Green Fig & Saltfish
This month, we are travelling to St. Lucia, a Caribbean island, to savour green fig and salt fish! This dish is a favourite throughout the year in St. Lucia. A particularly special occasion to indulge in it is during the annual Jounen Kweyol, or Creole Day, a cultural festival held on the last Sunday of October that honours the island's Creole heritage.
The star of this dish is the green fig, often associated with unripe bananas (green banana/plantain). These are meticulously chosen for their texture and capacity to soak up the flavours of the accompanying saltfish, resulting in a dish that harmonises the benefits of fig greens (green plantain) with the savoury pleasure of salted fish.
We hope you get a chance to try the dish. Enjoy!
Serves 4-5
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes
Total time: 60 minutes
Ingredients
450g salt cod fish
10-12 green bananas
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 large, sweet pepper, thinly sliced
¼ cabbage shredded (optional)
2 tomatoes, diced
2 spring onions, chopped
2 sprigs thyme
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Method
Preparing the salt fish
Soak the salted codfish in a large pan filled with water for a few hours, then drain the water.
Fill the pan with clean water and bring it to a boil for 15 to 20 minutes. Drain the water, you might need to repeat this process at least once more, or until the water tastes slightly salty.
Drain the water from the pan and set the saltfish aside to cool. Clean the salted fish thoroughly to eliminate scales and bones. Flake the saltfish into small pieces, cover it, and set it aside.
In a medium to large pan heated over medium, add the oil and half of the large onion, along with the peppers and garlic. Sauté these for about 5 minutes until the seasonings become fragrant. Then, add the spring onions, stirring well until the mixture reaches a soft texture.
Add the flaked saltfish to the pan with the thyme, black pepper, and the remaining half of the onions.
Add the cabbage and stir.
Preparing the Green figs
Rinse the green figs (green bananas) and trim both ends. Make a lengthwise cut through the skin of each fig. Once prepared, place the figs in a pan filled with water and bring to a boil for approximately 10 minutes.
Remove the water from the pan, let the green figs cool, then peel their skin and cut them diagonally.
Add to the cod mixture.
Combine thoroughly to ensure the green bananas absorb the flavours of the cod and seasonings.
Cook for 5 minutes, then add the tomato and parsley. Stir, cover the pan, turn off the heat, and serve.
Recipe and picture courtesy of:
https://www.196flavors.com/green-fig-and-saltfish/
https://www.islanderkeys.com/green-fig-and-saltfish-national-dish-of-st-lucia/
