No Jamaican Christmas breakfast is complete without Ackee and Saltfsh. The Jamaican favorite is typically paired with breadfruit, a local fruit in Jamaica that can be roasted or fried as well as cooked food such as boiled yam, sweet potato and banana.
To prepare the dish, salt cod is sautéed with boiled ackee, onions, Scotch Bonnet peppers, tomatoes and spices. Ackee and Saltfish can also be eaten with rice and peas or plain white rice.
Ingredients
Serves 2-4
- ½-pound salt fish
- fresh ackee soaked, or tinned ackee
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 small sweet pepper (yellow/red or green), julienned
- 1 medium tomato, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon scotch bonnet pepper, chopped finely (omit if you don’t want the dish spicy)
- 2 stalks scallion, chopped
- 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Put saltfish to soak in cold water for about 1 hour.
- Pour off water; add fresh water and boil until tender.
- De-bone and flake the saltfish.
- Heat oil and sauté onion, garlic, scallions, tomatoes, scotch bonnet pepper and sweet pepper until tender, about five to six minutes.
- Add flaked saltfish, fresh or canned ackee and black pepper.
- Toss lightly; cover and allow to stand over low heat for about 2 minutes.
N.B: Ackee is a pear shaped fruit grown in warm climates. Ackee and saltfish is Jamaica’s national dish.