Saint Lucian Accras

Ingredients:

225g boneless salt fish (dry salted cod)
120g plain (all-purpose) flour
2 tsps baking powder
2 tbsp spring onion finely chopped
1 small red bell pepper finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced (use a garlic press if you have one)
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 tsp creole seasoning
1 tsp hot pepper sauce
1 egg
Freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
60 to 120ml water
Pinch of sugar
Vegetable oil for frying (about 700ml)

Method:

To prepare the saltfish, place in a large bowl, cover with plenty of water and set aside to soak over night. Change the water three times during this period. The following day, drain the fish, place in a large saucepan, cover with plenty of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook for about 20 minutes. Repeat this process once more to ensure the saltfish is not too salty.

After the salt fish has been simmering, drain the fish and rinse under cold water. Shred the fish with your fingers, discarding any bones and skin you may find.

For the batter: Finely chop, grate, and add in all the ingredients above into a mixing bowl (except the flour, water and salt fish). Stir well to combine then add the saltfish chunks.

Now add in the flour. At this point you can start slowly adding in the water and stirring while doing so. The goal is to get a nice thick batter.

Once the batter is ready, start heating the vegetable oil in a large frying pan (or wok) over medium/high heat. Once the oil is at the right temperate for frying (180C) add a heaped tsp of the batter in small amounts (you don’t want to over crowd the pan). They will only take a few minutes on each side until golden brown and when they start floating they are ready to flip.

Fish out the cooked accras with a slotted spoon or spicer. Transfer to kitchen paper to drain. Serve accompanied by hot pepper sauce or your favourite dipping sauce.