National Geographic Traveller (UK) - Food

Craig & Shaun Mcanuff’s ackee & saltfish

Traditiona­lly, ackee and saltfish is served in the morning, but it’s so versatile, you could eat it at any time of the day. Ackee — which has a texture similar to scrambled eggs — is available in UK shops in tins, but in the Caribbean the fruit is plucked fresh from the tree. You have to be careful to pick it when it’s properly ripe, though, otherwise it can be poisonous. But don’t fear: the tinned ones are perfectly safe. In this dish, it’s married with boneless saltfish flavoured with Caribbean spices.

SERVES: 2 TAKES: 1 HR

INGREDIENT­S

600g boneless saltfish cod

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 medium onion, finely diced

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3 spring onions, thinly sliced

1 scotch bonnet pepper, deseeded and finely

chopped

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp ground allspice

½ red pepper, deseeded and finely diced

½ green pepper, deseeded and finely diced

1 large tomato, diced

2 x 540g tins ackee, drained

METHOD

Put the saltfish in a large pan and cover with cold water. Place over a high heat, bring to the boil, then reduce to medium-low and simmer for 5 mins. Drain and add fresh cold water to cover. Repeat, cooking out the salt, until you’re happy with the taste; three times gives a great balance of salt. Drain for the final time and leave to cool. Once cooled, use a fork to shred the saltfish into pieces and set aside.

Pour the vegetable oil into a large frying pan and place over a high heat. Once sizzling hot, turn the heat down to medium-low. Add the onion, garlic, spring onion and scotch bonnet, grind in some black pepper, then cook for 5-7 mins until soft.

Mix in the shredded saltfish, thyme and allspice, then cook for around 3 mins.

Next, add the chopped bell pepper and tomato. Mix it all together and cook down for 2–3 mins more. These ingredient­s help to bring a balance to the heat, so it’s not too spicy.

Finally gently fold in the ackee — it is very soft so take care that you don’t break it up so that it becomes mushy. Add in a little more black pepper to taste and simmer for a final 3–5 mins before serving. Recipe taken from Original Flava, by Craig & Shaun Mcanuff

(£22, Bloomsbury Absolute).