Ackee and saltfish and festival bread

Thanks to gailf548 for the image on the web until I can upload my own…

This morning I had the best ackee and saltfish with festival made by our villa butler Ms. Keturah Henry (Ket). Our villa guests requested a Jamaican breakfast on one of the mornings they were here and asked if I could make it. I said I can’t, but I’ll make sure they have it.
 
Ackee and saltfish is a source of national pride for Jamaicans. Some call it Jamaica’s national dish. I casually mentioned to the kitchen staff that the villa guests wanted some for breakfast and instantly I had 2 Jamaican staff volunteering to make it, and another volunteering the Jamaican sous chef Milton. I settled on having Ket make it since she was already up in the villa working with me.
 
Ket used to own a “food shop” – meaning a small canteen serving local foods during the weekends. She said that she makes ackee and saltfish like a Jamaican* and roti like she’s from Guyana. Truth be told, before today, I haven’t had a good version of this dish. Previous ones I’ve tasted have been too salty or too watery or the fish smelled bad. Ket’s version tasted great – the fish tasted almost like it was fresh, in a tasty creole sauce with the ackee mixed in it. The cooked ackee has the taste and texture of scrambled eggs. She served the dish with a homemade fried bread Jamaicans call “festival”, elsewhere in the Caribbean they are called “johnny cakes”. Our guests said the dish took them back to breakfasts on the beach in Jamaica with a bottle of Red Stripe in one hand and a bottle of hot sauce in the other.

Here are the recipes for Ket’s ackee and saltfish and festival. All amounts are rough estimates as none of the ingredients were measured while we were cooking – including those for the bread.

Jamaican Ackee and Saltfish

Ingredients:

1 pound salt fish

water

1 whole onion

2 whole cloves garlic

1/2 cup vegetable oil (she said use whatever kind… so I used pomace – a light olive oil)

2 cloves garlic minced (about a tablespoon)

1 medium onion, diced (about a cup)

2 medium tomatoes, diced (about a cup)

1 large red pepper, diced (about a cup)

a few sprigs of fresh thyme

1 large can ackee or about 2 cups cooked fresh ackee**

fresh ground black pepper

Procedure:

1. Cut the saltfish into 2 or 3 large pieces. Rinse under cool water to remove the surface salt, then place in a container covered in cool water. Let sit overnight, changing the water 3-4 times.***

2. Place the soaked saltfish in a pot and cover with fresh water. Add the whole onion and garlic and bring the water to a simmer. Simmer until the saltfish is cooked (when the flesh easily breaks off from the bone) – around 20 minutes. Drain water, discard the onion and garlic and allow the saltfish to cool. Break the saltfish into chunks and discard the skin and bones – you should get around 2 cups. Ket says not to flake it too finely, just break it into chunks.

3. Heat the oil in a pan, then add the minced garlic, chopped onions, tomatoes, peppers and fresh thyme sprigs. Saute the vegetables on medium-low heat until they are very soft.

4. Add the saltfish pieces to the vegetables and continue to simmer and stir until the tomatoes and peppers have “melted” into the sauce.

5. Add the ackee and continue to simmer and stir the dish – it should look like wet scrambled eggs.

6. Season with black pepper. It should not need any more salt!

*Or watch a real Jamaican make a drier version: http://www.jamaicatravelandculture.com/food_and_drink/ackee_and_saltfish.htm

**Ackee is a fruit commonly grown in the Caribbean. When ripe, the fruit “bursts” to expose the flesh and seeds. The flesh is removed, and once cooked it resembles scrambled eggs. Ackee if not properly prepared is toxic. That’s why canned ackee is the only way the fruit can legally make its way into the US and UK. More information: google it.

***I’ve noticed that people here do not soak the fish until most of the salt has leached out (like how I’ve learned to prepare Spanish bacalao). Once the soaked fish is cooked it should still taste a bit salty. This excess salt helps to season the dish that it will be mixed into. A bit tricky, hence all the oversalted versions of this dish that I’ve tasted, but keep tasting and you’ll get it right!

Ket’s Festival Bread

Okay I admit, this was not the best version of festival  that I’ve had. The best I had was at a Jamaican party (in Provo)where it was fried right next to the grill there jerk chicken was being cooked. I was standing by the grill when I caught a burning scent familiar to Jamaican parties (hint: it wasn’t the jerk marinade). Following the scent trail, I ended up in the kitchen where I watched the bread being made with the ingredients below plus some coconut milk and more sugar. It was a richer, sweeter bread, and I remember munching on a lot of it.  But I don’t remember much else about that party save for the good dancehall reggae and food – all hazy at best. Ket’s recipe then should be more reliable.

Ingredients (again, all amounts are estimates):

4 cups all-purpose flour (here they like to use Robin Hood brand)

1 cup cornmeal

1/4 cup white sugar (or more if you like it sweeter, Ket says)

a big pinch of salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 cup melted butter

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup heavy cream

water

oil for frying

Procedure:

1. Combine all the dry ingredients and sift into a large bowl. Make a well in the center.

2. Combine the butter, milk and cream. Pour this mixture into the flour well.

3. Start combining the wet ingredients with the dry. Add water a little at a time while mixing and kneading the dough with your hand. Ket says, “Add enough water to make a dough that you can knead. Then knead until it goes freely off your hand.” Knead the dough until it is smooth, then cover and allow to rest for 15 minutes.

4. Break off pieces of the dough and form into balls.

5. Heat oil in a deep pan and fry the bread until golden brown, turning the bread once or twice in the oil.

6. Serve hot with the ackee and saltfish, some scotch bonnet hot sauce and an ice cold Red Stripe beer.