Ackee and Saltfish

Ingredients

• 400g salt cod (bacalao)
• 1 x 540g tin ackee in brine, drained gently
• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
• 3 spring onions, sliced, white and green parts kept separate
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 medium tomatoes, deseeded and diced
• 1 whole Scotch bonnet pepper, left uncut
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
• 3 tbsp coconut oil or neutral oil
• Black pepper, to taste
• To serve: fried dumplings, hard dough bread or boiled green bananas

Before you cook

• Soak the salt cod in a large bowl of cold water overnight in the fridge, changing the water three times.
• Drain the ackee in a sieve without stirring, so the delicate pods stay whole.
• Slice the onion, pepper and spring onions, and mince the garlic.
• Deseed and dice the tomatoes.

Steps

1. Put the soaked salt cod in a saucepan, cover with fresh cold water, and bring to a boil.
2. Boil for fifteen minutes to draw out the last of the salt, then drain the fish into a colander.
3. Run cold water over the fish until it is cool enough to handle.
4. Pull the fish apart with your fingers into large flakes, discarding any skin and bones as you go.
5. Taste a flake, and if it is still aggressively salty, cover it with fresh boiling water for five minutes and drain again.
6. Set a wide frying pan over medium heat and add three tablespoons of coconut oil.
7. Add the sliced onion, red pepper and the white parts of the spring onions, and cook for five minutes until softened.
8. Stir in the minced garlic, thyme sprigs, allspice and paprika, and cook for one minute until fragrant.
9. Add the diced tomatoes and cook for three minutes, until they slump and release their juice.
10. Nestle the whole Scotch bonnet into the pan, keeping it intact so it perfumes the dish without flooding it with heat.
11. Fold in the flaked saltfish and cook for four minutes, turning gently so it takes on the seasoning.
12. Tip the drained ackee on top of the fish and fold it through with a spatula using no more than five slow turns, because the pods break easily.
13. Cover the pan and let everything steam together over low heat for four minutes.
14. Lift out the Scotch bonnet and the thyme stalks, and discard them.
15. Grind over black pepper, scatter with the green parts of the spring onions, and serve hot with fried dumplings or hard dough bread.