Cou-Cou and Flying Fish

Ingredients

• 250 g fine yellow cornmeal
• 12 okra, sliced into 1 cm rounds
• 1.2 litres water, divided
• 30 g butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 8 flying fish fillets, or 4 small sole or tilapia fillets
• Juice of 2 limes
• 3 tbsp Bajan seasoning, divided
• 1 tsp salt, for the fish
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp English mustard
• 250 ml water, for the gravy
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1 scotch bonnet pepper, left whole

Before you cook

• Wash the fish fillets in cold water with the lime juice, then pat them dry.
• Rub 2 tablespoons of the Bajan seasoning and the salt into the fillets.
• Roll each fillet up from the tail end and secure it with a cocktail stick.
• Chill the fish rolls for 30 minutes.
• Slice the okra into rounds.
• Whisk the cornmeal with 400 ml of the cold water in a jug until smooth.

Steps

1. Bring the remaining 800 ml water to a boil in a heavy pot with the salt.
2. Add the sliced okra and boil for 8 minutes until soft and slippery.
3. Scoop about 250 ml of the okra water into a jug and keep it beside the stove.
4. Pour the cornmeal slurry into the pot, whisking hard as it goes in.
5. Swap to a cou-cou stick or a sturdy wooden spoon and beat the mixture against the side of the pot for 10 minutes.
6. Add a splash of the reserved okra water whenever the cou-cou grows too stiff to move.
7. Keep beating until the cou-cou pulls cleanly away from the sides of the pot.
8. Stir in the butter, then cover the pot and set it aside off the heat.
9. Heat the oil for the gravy in a wide pan over medium heat.
10. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 4 minutes until soft.
11. Stir in the remaining tablespoon of Bajan seasoning with the tomatoes, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and mustard.
12. Pour in the water, add the thyme and the whole scotch bonnet, and simmer for 8 minutes.
13. Lower the fish rolls into the gravy in a single layer.
14. Cover and steam gently for 10 minutes until the fish is opaque and firm.
15. Wet a small bowl with water, pack it with cou-cou and turn it out onto each plate as a smooth dome.
16. Lay the fish rolls beside the cou-cou and spoon the gravy over both.