains. You’ll never attend a celebration and not see it in bounty with "pikliz" sauce (a spicy pickled scotch bonnet dressing) on the side. I often have it when visiting Haitian friends in London or Glasgow.

2.3 kg pork shoulder, rind removed, cut in two-inch cubes

2 sour oranges, cut in half (or 3 halved limes if you can’t find sour oranges)

5 tbsps cider vinegar

½ tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

2 shallots, crushed and minced

4 garlic cloves, crushed and minced

1 small onion, minced

Few sprigs parsley

1 tbsp dried thyme

1 Scotch bonnet pepper

Oil for frying

In a large pot, add the cubed pork. Rinse the meat with cold water and discard excess water. You can repeat this method once or twice more.

Rub the citrus halves over the meat pieces, with the juices falling back into the pot and over the rest of the meat. This process is what Haitians call "cleaning" the meat. Don't worry if you don’t clean every single piece, the juices will eventually touch all pieces. If there is any remaining juice in the halves, squeeze into the pot and discard the rinds.

Add the remaining ingredients (except the oil) into the pot.

Mix by spoon or by hand.

Let the meat marinate at least 1 hour in the refrigerator. Overnight is preferable.

To cook the meat, place pot on the hob. Add enough water to the meat and marinade until the water is just flush with the meat (the pieces needn't be completely underwater) and cover with the lid.

Boil the meat at medium-high heat for 25-40 mins until tender or until the water is nearly evaporated. Remove from heat and set the pot aside.

The meat can then be pan-fried (traditional method) or oven-fried.

To pan-fry:

In a large frying pan, add enough oil so that it fills up a quarter to one-third of the pan for shallow frying. Heat oil until hot. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, add pork cubes to the pan. Do not add herbs, pepper or onions to the frying pan.

Since the pork is already cooked, you need only to fry it until brown. Be aware that any fat rind on the cubes will cause the oil to fry and splatter. Once brown, remove each piece and place on plate with paper towels to soak excess oil.

To oven-fry:

Preheat oven (with a fan) to 175Celsius/gas mark 4

Place meat cubes in oven pan (with remaining juices if any) and bake for 40 mins or until golden brown. Serve with rice or plantains and some hot pepper sauce.