Levi Roots shares his recipe for Jamaica's national dish, ackee and saltfish.
Ackee is a soft canned fruit, which originated from Africa and is also very popular in many Caribbean dish. Despite being a fruit, ackee is cooked like a vegetable and has a slightly nutty flavour.
Although it's quite bland on it's own, ackee, 'comes alive' in this dish, according to chef Levi Roots, as it absorbs so many of the spices and other flavours - including ginger, garlic, thyme, onion and Scotch bonnet. This is a very delicate ingredient, which looks a bit like scrambled egg, so it's important to be gentle with it when cooking.
You'll find packets of salted fish in most supermarkets, usually in the 'World Food' aisle rather than the fish counter. Levi's favourite is salted cod and he recommends cooking it twice to thoroughly remove all of the excess salt. This is the perfect dish to be served as a small starter or a light lunch, alongside a slice of fresh watermelon.
Ingredients
240g tinned ackee
200g saltfish (cod is Levi's favourite)
200g white onion cut into fine strips
200g tomatoes cut into strips
8g Scotch bonnet - deseeded and very finely chopped
10g spring onion finely chopped
4 sprigs of thyme - leaves only, finely chopped
20g garlic finely chopped
20g ginger finely chopped
50ml coconut oil
Salt and cracked black pepper to taste
WEIGHT CONVERTER
grams
to
cups
Method
Boil the saltfish in water for 10 minutes then drain.
Repeat the process with fresh water to finish cooking the fish, ensuring most of the salt has been removed.
Heat the oil and over a low heat and sauté the onion, tomato, garlic, ginger, Scotch bonnet and thyme until the onions are soft and translucent.
Flake the fish and add to the pan.
Stir gently until the fish is warmed through.
Add the ackee to the pan and stir in gently, taking care not to break it up too much.
Season with salt (only if needed) and cracked black pepper to taste.
Serve immediately, with traditional dumplings, roti or water melon wedges.
Levi Roots is a Jamaican-born chef and an inventor in the food industry, most famous for pitching his homemade jerk bbq sauce - Reggae Reggae Sauce- to the investors on Dragons Den. He gave 40 per cent of his business to Dragon Peter Jones and Richard Farleigh for a £50,000 investment. His secret ingredient sauce was a huge hit and in 2007, it hit shelves across the country and made him an instant success. He has since been invited by Prime Ministers to Downing Street, in recognition of his notable success.
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