Foodie Tuesday: Saltfish, from Poor Man’s Food to National Dish

Posted on August 27, 2013August 27, 2013 by Marcia Mayne

Saltfish is so popular in Jamaica, it’s one of the two main ingredients in ackee and saltfish, our national dish. We eat it fried, roasted, baked, or in stews and at any meal of the day.

Salt or codfish came to Jamaica by way of Canada – Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, to be exact. Back then, planters were looking for food to feed the large population of enslaved Africans who worked on their plantations. It was for the same goal that they imported breadfruit from the South Pacific. Saltfish, as codfish is called locally, was traded for rum and molasses and shipped back to the island.

when saltfish could shingle house…

The first time I heard the expression, when saltfish could shingle house, I couldn’t understand what my mother was walking about. Why would anyone use saltfish to shingle their house? Years before saltfish was so inexpensive and commonplace, people thought jokingly that it could be use for everything, including as shingles for their houses.

Not so now as saltfish runs from $5 – 7 a pound. It is more expensive than meat and some other types of fish. To make it attractive, supermarkets sell it in pieces weighing about a half of a pound. You can buy even smaller amount in grocery shops.

Today, approximately 80% of the saltfish, usually hake or pollack, imported into Jamaica comes from Norway. Saltfish maintains its popularity, in part, because of its long shelf life. It also doesn’t require refrigeration. However, it is no longer inexpensive or looked down on as food for poor or lower class people. A staple of our diet, saltfish is on the menu of households in all strata of Jamaican society, and appears in a variety of dishes including ackee and saltfish, or cooked up with tomatoes, calalloo, cabbage, okra, butter beans, or found in fritters.

Chopped ingredients for Saltfish — Chopped tomato, scallion, onion, thyme

How to Make Saltfish and Tomatoes

Ingredients

1/2 pound saltfish
1 large tomato, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 stalks of scallion, chopped
1 sprig thyme
Black pepper, to taste
2-3 strips of Scotch bonnet pepper (optional)
Oil for frying

Directions

Soak saltfish in water overnight or bring to boil. Drain and add more fresh water and boil again to remove salt.
Chop onions, scallion and tomato; cut 2-3 strips from Scotch bonnet pepper and set aside.
Drain and add cold water.
Using your fingers or a fork, flake the fish and remove any bones.
In a medium skillet, add oil and allow to get hot. Saute chopped onions and scallions until transparent. Add pepper, then add tomatoes. Stir frequently until tomato flavors the oil.
Stir in the flaked fish. If there isn’t enough oil in the pan, add a little water.
Add black pepper and stir until the ingredients are fully mixed.
Lower the flame and let cook for 5 minutes.
Garnish with scallion or green peppers (sweet) and serve.
This can be paired with rice or ground provisions and can be eaten at any meal.

Loading InLinkz ...

Jamaica @51: Rice and Peas or the Jamaican Coat of Arms

Posted on August 6, 2013 by Marcia Mayne

Welcome to another #FoodieTuesday!

You can join the #FoodieTuesday linkup by –

Adding the link to your foodie post in the link tool at the bottom of this post
Leaving a comment.
As a courtesy, please include a link back to this post.
Tweeting, G-plusing, Facebooking using the hashtag #FoodieTuesday

Today, Jamaica celebrates her 51st year of Independence. There have been many changes in the country since 1962, notably in the way we eat.

Take rice and peas, for example. (Rice and peas is affectionately referred to as the Jamaica Coat of Arms, though I haven’t been able to find out why.) When I was growing up in rural Jamaica, we had rice and peas only on Sundays and on special occasions, like Christmas or Easter. Now, there’s rice and peas on almost every restaurant menu every day of the week.

The Easter bun and cheese that we had only at Easter is just as commonplace.

Rice and Peas with vegetables — Sunday meal – rice and peas with vegetables and meat

Back then the patty, a meat-filled turnover, was our main fast food and a popular lunch item for school children. With international chains like KFC, Burger King and Domino’s, along with the homegrown chains, Island Grill, Tastee, and Juici Patties in almost all fourteen parishes, we have a variety of fast food restaurants to choose from now.

Sundays still are special. For most of us, it’s the day we pause, bring family around the dining table to share the meal.

But it’s not always rice and peas. I’m no longer wedded to the Jamaican Coat of Arms on Sundays because I don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. But I wouldn’t plan a Christmas or Easter dinner without it on the menu.

How has your eating habits changed in the last twenty years?

How to Make Rice and Peas

Ingredients

3 cups of rice
2 cups of fresh red kidney beans (or Pigeon peas or a can of kidney beans)
5 cloves of garlic
1 can of coconut milk
1 whole Scotch bonnet pepper
3 scallion (spring onions)
3 sprigs of fresh (or 2 teaspoons of dried) thyme
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper

Preparation

Wash and soak peas overnight or put to boil in a medium saucepan with enough cold water to cover. Add garlic and a little salt to taste.
When peas are soft, add coconut milk and seasonings – thyme, Scotch bonnet, 2 sprigs of scallions, black pepper, and remaining salt, if needed.
Let cook for a few minutes then add the rice.
Cover and cook until the rice is tender and there’s no more liquid.
Plate and garnish with remaining scallion. Serve with your choice of meat or alone.

Foodie Tuesday: Steamed Fish, Jamaican Style

Posted on July 23, 2013July 30, 2013 by Marcia Mayne

My father loved steamed fish. It seemed to me that he had it all the time, that it was his favorite breakfast meal. With green bananas or yam. I think this habit of his of eating this way for breakfast was because he grew up in rural Jamaica where a substantial morning meal was common.

I was never a big fan of steamed fish. I prefer my fish fried as crispy as chips so that the bones snap when I bite into them.

Fast forward several years later and I’m dating. The guy I’m seeing – T – goes on and on about the steamed fish at Little Ochie. At first, I thought he was talking about someplace near Ocho Rios since, locally, everyone calls it “Ochie.” Then he explains that it’s a restaurant that has the best seafood in Jamaica. What could be so special about this particular restaurant, I wondered. I mean, any halfway decent housewife or chef knows how to steam fish. It wasn’t rocket science so I wasn’t impressed.

Early one Sunday morning, T took me there. Used plastic cups, utensils, and food-streaked styrofoam plates had been tossed carelessly over the beach area fronting the restaurant. That and the large black speakers that were hoisted on stands at either end of the beach said that a dance had taken place the previous night. The staff was busy putting things back in order.

T strutted straight to the back, as if he had shares in the restaurant, to where the fish were kept in buckets filled with ice. He then explained that I had to pick the fish I wanted. I chose a lovely red snapper. When the chef asked, I told him I wanted it with bammie, a flat bread, like Pita, that’s made from cassava. (On its own, bammie’s pretty bland. It can also be chewy but it’s a great accompaniment to fish – it’s typically eaten with escoveitch fish. It also stands out when combined with steamed fish, with its soft texture, mix of spices, and delicious gravy, though it will absorb the gravy.)

T wouldn’t hear of the bammie and talked me into having my fish with Excelsior Water Crackers, a hard cracker with a dent in the middle that has been a staple of the Jamaican diet for more than 100 years. Unlike the bammie, Excelsior Water Crackers stand up well in everything from gravies and jam, to butter and meats. I’d never had it with steamed fish before but decided to give it a try.

Back at our table in a thatched covered boat, we waited for the meal to arrive. It did, about 30 minutes later, covered in transparent wrap to protect it from sand and spills.

My eyes bulged. This was not my father’s steamed fish, not in the least! The fish, cooked whole and laid out on a large plate, was almost covered by strips of carrot, chopped okra, and slices of potato and cho cho (christophene or chayote). Crackers lined the plate like an embroidered collar.

All the ingredients were cooked together, allowing the juices from the fish and vegetables to mix with the scallion, thyme, peppers and onions. Pimento (allspice) berries, with its mix of cinnamon, clove, pepper, ginger and nutmeg, gave it a nice warm, almost woodsy, flavor. The vegetables were soft but not mushy, the fish firm and succulent. I ate everything, including my words, that morning. I had to admit, it was the best steamed fish I’d had.

Steamed fish with vegetables — Steamed Fish with potato, carrots, okra, bammie

I’ve been back to Little Ochie several times since then and, except when lobster’s in season, it’s the steamed fish I order – sometimes with crackers, other times with bammie. It tastes just the same as it did that Sunday morning.

Steamed Fish, Jamaican Style

Ingredients

1 large snapper, scaled, gutted and cleaned
A few okras, chopped
1 cho cho, julienned
1 carrot, julienned
1 large onion, sliced
2 stalks of escallion
1 sprig of thyme
Crushed pimento grains and black peppercorns
1 tbsp margarine
Fish seasoning to taste
Salt to taste
Excelsior Water Crackers (optional – I noticed that it’s available on Amazon!)

Method

Slice the cleaned fish and season with black pepper, salt, and fish seasoning.
Add to a large pot roughly a cup and a half of water (or more if needed) just enough to cover the fish.
Next add all the other ingredients and cover the pot tightly.
Simmer over medium heat until the fish and vegetables are cooked (approximately 20 minutes, it all depends on the thickness of the fish, so eyeball it).
Add crackers at the end.

Note: I modified this recipe that I found on the Jamaica Observer site.

How to Join the #FoodieTuesday Linkup

Join the #FoodieTuesday linkup by –

Posting a foodie photo on your blog
Adding the link to your foodie post in the link tool at the bottom of this post
Leaving a comment. As a courtesy, please read the other foodie posts and leave a comment.
Tweeting, G-plusing, Facebooking this post using the hashtag #FoodieTuesday

Foodie Tuesday: Jerk Lobster, Little Ochie Style

Posted on July 16, 2013July 30, 2013 by Marcia Mayne

I didn’t know what to expect from this jerk lobster meal at Little Ochie Seafood Restaurant but let me tell you, it surpassed my expectations. The delicate and slightly sweet taste of the lobster is a seamless marriage with the pungent flavors of the pimento, Scotch Bonnet pepper, mace, scallion and garlic that are the main ingredients of jerk. It was as if they were always destined to be.

Jerk Lobster from Little Ochie — Little Ochie’s Jerk Lobster

It was my first time having lobster done jerk style and when I tasted it, my first thought after I savored the mix of flavors was, why hadn’t any other restaurants put it on their menu?

I’ve written about Little Ochie Seafood Restaurant before but it deserves another mention. Here’s the thing about this place: it’s got an offbeat, distinctive ambiance – and they prepare each meal to order.

In the early days, when the operation was smaller, the seafood was kept in buckets filled with ice. You’d pick your fish, lobster, crab, conch, or shrimp from the bucket and tell the chef how you wanted it done – jerked, grilled, curried, garlic, steamed, brown stewed, or escoveitched. It’s all refrigerated now but that hasn’t detracted from the fresh taste – and you still get to pick.

Once you place your order, look for a boat. I did say that Little Ochie is a seaside restaurant, didn’t I? Don’t worry – the boats are anchored in the sand and they now sport thatched roofs, tables and benches.

If the restaurant’s crowded when you arrive, secure your boat then place your order. Little Ochie’s small enough that your server will find you and bring your meal when it’s done, usually about half an hour later. It could take longer if you have a large party.

There are other items on the menu. The steamed fish is my other favorite and I order that when lobster is out of season. I’ll write about that another time.

How to Make Jerk Lobster

Ingredients

4 lobster tails
2 tsp. Jerk Seasoning
½ cup Butter
2 whole scallions
2 tsps. lemon/lime juice
½ tsp. of hot sauce or 3 drops of Jamaican hot pepper sauce (optional)

Method:

Slice scallions thinly.
Melt the butter in a small skillet and sauté the scallions until it is golden.
Add the 2 teaspoons of lemon juice.
Add ½ teaspoon of hot sauce or 3 drops of Jamaican hot pepper sauce (optional depending on your taste).
Let it simmer for about 1 min. then set aside.
Remove the membrane from the lobster tails and use a sharp knife to split them in half (lengthwise).
Use a brush to put the butter sauce on each tail.
Using the same brush, spread the Jerk sauce over the tails especially on the exposed meat. Put your oven setting to broil.
Put the lobster tails in oven on the meat side for 4 minutes. Turn and cook the shell side for 2 minutes.
If you want a more smoked taste, you should cook the lobster tails for 2 minutes on each side in the oven, then place on a barbeque grill for 3 minutes. You may need to add more Jerk sauce if you put it on the grill.
Serve with Festival, bammy or Jamaican hardo bread, or assorted steamed vegetables.
For a true taste of Jamaica, have a cold Red Stripe beer.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from jamaicans.com

How to Join the FoodieTuesday Linkup

Join the FoodieTuesday linkup by –

Posting a foodie photo on your blog
Adding the link to your foodie post in the link tool at the bottom of this post
Leaving a comment. As a courtesy, please read the other foodie posts and leave a comment.
Tweeting this post using the hashtag #FoodieTuesday

Hope to see you at FoodieTuesday!

FoodieTuesday: The Multi-Purpose Coconut

Posted on July 9, 2013July 10, 2013 by Marcia Mayne

A few mornings ago, my neighbor brought me two jelly coconuts – the young coconut with meat that is translucent and soft, or sometimes pale white. Part of the husk or bark had already been removed. Although, it was only about 8 a.m., I still hadn’t had breakfast so I asked him to take off the tip so I could drink the water. It was refreshing.

Acres of coconut trees, Jamaica — A farm

As I fixed breakfast that morning, I thought about the coconut. The coconut is a multi-purpose fruit. We not only drink the water, which is full of vitamins, amino acids and electrolytes, we also eat the meat as is.

When the coconut is mature, the jelly become firm and white. It is scooped out of the husk, grated and mixed with water to make milk for cooking, and grated or diced for baking.

All of the Coconut is Used

Before electric floor polishers became popular, we polished our floors and used a brush that was made from the top part of a dry (mature) coconut to shine them.

In the rural areas of Jamaica, brooms to sweep the yard, were made from the reeds of coconut leaves. The leaf can also be plaited to make hats, baskets, etc., and the fiber from the coconut husk, called coir, is used to make mats and mattresses.

Coconut water low in calories and sodium, naturally fat- and cholesterol-free, and has more potassium than four bananas. It is very hydrating and is definitely better for you than sports drinks.

But that’s not all: coconut water has been used as a blood plasma substitute and it’s also been used to supply glucose. It is as effective as statin drugs that are used to manage cholesterol. No wonder celebrities and sports figures are chugging it like they do water.

And oil made from coconut is considered to be healthier than butter, trans fats and probably even animal fats.

Coconut water straight from the husk — Adding a little rum

Most families have a coconut tree or two in their backyards. If you have to buy, a medium-sized coconut costs $1-2 here.

How to Join the FoodieTuesday Linkup

Join the FoodieTuesday linkup by –

Posting a foodie photo on your blog
Adding the link to your foodie post in the link tool at the bottom of this post
Leaving a comment
Tweeting this post using the hashtag #FoodieTuesday

Hope to see you at FoodieTuesday!

Tasty Thursdays – Gelato

Posted on July 14, 2011August 2, 2013 by Marcia Mayne

I can’t remember a time in my adult life when I’ve eaten more ice cream, sorbet and gelato.

A pint or more of sorbet or ice cream is on my shopping list every week. I tell myself I’ll only need a pint but if I don’t pace myself, I can eat all of it in one sitting.

Last weekend, I was in the Bronx where my friend and I had a wonderful meal at Emilia’s on Arthur Avenue. A family-style restaurant, it was packed when we arrived at a little after six. Pat, one of the owners, told us the wait would be about 20 minutes. We took a short walk down the block to check out another restaurant that had been recommended but it was closed for holiday. So civilized.

I don’t normally order lasagna when I go to an Italian restaurant but this time, I decided to. I was very pleased with my selection. The lasagna was light, each layer almost as thin as a wafer. My friend’s Chicken Parmigiana made me wish I had ordered it instead.

When the dessert menu came, I looked longingly at the different flavors of sorbet – peach, coconut, orange and lemon – but had to pass. I had no room!

One thing that endears me to a restaurant is the people. By the time we left Emilia’s on Saturday night, we both felt as if we had returned to a place we’d been going to for years. Pat had us in conversation while we waited for our table, then she or her husband would check on us during the meal. We weren’t being singled out for special treatment, they did that routinely with everyone. Pat even introduced us to her granddaughter, who works at Emilia’s on weekends. I could see why the place was so packed when we arrived. It still was when we left hours later.

If you ever make it to the Bronx, just ask anyone how to get to Arthur Avenue in Little Italy and check out Emilia’s.

It’s been in the 90s here in the northeast this week and it made me think of gelato. There was none on the menu at Emilia’s. Anyway, here’s a recipe, courtesy of allrecipes.com

Ingredients

2 cups milk

1 cup heavy cream

4 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

Directions

In a medium saucepan, mix milk and cream. Warm until foam forms around the edges. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until frothy. Gradually pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Return mixture to saucepan; cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture gels slightly and coats the back of the spoon. If small egg lumps begin to show, remove from heat immediately.

Pour the mixture through a sieve or fine strainer into a bowl. Cover, and chill for several hours or overnight.

Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to a sealed container, and freeze until firm. If the gelato is too firm, place it in the refrigerator until it reaches the desired consistency.

Buon Appetito!