Jamaican-Inspired Mackerel and Ackee
Inspired by this year’s trip to visit friends in Jamaica, this mackerel and akee dish reminds me of so many of the delicious meals eaten there, especially cooked by the wonderful Cynthia at Winifred’s Beach. I have adapted the recipe to the ingredients more easily found in the UK.
The combination of flavours and textures is perfectly balanced – natural sweetness from the vegetables, creamy coconut, salty mackerel, a touch of heat from the scotch bonnet and the classic Jamaican flavours of thyme and garlic.
Ackee is a fruit which grows all over Jamaica and has the texture and look of scrambled egg, so it makes a great vegan alternative to egg. It contains good levels of protein as well as the electrolytes potassium, calcium and magnesium. I have not found it fresh in the UK, but you can purchase tinned Ackee in supermarkets and Afro-Caribbean stores.
Instead of the salt cod typically used in Jamaica, I have used smoked mackerel fillets which is packed with omega 3 fatty acids. Serve with the equivalent of rice and peas, AKA brown rice and kidney beans.
This is a perfect family meal and quick to pull together with a rainbow of vegetables, as well as being naturally gluten, dairy and egg-free.
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Jamaican-Inspired Mackerel and Ackee
Ingredients
Mackerel and Ackee
- 150 g Smoked Mackerel
- 2 tbsp Coconut Oil
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1 Scotch Bonnet Chilli
- 5 stalks Thyme (leaves only)
- 175 g Butternut Squash
- 1 Red Pepper
- 4 Spring Onions
- 4 Okra
- 2 Tomatoes (large)
- 200 ml Coconut Milk
- 45 g Cavolo Nero (or kale or spinach)
- 4 tbsp Ackee (from a tin)
Rice and Peas
- 100 g Brown Rice
- 120 g Kidney Beans (from a tin, drained weight)
Instructions
- Set the brown rice cooking for the 'rice and peas' side dish according to your pack instructions; this should take around 25 minutes and therefore be ready at roughly at the same time as the mackerel and ackee.
- Prepare the vegetables: slice the spring onions, peel and crush the garlic cloves, peel the butternut squash and chop into small dice, deseed and chop the red pepper, slice the okra, roughly chop the tomato. Slice the cavolo nero.
- Be careful when preparing the scotch bonnet not to get the chilli on your fingers or in your eyes – halve it, de-seed and chop it finely.
- In a large pan, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic, scotch bonnet, thyme, red pepper and butternut squash. Add a good grind of black pepper. Cover and cook for around 12-15 minutes, stirring frequently until the vegetables are soft.
- Add the sliced spring onions, tomato, okra and coconut milk. Stir and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
- Whilst the veg are simmering, remove the skin from the smoked mackerel. Flake the fillets and set aside.
- Next add the smoked mackerel and finely chopped cavolo nero. Stir and continue to simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Finally add the drained ackee to the pan along with more black pepper and stir gently so as not to break the ackee up. Simmer for a few minutes.
- When the rice is cooked, drain and add the kidney beans. Season to taste and serve along side the mackerel and ackee.
Notes
- It is totally ok to leave out the Ackee if you can’t get hold of a tin, as this is a very adaptable recipe.
- If your family prefers white fish, you could substitute poached smoked haddock for the mackerel.
- You can switch the cavolo nero to kale, spinach, green cabbage or pak choi.
- You can swap the butternut squash for other squash or pumpkin or sweet potato.
- And the spring onions could be white or red onions.
- The peppers, could be red, orange, yellow or green.
- The kidney beans could be switched to borlotti beans.
- Leftovers store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
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