BEAR'S KINKY ACKEE LOVE

BEAR'S KINKY ACKEE LOVE

Ingredients:-

1 Large can of Ackees
Never heard of Ackees? Basically, it is a fruit that originates from Africa and it made its way to Jamaica where it has become a staple that is usually cooked with salted cod fish. It tastes a little like scrambled eggs but better! Or if you have been fortunate enough to have never participated in death-food, then you now have an idea what Ackee tastes like. If you have become a Vegan and you find yourself missing the taste of scrambled eggs with butter then you ought to try Ackee!

The texture is very delicate and if it is not cooked right it becomes a mush and when over seasoned the subtle flavour can be lost. Not many people can cook it right! It took me a while to figure it out! It makes me chuckle to see TV chefs get it wrong and, as a consequence, they are put off it. LMAO! But don’t let cooking Ackee put you off! If anything, the price could put you off! A can will set you back the most part of £5!  

Ackee or Ackees, can be served as a breakfast meal as well as lunch and dinner! It is that versatile! However, Ackee is rarely cooked without salted fish. My folks, who came over to the UK from Jamaica, wouldn’t dream of serving up Ackee without salt fish! It is a shame because Ackees taste great with greens! Hence why I have named this dish “Kinky Ackee Love”!

I would imagine that the searing heat made it a necessity to utilize salt in a big way through a loss of minerals by sweating profusely. And this is where the “Salt-fish and Ackee” dish can become a recipe for hypertension that leads to an early death for many Jamaicans living in the UK. The UK is mostly a cold environment and therefore a diet that’s high in salt is disaster for all types of people but especially for people coming from extremely hot climates. Therefore, I have not added salt to this recipe as the salty-fishy element is taken care of by the seaweed and the Ackees are in salted water anyway! Read on!

1 Handful of Seaweed

2 Red or white onions

1 Red 'n’ 1 green paprika

2 Red chilies

6 + Finger chilies

About the chilies… Have you heard of Scotch bonnet pepper? Scotch bonnet can be likened to picking up burning coal, with tongs, and placing it in your mouth! Some chef/cooks have been known to use Scotch bonnet with Ackees but I do not see the point as you will not be able to taste anything!

3 Garlic cloves

7 - 8 whole Chestnut mushrooms

A handful of Baby plum tomatoes

A bunch of Cavolo Nero Cabbage

A sprig of Basil

“P” for Preparation!

Above: The amount of coconut oil needed for light frying.

You'll need a deep pan; here, I've used my trusted Pyrex dish! If you have a Dutch pot made from steel then great! I need to get one! Add coconut oil as shown above.

Grab a handful of the seaweed and place in a large mug or bowl and cover with cold water for 6 mins. While the seaweed is soaking...

Give the peppers, onions, tomatoes, and garlic cloves a quick rinse. Pat them dry and then place them either on a surface, chopping board or bowl.

Finely chop your onions and add to the pan/dish. No heat is required at this stage.

Finely chop the finger chilies and garlic cloves. Add half of the chopped garlic 'n’ finger chilies to the onions in the pan/dish.

That must have taken about 6 mins, so, drain the seaweed into a colander and return to the mug. Now, wash the mushrooms carefully to not peel the skin away.

Give the colander a quick rinse to get rid of the debris left by the mushrooms. Open the can of Ackees and drain in colander. Rinse in under cold water for a few seconds and gently shake the colander in order to get rid of as much water as possible.

And leave the Ackees to drain.

Heat the pan/dish and lightly saute the onions, chilies, and garlic. Don’t worry, you haven’t come down with a bout of flu, it’s the chilies making you sneeze! Remove from the heat to add the mushrooms. Keep stirring and mixing to ensure the mixture cooks evenly. Remove from the heat once the mushrooms are cooked to a light golden brown.

Turn on the oven and preheat at about 190 (electric); get a baking tray or equivalent Pyrex tray and put the drained Ackees within. Be sure to distribute evenly. Reduce the oven to about 110 and place the baking tray into the oven.

Wash the Cavolo Nero cabbage (it’s also known as Black Kale), pat dry and cut into small strips width-wise and then add to the pan/Pyrex dish with the mushrooms. Return to the heat and mix until the cabbage starts to wilt slightly, remove from heat again.

Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise and add to the pan/Pyrex dish and mix them in away from the heat! The residual heat in the pan/dish is enough for the moment. Then cut the red chilies in medium circles, cut the paprika in little squares and add to the pan/dish.

It's time to add some seasoning… Add a good amount of black pepper, thyme, and cayenne pepper and give it a good mix and return to the heat… Oh, add a sprig of finely cut basil! The tomatoes, paprika, and red chilies need to cook a little more. Remove from the heat to prevent overcooking.

Above: The Ackees after being in the oven for about 15 20 minutes. They do not need any seasoning as you will see that the unique flavour compliments the greens - especially the seaweed!

Check on the Ackees to make sure they're not burning. They will remain pretty much as they looked before - yellow. They don't get brown. The desired effect is to keep the Ackees intact; they can turn to mush if constantly mixed and that's not good! Ackees are delicate in composure and taste; it's so easy to overcook thus ruining the flavour! Don't do it! Reduce the temperature of the oven. We're nearly ready to remove the Ackees…

Now it's time to add the seaweed! Add the seaweed to the pan/dish and return to the heat. Mix well so that the seaweed gets lightly cooked evenly. The mix should look recognizable i.e. you shouldn't be looking at a unrecognizable sludge. Remove from the heat for the last time and cover while you remove the Ackees from the oven. The residual heat in the pan/dish will ensure that the ingredients are not overcooked, and will remain nice and hot when you…

Plate up!

Add the beautifully cooked vegetables to a plate and place the Ackees on top or to the side - whatever takes your fancy!

Serves 2 - 3 at a stretch! You'll probably need another can of Ackees to serve 3 comfortably.

If you are cooking for one, you could purchase a smaller can of Ackees and cut back on some or the other ingredients such as using 1 onion instead of 2, less seaweed, etc. But the good things about vegetables is that you can eat as much as you want! Mmmmm…