What is Ackee?
Is Ackee a fruit or a vegetable ? similar to tomato, Ackee is a fruit but it is cooked and used as a vegetable. To me, Ackee looks and tastes like clamber eggs .
Ackee is a tree that produces yield. Ackee is the National Fruit of Jamaica and is widely found throughout the West Indies and has been naturalized to parts of Central America, Florida, and Hawaii. Important Note if you are eating fresh Ackee : Ackee has to be riped and opened up when you pick it else it is poisonous .
Below are pictures of a REAL Ackee tree which I saw on one of my trip to Kingston, Jamaica:
Ackee Tree in Kingston Jamaica
Ackee Tree in Kingston Jamaica
This recipe uses canned ackees. Ackee is expensive in Canada. In Toronto, Ontario, a can of ackee costs approx $ 8-9 CAD. You have to be very easy when handling Ackee as it breaks up well and become bathetic .
Ingredients for Ackee and Saltfish:
- 2 cans of Ackees
- 1 pack of Cod saltfish (boneless, skinless) (300 grams)
- 1 pack of bacon
- 4-5 sprigs of thyme
- 5-6 pimento berries (i.e. All spice)
- 1/2 pint of Grape Tomatoes(cut in half)
- Half Red Pepper (diced)
- 1/2 Red Onion (diced)
- 2 tablespoon of Bacon Oil (oil from the pan when you fry the pack of bacon)
- 1 Scotch Bonnet, chopped finely (optional if you don’t like spicy food)
- 2 cloves of Garlic, minced
- 2 stalks of Scallion to garnish (optional)
- 1 teaspoon of Black Pepper
Instructions to Make Ackee and Saltfish :
1. Soak the tease saltfish in cold water for a couple hours .
2. drain and replace with a newly batch of cold water and let it soak overnight at board temperature .
3. Pour off water system and cut the saltfish into 1 inch pieces .
Boneless Skinless Cod Saltfish
Boneless Skinless Cod Saltfish
4. After opening the 2 cans of ackee, pour ackee into a strainer to drain the water
Two Cans of Ackees
5. Cut a pack of bacon into smaller pieces. Fry the bacon. then remove the bacon from the pan and drain most of the oil and keep 2 tablespoons of the bacon anoint to fry this Ackee and Saltfish dish .
Fried Bacon
Bacon for Ackee Saltfish
6. Use 2 tablespoon of bacon anoint in the pan and saute onion, garlic, tomatoes, scotch bonnet pepper, pimento berries and crimson pepper until offer. ( Approximatley 5-6 minutes )
7. Add 4-5 sprigs of thyme .
8. Pour in electrocute bacon .
9. Add in saltfish, stir and simmer for a few minutes .
Ingredients for Ackee and Saltfish Recipe
Cod Saltfish
Saltfish and spices
Read more: Ackee Boiled Dumplings · Ackee Adventures
10. Pour in ackee and simmer for another 2 minutes. Handle Ackee with manage as it is delicate .
11. Add 1 teaspoon of total darkness pepper .
12. screen and allow it to stand over low heating system for about 2 minutes .
Add Ackee
Add Black Pepper to Ackee and Saltfish
13. Toss lightly
You can garnish with leek ( optional ). I didn ’ thyroxine use leek as iodine ran out of green onion when I made this dish .
In a separate pot, fetch water to a boiling point and add Yam, and dumplings. Boil k banana in another pot as it will stain the yam if you boil everything together .
Boiled Green Bananas
Enjoy this celebrated jamaican cup of tea with boil Yam, green banana and dumplings !
Ackee and Saltfish with Boiled Yam, Banana and Dumpling
Ackee and Saltfish can be served with roast breadfruit. You must be like me and wonder what breadfruit is. here ’ s a picture of breadfruit being roasted on the street in Kingston, Jamaica. . It is then good when it is roasted fresh. On my stopping point trip to Kingston, Jamaica, we took some roast breadfruit home to Toronto from Kingston, Jamaica and freeze it. then, we fry the breadfruit when we are cook to eat .
Roasted Breadfruit
Roasted Breadfruit
Fried breadfruit
here are some of my suggest recipes that have bacon in the ingredients :
- I also highly recommend this Jamaican dish: Jamaican Pumpkin Soup – Hearty and Savory
Read more: Ackee Boiled Dumplings · Ackee Adventures
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