Jamaican Ackee and Saltfish Recipe
Ackee and Saltfish on stove
The most famous of all Jamaican recipes is ackee and saltfish (codfish). Ackee and saltfish is considered Jamaica’s national dish. Ackee is a fruit of West African origin. It made its way to Jamaica around 1798. Ackee and saltfish is usually served as a breakfast dish but can be eaten for lunch, or dinner.
You must be careful if preparing this dish with the raw fruit from the tree. Raw ackee can be poisonous if ingested. You should never eat the raw fruit under any circumstances. You must make sure the fruit is ripe (when the pods open, and the seeds are exposed) before it is harvested for consumption. Then it should be cleaned by removing the seeds and the stringy pieces attached to the inside of the fruit. It should then be boiled before cooking.
There is however canned ackee which the majority of people in Europe, and the USA use. Canned ackee can be found at Walmart and many local supermarkets.
Jamaican Ackee And Saltfish Recipe
Ackee and saltfish can be served for served for breakfast, lunch or dinner. This is perhaps the most versatile of all Jamaican dishes.
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb saltfish (codfish)
- 1 can ackee (drained)
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil can be substituted with olive oil
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 1/2 whole scotch bonnet pepper (chopped and de-seeded) optional if you dont like hot peppers
- 1 whole tomato sliced in half moon slices
- 1 whole yellow onion sliced in half moon slices
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme (dried) can be substituted with 1 tsp bottled thyme
- 1 whole green pepper chopped
Instructions
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Soak the saltfish in cold water for about 1 ½ hr, then place in a medium-sized saucepan filled with water and boil for about ½ hr. Remove the saltfish from the saucepan, then remove all bones and break the saltfish into flakes.
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Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable or olive oil to a medium-sized frying pan and let hear for about 3 minutes until hot. Add your, saltfish, chopped onions. garlic, scotch bonnet pepper, and green pepper to the heated oil, and sauté for approx. 8 minutes over a medium flame.
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Add your drained ackee and 1 tablespoon of black pepper, tomato and your thyme to the frying pan and let cook for approximately 15 minutes over a medium flame.
Recipe Notes
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Served with boiled green bananas and boiled or fried dumplings. To reduce sodium, boil salt fish (codfish) until salt dissipates.
Please check out this useful video from http://caribbeanpot.com/
Wow, it looks delicious. Definitely I have to try that
Thanks for this appealing recipe, I am a great cod consumer
Good job
Thanks for checking out this recipe Marian. Please let me know how it turns out.
Regards
Court
I have never heard of Ackee until I saw this article. I love Cod or saltfish and have never really had it served with fried onions, tomatoes and peppers. I assume the Ackee provides a semi-sweetness? I really want to try this recipe, and now I want to try boiled green banana’s too! Thanks!
Hi Jim, thanks for stopping by. You should definitely try it. I’m sure you’re going to love it. Please let me know how it turned out.
Regards, and Bon Appetit.
Court
This looks yummy! Will I be able to find Ackee very easily at the store. Is there a substitute at all for it? I definitely want to try this recipe. I like everything in it. Thanks so much for sharing!
Thank you so much for visiting, you can find ackee in most big box stores, Walmart, Wegmans etc. It can even be ordered on line from amazon.(It’s expensive on amazon though). I’ve done the salt fish without the ackee and substituted avocado instead. It was pretty good. Some people have told me they used scrambled eggs as a substitute for ackee, although I’ve never tried it. Please let me know how your recipe turns out.
Thanks for this post. I once tasted Ackee in the UK. I will certainly try this recipe, Hope I can find the ingredients in Alberta Canada.
Thanks for visiting Charles. Please let me know how your recipe turns out.
Regards
Court
I absolutely love Caribbean food and this recipe Ackee and Salt Fish too, I have bookmarked this article and will definitely be testing out and am sure I will be enjoying it for 🙂
Thank you for sharing, I am sure who ever has not tried Ackee and Salt Fish will enjoy this recipe and many other Caribbean cuisines too, keep them coming. Another of my favourite recipe is the famous Jerk Chicken and Rice and Peas with dumplings, would love to dee your version of this.
Have great day and all the success, health and wealth that you desire.
Kind regards.
Dean.
Thanks for visiting Dean, stay tuned, I will be adding a jerk chicken recipe very soon, as well as a jerk turnkey recipe for Thanksgiving.
Regards
Court
Hello once again Courtney, another great recipe post. I have never heard of an Ackee and Saltfish dish before, but it looks tasty, and very easy to put together. I love your website, and how you continue to provide us with great Jamaican recipes. I am looking forward to reading more of your future articles.
Hey whats up Ahmad? hope all is well with you. Thanks for checking out this recipe. I hope you get to try it out. Please let me know how it turns out.
Regards
Court
Hi Court, Really like your recipe on salt fish. It reminds me of a French dish that’s been used by my family for generations, using red fish and similar ingredients like you use in yours….it’s great over a bed of rice! Thanks.
Hi Terry, thanks for stopping by and checking out the recipe. I would love to check out your redfish recipe. It sounds interesting.
Regards
Court