Chef Andre, another colleague, lends his hand to lightening up the Ackee and Salt Fish,
a traditional dish that is a standby on many breakfast tables.
[Chef Andre] Hi, Steve. [Chef Steve Jilleba] How you doing, Andre?
[Chef Andre] And welcome to Round Hill. [Chef Steve Jilleba] Thank you. [Chef Andrew] Pleasure having you.
Today's dish is an Ackee and Salt Fish, which is a very traditional dish to Jamaica. Is very simple....
Just onions, peppers, tomatoes, and of course, the scotch bonnet.
All right? And some scallions, salt and pepper, and a cod fish - salted cod fish.
So, it's very simple to make, actually....
[Chef Steve Jilleba] So, ackee. I mean, what is it?
[Chef Andre] Well, ackee, it is a very controversial dish. It's a cross between vegetable and fruit, but it's actually a fruit,
So it's...um....it bears not very tall tree, but it has to be open first to be picked.
Because it is a bit poisonous, as well.
[Chef Steve Jilleba] We have a tree right outside.... [Chef Andre] Exactly! Yeah!
[Chef Steve Jilleba] And so the fruit has to open up on the tree before....
And before, you can't pick them before they've opened up because they're poisonous, correct?
[Chef Andre] Yes, yeah, there's a bit of toxic in it, so you have to allow it to be fully ripe, I know, to pick it.
[Chef Steve Jilleba] Okay. [Chef Andre] Alright, so..... It's a very simple dish, let's give the area just some oil.
There's a regular oil. Let's bring it up to a proper heat.
Medium, all right. And, as I said.....
Onions, sliced onions, just to give it some flavor.
Some sweet peppers, some bell peppers, green....because I know food should be very vibrant, so the colors are very good here.
So, here's where it does starting.... these vegetable seeds get the real flavor in it.
So, this Ackee is cooked already. It's cooked for just over 25 minutes, just to get it nice and soft,
But not too soft because I don't want it too mushy, alright?
[Chef Steve Jilleba] It has the texture of, like, scrambled eggs. [Chef Andre] Exactly. And this is a very popular breakfast item.
Guests here think it's scrambled eggs, because it kind of shows that same color and texture, but it's really flavorful.
[Chef Steve Jilleba] And until later until they taste it.... [Chef Andre] Until they taste it! And tt's really, it's really good!
And this... this goes well with dumplings, yams, and bananas. That's our local food here, right.
Very good at breakfast time.
[Chef Steve Jilleba] Great. [Chef Andre] Alright, so we're starting the vegetables, here.
And we're going to add our salt fish. So, this is a fish - codfish actually....
That has been salted, alright, to give it some more flavor.
This is boiled.
[Chef Steve Jilleba] And soaked. You soak it. [Chef Andre] This is best to soak for 24 hours, to suck out all that salt, yeah.
[Chef Steve Jilleba] Is it same thing as Baclava?
[Chef Andre] Exactly, exactly.... [Chef Steve Jilleba] So, really, it's all over the world. [Chef Andre] It is, it is! So um....
Jamaicans tend to use very simple ingredients, and it's put a very good twist on it. Very very flavorful, as well.
So....um.... Salted Cod and that's it.
Just add that in there.....
So this would sauté for, like, another minute, because it's already cooked.
Alright....
And here's when we add our Scotch Bonnet.
And as you know, Jamaicans.....We cannot cook without the Scotch Bonnet, because it's all about the flavor.
Alright, it's not just spicy, it adds a rich powerful flavor to the dish. And that's what Jamaican cuisine is all about: bold flavors.
And this is what it does to it. So just a bit of scotch bonnet.
Jamaicans like it a bit spicy, but be careful with it, because it tends to be really hot at times.
So, let's taste.... Just chop it up to your liking, and add as much as to your liking, as well.
So here we're sautéing the salt fish with all the vegetables.
So, that looks good.
This is when we fold in our cooked ackee.
So be very gentle, because it tends to break apart very easily.
So, be just.... very gentle with that.....
And this is when we season it.
Um....this is a bit of black pepper.
Just to give it a bit of bite to it as well.
And a *little* bit of salt, because the cod tends to be still salty. You have some salt in there. So just be very light with this salt, as well.
And a bit of chopped scallions for more flavor and color as well.
And this will cook for just over two more minutes to bring all the flavors together, and that will be perfect.
[Chef Steve Jilleba] You just really want to really warm up that ackee. [Chef Andre] Exactly. Alright....
[Chef Steve Jilleba] Looks fantastic. [Chef Andre] Yeah, it's really good at breakfast time.
And traditional Ackee and Salt is served with....um....with also bread, as well,
to sandwich, as well. As well with the yam and banana, as I stated earlier. And dumplings.
So it's a very good meal and it's just really good.
Alright, so it's ready.
So, it's very flavorful, colorful and it's very good for you.
And this is our traditional Jamaican Ackee and Salt Fish.
[Chef Steve Jilleba] Thank you very much. Fantastic. [Chef Andre] Pleasure having you, Chef.