National Dish of Jamaica -Ackee and Saltfish (Codfish)
The tropical island of Jamaica is blessed with a wide variety of fruits. I think I would say mangoes are most common. They are so many types available there. However, depending on the area you’re from, other fruits might be more in abundance.
I could start naming the fruits I’ve been missing since I’ve been away from “home” but that would do more harm than good.
There’s a one of a kind of fruit widely available on the island. It’s called ackee. It is the national fruit of Jamaica and makes up the national dish of Ackee and Salfish. The fruit is unique because it’s mostly cooked to be eaten. If cooked or ingested when it’s not fully ripened, it may be poisonous. It’s flesh is yellow and is prepared mostly with dried, salted codfish, commonly called saltfish by Jamaicans.
Some months ago, I was able to source canned ackees and some saltfish. I boiled the fish for a bit to get rid of the excess salt. I then flaked it and fried it with onions, garlic and cubes of red bell pepper. I gently stirred in the ackee, sprinkled it with black pepper, allowed it to simmer for a bit so the flavors could blend and unite. It was served with boiled dumplings, sweet potatoes, irish potatoes and white yam.
To garnish it, I used curls of carrot. I also made some fried dumplings. The dish is mainly served for breakfast but is also eaten as other meals of the day.
