JAMAICAN ACKEE & SALTFISH RECIPE

Level

Easy

Time

1 hour

SERVES

2

Jamaica’s national dish

I was lucky enough to stumble upon my new favorite dish on my very first morning and was instantly hooked!

Ackee is the national fruit of Jamaica and when coupled with saltfish ‘codfish’ it becomes the national dish of Jamaica. Ackee and saltfish is often consumed with roasted or fried breadfruit, callaloo, boiled or fried dumplings, boiled yam, green banana, and many other ground provisions.

Without a doubt it is an absolute favorite food for many Jamaicans and its not because its the national dish. Its unmatched buttery taste and cheese-like appearance makes it easy to love.

Ingredients

Boiled ackee or tin ackee (drain water)
2 stalks of Escellion (green onions)
Sprig of thyme
1 medium sized onion Onion
1 green pepper (bell peppers)
1 clove garlic
1 large tomato
1 ½ tablespoons of Coconut Oil
Scotch bonnet pepper
Sprinkle of black pepper
Sprinkle salt to preference

Instructions

How to prepare Jamaican Ackee and Saltfish

Step 1

Get rid of the salt! In order to prepare saltfish you have to get rid of the salt first. To do that soak the fish in water for several hours or even overnight and rinse carefully.

Step 2

Clean Ackee: If you are lucky enough to have fresh Ackee, clean it! Remember: Never force an Ackee to open, if it is not open yet, it is not ripe!

How to clean Ackee:

– remove Ackee from the pod

– remove the black seed

– remove pink tissue

Step 3

In a skillet with heated oil, sauté picked saltfish, finely chopped green pepper, onions, garlic scallions, tomato, and thyme until seasonings are translucent in appearance.

STEP 4

Gently use a spatula to now fold in the ackee with sautéed seasonings. Add the black pepper and salt and continue using the spatula to gently combine ackee.

And just like that you have cooked Ackee Jamaican style! Enjoy!

Jamaica’s national dish

I was lucky enough to stumble upon my new favourite dish on my very first morning and was instantly hooked!

Ackee is the national fruit of Jamaica and when coupled with saltfish ‘codfish’ it becomes the national dish of Jamaica. Ackee and saltfish is often consumed with roasted or fried breadfruit, callaloo, boiled or fried dumplings, boiled yam, green banana, and many other ground provisions.

Without a doubt it is an absolute favorite food for many Jamaicans and its not because its the national dish. Its unmatched buttery taste and cheese like appearance makes it easy to love.

A bit more about Ackee

Ackee in its nature is a fruit and plays an integral role in completing the national dish alongside saltfish in the beautiful island of Jamaica.

To non-locals the first impression of Ackee is often likened to ‘scrambled eggs’ but of course the taste and texture is generally different but a welcome adventure for the taste buds.

However, the question that resonates in the mind is though the national dish of Jamaica where did ackee originate?

Ackee, “Ankye” (original Twi language Ghanian name), is officially rooted in West Africa. It then was widely cultivated throughout the Caribbean. Ackee is tree of Sapindaceae which is the soap berry family.

The ackee tree was first brought to Jamaica by a captain in 1778 who was a board a slave ship. This captain brought the seed from West-Africa.

My favorite Caribbean cookbooks

Original Flava: Caribbean Recipes from Home

Our motto is EAT: we make our recipes Easy, Accessible, and Tasty. We want to give you platefuls that taste like grandma’s food so there are recipes for classics like Ackee ‘n’ Saltfish and Curry goat, and Caribbean favorites from home such as Garlic butter lobster and Trini doubles. We also like to twist it up a likkle to give dishes our modern spin, so you can find recipes for Honey roasted jerk-spiced salmon, Plantain beanburgers, and Banana fritter cheesecake.