I love my heritage.

I love where I come from.

Even though I wasn’t born in Jamaica I grew up there and feel a very strong connection to my mother’s home land.  My family used to spend Christmases in Jamaica and every morning when we would wake up the kitchen would be smelling so delicious. My cousin and I would race to see who could snag a fried dumpling first.  Now you know yours truly would always find a way to win, hehehe. There would be a big ol’ pot of ackee and saltfish simmering and plantains, bammy, fried breadfruit, and dumplings frying.

Oh gosh so many memories!

No one could make Ackee and Saltfish like my grandmama….  That’s why I knew it had to be one of the many dishes I had to conquer when I grew up.  I made this Jamaican national dish Christmas morning for my family so we could eat while opening presents, and let me just say, Christmas blessed our house with not only being surrounded by family but also some wonderful goodies as well.  See for yourself…

Grandma I hope this recipe makes you proud!

Directions:

Start off by placing your saltfish in a pot covered with water overnight to sit.  This will help get rid of most of its saltiness.  Once you wake up the following, morning now your ready to go.  Empty out the sitting water and wash off the saltfish.  Then add more water submerging the saltfish inside.  Place on medium heat and boil until saltfish becomes soft and/ or 20 minutes.

Remove the fish from the water and allow to cool.  Then remove all of the bones and skin, then flake the flesh of the fish.  Put the flaked fish aside and start with the sauteeing.

Now gather tomatoes, onions, garlic, scallion, and lots and lots of thyme.

Slice the yellow onions.  I happen to like a lot of onions in my ackee and saltfish.  Some don’t though.  you decide on how much you like to slice.

Dice the tomatoes.  These juicy tomatoes add such flavor to the dish.  I usually chop 3-4 medium sized tomatoes.

Next chop up garlic and lots and lots of thyme.  Make sure puling of the leaves from the thyme stems.  you can add a few of the entire thyme stems while cooking.

If your brave you can always add a little heat with scotch bonnet.  All you need to do is slice up the scotch bonnet thinly and add it to the pot.

I have been known to have a heavy hand when it comes to heat in dishes… well so I’ve been told!  I have an iron mouth

In a large dutch pot, or frying pan, melt butter on medium heat and dump all of your chopped ingredients inside.  You want to stir-fry all of the ingredients together for 10 minutes.

Next add the flaked saltfish.  Add black pepper and salt if needed.  At this point you will need o add more vegetable oil to the pot.  The saltfish will soak up all that is in there and will turn dry if oil is not added. I always end up needing to add more throughout the cooking process.

** Caution** this dish is an oily dish. So just beware, you do not want it to be dry, hence all of the oil inside.

See definitely needed…. mix it altogether and allow it to come together.

It’s ackee time now… yummmmmmm!

If you are unfortunate to not have your own ackee tree growing in your backyard, like me, then you are subjected to have to purchase a can from one of your fellow specialty markets.

Add the ackee to the pot.

Stir gently to avoid breaking-up the Ackee.  You don’t want it to turn into mush.

Add more black pepper ontop and thyme and if you really want to be naughty you can add some chopped bacon on top.

Serve with boiled dumplings, fried dumplings, bammy, plantains, and fried breadfruit.

Enjoy!

Ackee and Saltfish

1/2 lb Saltfish (dried, salted codfish)

12 fresh ackees or 1 (drained) can of tinned ackees

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 medium onion, sliced

3-4 medium sized tomatoes, chopped

4 scallion, chopped

3 tablespoons of butter

1/2 Scotch Bonnet pepper

Salt/ black pepper

Fresh thyme sprigs

Optional:

6 Slices of bacon, cooked and diced

Start off by placing your saltfish in a pot covered with water overnight to sit.  This will help get rid of most of its saltiness.  Once you wake up the following, morning now your ready to go.  Empty out the sitting water and wash off the saltfish.  Then add more water submerging the saltfish inside.  Place on medium heat and boil until saltfish becomes soft and/ or 20 minutes.

Remove the fish from the water and allow to cool.  Then remove all of the bones and skin, then flake the flesh of the fish.  Put the flaked fish aside and start with the sauteeing.

Now gather tomatoes, onions, garlic, scallion, and lots and lots of thyme.

Slice the yellow onions.  I happen to like a lot of onions in my ackee and saltfish.  Some don’t though.  you decide on how much you like to slice.

Dice the tomatoes.  These juicy tomatoes add such flavor to the dish.  I usually chop 3-4 medium sized tomatoes.

Next chop up garlic and lots and lots of thyme.  Make sure puling of the leaves from the thyme stems.  you can add a few of the entire thyme stems while cooking.

If your brave you can always add a little heat with scotch bonnet.  All you need to do is slice up the scotch bonnet thinly and add it to the pot.

In a large dutch pot, or frying pan, melt butter on medium heat and dump all of your chopped ingredients inside.  You want to stir-fry all of the ingredients together for 10 minutes.

Next add the flaked saltfish.  Add black pepper and salt if needed.  At this point you will need o add more vegetable oil to the pot.  The saltfish will soak up all that is in there and will turn dry if oil is not added. I always end up needing to add more throughout the cooking process.

** Caution** this dish is an oily dish. So just beware, you do not want it to be dry, hence all of the oil inside.

Add the ackee to the pot.  Stir gently to avoid breaking-up the Ackee.  You don’t want it to turn into mush.

Add more black pepper ontop and thyme and if you really want to be naughty you can add some chopped bacon on top.

Serve with boiled dumplings, fried dumplings, bammy, plantains, and fried breadfruit.

Enjoy!

Saltfish is just that, salted, dried fish, usually cod fish.  Saltfish is an integral ingredient in Jamaica’s national dish, Ackee and Saltfish.  You can find this salted fish in Caribbean, Italian and Asian markets. Choose pieces with white flesh, rather than yellow, with the skin still attached.

Saltfish should store, wrapped airtight, in a cool, dark place indefinitely.  Before using, soak for 12 to 24 hours, changing the water every 4 to 5 hours. The soaking softens the flesh and each water change reduces the salt. Drain the last batch of soaking water and pour boiling water over the saltfish; cover and allow to soak for about 15 minutes, or until the flesh is soft.

Then enjoy it in ackee or calaloo.

(Image: Kaiton/Flickr)

“Mommy what’s that?”

“It’s ackee kk…”

“Mommy what’s ackee?”

These were the little questions my 4 1/2 year old daughter, asked me the morning I made Ackee and Saltfish for Christmas Day breakfast.

Ackee is a red pear-shaped tropical fruit that contains poisonous seeds inside.  No joke, the flesh of the ackee can be poisonous if it is unripe or overripe or cooked wrong.  The only edible part of this plant is the ripe, yellow fruit. It is ripe when the pod opens showing its beautiful yellow flesh.

Ackee is the national fruit of Jamaica hence it being the country’s national dish, in Ackee and Saltfish.  Even though ackee is regarded as a fruit, Jamaicans often consider it to be a kind of meat that can be served with a staple or carbohydrate.  Due to its popularity, ackee can be found packaged in a can and found in specialty stores.  If you purchase the ackee from a can, make sure you get it from a reliable source. Make sure to always drain the ackee from the can water and rinse. Boil it in fresh water and rinse again. Then you can add it in your dish of choice.  Just beware that canned ackee can be expensive to buy, ranging from $12-$15 a 14 ounce can.

Have you ever tried ackee before?