Saltfish and Ackee

Ingredients

• 1 lbsalt cod, soaked overnight, water changed twice
• 14 ozackee, canned, drained and rinsed
• 1onion, chopped
• 1 tsppaprika
• 2 tspcurry powder
• 1 tsphot sauce
• 1red pepper, sliced
• 1yellow pepper, sliced
• 7 oztomatoes, chopped
• salt, to taste
• black pepper, to taste
• 2 cupsself-rising flour, for the dumplings
• 2 tbspsuet, for the dumplings; no suet? coarsely grated frozen butter or vegetable shortening works here
• olive oil, for frying

Method

1. 1

   Soak the salt cod overnight, changing the water twice. Drain, cover with fresh water, bring to the boil and drain again. Repeat, then simmer for about 5 minutes until cooked through. Drain and flake into large pieces, removing skin and bones.

2. 2

   For the dumplings, mix the flour and suet with a pinch of salt and 250ml water to form a dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and rest in the fridge.

3. 3

   Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan. Fry the onion until softened. Add the spices, seasoning, hot sauce and sliced peppers and fry until the peppers are tender.

4. 4

   Add the chopped tomatoes, then the flaked salt cod and mix together. Gently stir in the ackee and leave to simmer until ready to serve.

5. 5

   When almost ready to serve, heat about 1cm of vegetable oil in a skillet until just smoking. Shape the dumpling dough into plum-sized balls and shallow-fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

6. 6

   Serve the saltfish and ackee with the fried dumplings alongside.