Ins & Outs of Barbados 2023

111 Shopping Traditional Bajan Fried Fish 10 Flying Fish or fish fillets to serve 4, 2 limes 2 tablespoons salt 2 tablespoons Bajan seasoning 1 egg 1 cup 5oz/150g extra fine breadcrumbs 1/2 cup 2 1/2oz/75g flour Salt & white pepper to taste 1 teaspoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin Method: Squeeze one limes into a bowl with 1 cup of water, add the salt and place the fish to soak for about 1/2 hour. Remove them and shake off excess moisture. Whisk the egg in a medium bowl with some salt and white pepper and the Bajan seasoning. Put the fish into the egg and seasoning mixture. It is best if the fish is allowed to sit in the egg for an hour or so to allow the flavours to permeate. Mix the flour, breadcrumbs, white pepper, paprika, ground cumin and a little salt. Heat very shallow oil in a large frying pan over a medium/high heat. Shake off excess egg, coat in the breadcrumb mixture, shake again and place in the oil when it is hot enough (it should sizzle slightly when the fish is placed in it). Fry the fish over the medium heat for a couple of minutes on each side. Fish needs very little cooking and is overcooked easily. Fry flying fish skin side up first to prevent curling. Drain on absorbent paper and place on a warm dish with slices of lime. Serves 4 Breadfruit Where to buy: Roadside vendors, markets and sometimes in large supermarkets. Season: More plentiful in August and September and again in March and April but usually available year round. Having kept starvation from many a door in Barbados, the humble breadfruit is enjoying a resurgence in popularity. It is wonderfully nutritious, low on the glycemic index and versatile. Chips and cou cou are popular but my favourite is a tangy combination of cucumber, lime juice, onion and salt over thinly sliced pre-boiled breadfruit referred to as ‘pickled breadfruit’. Pickled Breadfruit 1/2 medium breadfruit 1 tablespoon oil Salt Souse pickle: 1 lb/500g small cucumber, peeled, deseeded and very finely chopped 1/4 cup, 1 small onion finely chopped Salt to taste 1/3 cup parsley, finely chopped Fresh hot pepper very finely chopped to taste (about 1/4 deseeded pepper) 1 medium sweet pepper finely chopped 3-6 tablespoons lime juice, to taste Garnish: fresh parsley, sweet pepper Method: Cut the breadfruit, remove the seeds in the core and peel. Boil in salted water with oil, over a high heat until just tender. Drain and cool. Meanwhile prepare the pickle ingredients and mix well. Remove any seeds from the cucumber. Put enough salt and lime juice to make a nice acidic salty pickle since the bland bread fruit quickly counteracts it. Pour the pickle over thinly sliced breadfruit and garnish with parsley and sweet pepper rings. Serves 4-6 Plantain Where to buy: Sold island wide. Season: Year round Masquerading themselves as very large bananas, they are unpalatable unless cooked, and can be prepared at all stages of ripeness, with stark contrasts of texture and flavour. When green, they can be thinly sliced and fried into chips. Ripe and yellow they can be baked for 1/2 hour in a moderate oven, either whole in their skins or peeled and wrapped in bacon. When they are yellow with black spots, they are best sliced and shallow fried. ...andwhere to find them By SallyMiller Melvin Mayers, Tent Bay, showing a flying fish