Ackee ‘no salt fish’ grilled plantains & spring greens

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Ackee

Ackee is the national fruit of Jamaica and is considered one of the country's best delicacies. Although it is a fruit it is prepared like a vegetable.

Ackee is usually served with saltfish in a stew of peppers and chillies, ackee is slightly sour in taste and texture is very similar to scrambled eggs.

Unless you are in the Caribbean you will most likely only find ackee in a tin in salted water. You can buy this in most supermarkets store within the ‘world foods isle’.

This recipe is wholly vegan and so we will leave out the salt fish and any meat / fish stock cubes.

The best part of this recipe is that it will take no longer than 20 minutes to prepare.

I would love to see and hear how you get on with your creations, so if you do make this please leave me a comment or tag me on Instagram.

Enjoy

Ingredients

  • 2-3 ripe plantains

  • 150g Fresh spring greens

  • 500g Ackee

  • 1 Medium red onion

  • 1 Red bell pepper

  • 1 Yellow bell pepper

  • 2 Cloves of garlic

  • 4 Spring onions

  • 1/2 Scotch bonnet pepper

  • 3 - 4 Stalks of fresh thyme

  • Salt

  • Black pepper

  • Olive oil

Preparation

  1. Begin by peeling and slicing the plantains into medium oval shapes.

  2. Place the plantains onto a baking tray, sprinkle a pinch of salt, pinch of smoked paprika and olive oil and massage thoroughly before placing into the oven at 180 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

  3. Whilst the plantains are in the oven, chop the peppers and onions into fine strips then place into a heated and oiled pan.

  4. Crush 2 garlic cloves into the pan with the peppers and gently sweat until the peppers and onions begin to soften.

  5. Season with salt, pepper, curry powder, and thyme.

  6. Finely chop half a scotch bonnet pepper ( optional) and also add to the pan.

  7. Once the peppers and onions are soft and the drained ackee in tho the pan. Fold gently as the ackee is very sensitive, so do not overmix otherwise it will turn very mushy.

  8. Lastly take your chopped and washed spring greens and place into a medium sized pot with 1/8 cup of water.

  9. Add 1tsp of onion powder, 1tsp of garlic granules and a pinch of salt. Cook for 5-6 minutes until it’s wilted then serve alongside the baked plantains and cooked ackee.

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Nancy Odogwu1 Comment