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The dish's story
A long-running Kingston home-style restaurant repeatedly praised in the Jamaican press, known for its breakfast ackee and saltfish (Jamaica's national dish) and other Jamaican classics.
📋 Jamaica Observer🍴 Traditional Jamaican recipe for the national dish (Sonia's does not publish its recipe; this is an authoritative Jamaican version) — Sonia's Homestyle Cooking & Natural Juices
📋 recipe source: Jamaican Foods and RecipesIngredients
- • canned ackee, drained 1 can (about 19 oz)
- • salted cod (saltfish) 1/2 lb
- • onion 1 small, sliced
- • garlic 2 cloves
- • tomato 1 small, diced
- • green bell pepper 1/2
- • red bell pepper 1/2
- • scallion 1 stalk, chopped
- • fresh thyme 2 sprigs
- • Scotch bonnet pepper 1/4, seeded
- • black pepper 1/2 tsp
- • cooking oil 2 tbsp
Method
- 1 Rinse the saltfish and soak it in cold water at least 2 hours, preferably overnight, to remove excess salt.
- 2 Drain, then boil the saltfish in fresh water 10-15 minutes. Drain again and rinse with cold water.
- 3 Remove any skin and bones and flake the fish into pieces.
- 4 Heat the oil and saute the onion, garlic, scallion, peppers, tomato and Scotch bonnet about 3 minutes until softened.
- 5 Add the flaked saltfish and cook 3 minutes more.
- 6 Gently fold in the ackee, lower the heat and simmer 10-15 minutes, taking care not to mash it.
- 7 Season with black pepper and serve with fried dumplings, hard dough bread, or boiled green bananas.