Anguillan Saltfish is a traditional Anguillan recipe for a classic light stew of saltfish with onion, bell pepper and garlic in a lightly curried sauce. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Anguillan version of: Anguillan Saltfish.
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This is an Anguillan saltfish soup (really a stew). It's very lightly curried and great simply served with Johnny Cakes as an accompaniment. Most commercial curry powders on Anguilla tend to be Madras-style, sometimes with a little allspice added. I tend to use medium Madras with a pinch of ground allspice added.
Ingredients:
500g Saltfish (salt cod)
4 tbsp Brown sugar
Remaining ingredients:
Coconut oil (for cooking)
4 garlic cloves, minced and mashed
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
2 tomatoes, cut into thin slices
handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
curry powder, just a hint (about 1/2 tsp) for flavour
Method:
The night before prepare to de-salt your saltfish. Place the salftish in a large bowl scatter over the brown sugar then pour over plenty of water. Set aside to soak over night in the refrigerator. The brown sugar is added by the islanders as this is believed to 'cut the salt'.
The following day, drain the fish (discard the water), place in a large saucepan then bring to a boil and cook for about 20 minutes until the fish is opaque and tender. Drain the fish then let it cool until it can be handled. Flake the fish, feeling through the meat and removing all the bones and pieces of skin.
Set the boned and flaked saltfish aside until needed.
Saltfish tends to be prepared either with a French-style mirepoix mix of carrots, celery and onion, or a blend of bell peppers, garlic and tomato (as presented here).
Place a wok or heavy-based pan over low heat. To this add about 2 tbsp coconut oil. Once the oil melts add the garlic and onion and fry gently for 2 minutes. Now add the bell peppers and continue stir-frying for about 5-6 minutes, until everything is soft.
Now stir in the flakes saltfish, adding a little water, as needed. This should be a fairly dry mixture with minimal amounts of liquid (but it should not be completely dry either). You want a small amount of sauce that you can mop up with your Johnny cakes.
Now add in the tomatoes and parsley then scatter over the curry powder and season to taste with black pepper. Stir everything to combine and cook for about 2 minutes more, or until everything is hot and the spices are cooked.
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