When visiting Jamaica, one of the must-try dishes is the national dish, Ackee and Salt fish.
What is Ackee?
Ackee is a pear-shaped fruit that is found in warm climates. As the ackee fruit ripens, it turns from green to bright red to yellow-orange, and splits open to reveal three large, shiny black seeds, each partly surrounded by soft, white to yellow flesh. This national fruit of Jamaica was imported here from East Africa before 1725. Today, ackee fruit is canned and one of Jamaica’s major exports.
Salted fish, such as kippered herring or dried and salted cod, is fish cured with dry salt. Drying with salt was the only widely available method of preserving fish until the 19th century.
Ackee and Salt fish : Jamaica’s National Dish
To prepare the dish, salt cod is sautéed with boiled ackee, onions, Scotch Bonnet peppers, tomatoes and spices. It is usually served as breakfast or dinner alongside breadfruit, hard dough bread, dumplings, fried plantain, or boiled green bananas. Ackee and Saltfish can also be eaten with rice and peas or plain white rice.
Ingredients
Serves 2-4
½-pound salt fish
fresh ackee soaked, or tinned ackee
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small sweet pepper (yellow/red or green), julienned
1 medium tomato, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon scotch bonnet pepper, chopped finely (omit if you don’t want the dish spicy)
2 stalks scallion, chopped
1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Method
Put saltfish to soak in cold water for about 1 hour.
Pour off water; add fresh water and boil until tender.
De-bone and flake the saltfish.
Heat oil and sauté onion, garlic, scallions, tomatoes, scotch bonnet pepper and sweet pepper until tender, about five to six minutes.
Add flaked saltfish, fresh or canned ackee and black pepper.
Toss lightly; cover and allow to stand over low heat for about 2 minutes.
