Jamaican Vegetarian Ackee Recipe

Well prepared Ackee is a dish that every Jamaican loves. Ackee is a yellow fruit that is eaten in many Caribbean countries. The raw fruit is very poisonous. The toxins in the unripe fruit are believed to be the cause of the Jamaican Vomiting Sickness. So, it is cooked and eaten as a savory dish.

Ackee is typically eaten for breakfast. Many traditional roots and starches are eaten with it including yam, boiled green bananas, coco, dashien, roast breadfruit, boiled dumplings and fried dumplings. Check out the recipe for my Jamaican Fried Dumplings here.

Ingredients

1/2 Red Onion, sliced

3-4 cloves Garlic, minced

1 Sweet pepper, sliced

1-2 small Roma Tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 can Ackee (There are many brands, however, my mother prefers the Grace brand)

2-3 fresh Thyme sprigs

1 teaspoons Vegetable bouillon

1 teaspoon Organic Adobo seasoning blend (like Simply Organic or Frontier)

Salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive oil

1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

Directions

1. Boil a large pot of water. Drain the excess water out of the can of ackee and submerge the ackee in the boiling water for 30 seconds.*
2. Drain the ackee in a colander and set aside.
3. Preheat olive and coconut oils in a skillet over medium-low heat.
4. First saute the sliced onions until they are beginning to soften.
5. Add the chopped tomatoes next, and saute until most of the liquid is evaporated.
6. Then add the roughly chopped peppers and all the seasonings, thyme, salt and pepper. Turn the heat up to high and begin to quickly stir the mixture.
7. Lastly, carefully add the ackee. Here is where you should be careful. The trick to a good ackee dish is to not break up the ackee pieces. So the trick to stirring the ackee without breaking it up is to flip the ackee. Push the spoon under it and turn the spoon over. Wallah!
8. And then enjoy! Plate the ackee on a pretty dish and eat with some roots or dumplings. Enjoy, ya mon!

*Note:

• Sometimes, ackee may have a slight sour aftertaste. This is sometimes due to the brand of ackee or the processing of a certain batch. Boiling the ackee quickly (blanching) will eliminate this taste.