Food from the Rye: Salt Fish
Peckham’s Rye Lane is a right higgle piggle of shops. Traders pile on top of one another; get your mobile phone unlocked while you wait for the butcher to dice your goat meat. There are towers of unusual vegetables, mountains of scotch bonnet chillies, the odd box of African land snails and of course yams, yams and yet more yams (just don’t look at the frozen fish or broiler chickens). There’s so much interesting stuff down there I just can’t get through it fast enough so I’ve set myself a little challenge. For the next few weeks, I’ll pick up a new ingredient every few days – something I’ve never used before and quite possibly something I won’t recognise. A new and exciting culinary adventure.
Things kicked things off on Sunday with salt fish – something I’ve eaten many times but never got around to cooking at home. A few quid bought me the chunks you see above. I’ve no idea what type of fish it is though and didn’t have much joy communicating with the shop keeper: “do you know what type of fish it is?” “£3,” was the reply. It went on like that for a while. We’ll get there.
When researching recipes I came across a few that recommended boiling the fish in several changes of water rather than soaking it overnight. I was tempted to try it as a time saving measure but feared the flesh not tenderising enough and so plunged the pieces into (several changes) of cold water for 24 hours. If anyone has tried the boiling method then please do let me know. The next stage was rather more arduous than anticipated as I wrestled with the still rather fibrous blocks in an attempt to remove the skin and tease out bones. Again, advice most welcome.
The chosen recipe was salt fish buljol: a traditional Trinidadian dish, apparently often eaten at breakfast. It ticked the right boxes for being simple (don’t run before you can walk) and because I had all the ingredients in anyway. The mixture is cooked until most of the moisture evaporates, leaving a rich amalgamation which celebrates the slightly chewy, meaty, unusual flaky texture of the fish. It is of course salty. We found more than we bargained for in this simple, yet deeply comforting dish.
The effort of preparation was definitely worth it then – salt fish is the bomb. I think maybe fritters are in the pipeline and Chris made some stonking fish cakes with the leftovers. A very encouraging start to my little experiment. Next on the list is a vegetable called Okazi; I’ve found a recipe for it I’m really rather excited about.
Salt Fish Buljol
About as much salt fish as you see at the top of this post (sorry, didn’t weigh it)
2/3 can chopped tomatoes
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 red peppers finely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
Black pepper
1/2 – 1 whole scotch bonnet chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
Lettuce, for serving (optional). Avocado slices are also a nice accompaniment, apparently
Oil for cooking
Soak the salt fish overnight in several changes of water then pull off the skin and flake the flesh. Heat the oil in a wide pan over a medium heat and add the onions, peppers, chilli and tomatoes (I thought it odd not to soften the onions and peppers first but it works out don’t worry). Let that cook for a few minutes then add the fish, half the lemon juice and a good sprinkling of black pepper.
Cook the mixture down on a low heat until the moisture is almost all gone. This probably takes about 15-20 minutes. Taste and add more lemon juice if you think it needs it. Allow to cool then arrange on top of the lettuce.
Category: Fish, Food From The Rye, Gluten-free, Peckham | Tags: Buljol, Buljol Recipe, Peckham, Peckham Food, Peckham Rye, Salt Fish, Salt Fish Buljol Recipe 22 comments »
December 2nd, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Wait. The food in the first picture turned into food the other pictures?? Magic!
December 2nd, 2009 at 10:33 pm
Breakfast of kings! A while since I tried akee & saltfish. Fritters sound good – fish & chips with a difference. What about salt pork & salt cod together? Salt fish & beans? Ahhh that’s it I’m off to eastgate street to find some……
December 2nd, 2009 at 11:47 pm
Oooh, love saltfish. There’s a lady at my local market who does a fab stewed saltfish with (fried) dumpling. Gorgeous. I really do have to start cooking with it – there are a few Catalan preparations for it!
December 2nd, 2009 at 11:58 pm
I love this challenge — what a good way to stretch yourself. Looking forward to reading about the okazi adventure!
December 3rd, 2009 at 12:21 am
I love the way you get so stuck into Peckham. That’s what it’s all about – involvement with your endz – bringing it into full-colour. Good luck with the next dish dude.
(There’s a place near me called ‘Just Yams, etc’, it makes me laugh every time!)
December 3rd, 2009 at 8:25 am
Wow – you can always be relied upon to do something fascinating that I’ve never done before! This is definitely no exception!
December 3rd, 2009 at 9:16 am
It’s horses for courses. I’ve been researching/cooking West Indian food for years, must have about 40 books on the subject, most of which have very different ideas on how to prepare saltfish. I’ve tried various methods – soaking is probably the least temperamental, although you still need to boil it. Boiling it 2-3 times, discarding the water each time also works, but you have to be careful not to overdo it, because if you boil out all the salt it will end up quite tasteless. I generally prefer it to be a bit on the chewy side – especially if making salt fish fritters.
As for getting rid of the bones and skin – there’s no getting away from it; although you can buy fillets, the flavour isn’t quite as good. Better quality fish – ie., thick pieces which are much whiter in quality, rather than various shades of grey/yellow will be easier to work with.
December 3rd, 2009 at 9:18 am
Just reread – after you’d soaked it, did you boil it, before taking out the bone & skin? It is much easier to do so if you do.
December 3rd, 2009 at 9:33 am
This looks great. I love the idea of buying mystery ingredients and seeing what you can do with them, much more creative than wandering around Tesco with a list!
December 3rd, 2009 at 9:54 am
I fell in love with saltfish in Lisbon, but never followed it up – I must experiment more. Great pictures!
December 3rd, 2009 at 10:51 am
Sounds delicious, there’s another version of buljol you should try which is cold. As opposed to cooking the mixture you cook the saltfish and shred it into a cold salad/salsa of chopped tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, scotch bonnet and lime juice.
They reckon the name buljol is derived from Trinidad’s French colonial influences ‘brule-guele’ burn mouth becaues of the scotch bonnet.
December 3rd, 2009 at 1:27 pm
i have seen people soak it overnight. your dish looks really vibrant- delish!
December 3rd, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Great post. You have inspired me to be a bit more adventurous with my ingredients on these cold rainy days where all I can think about are baked potatoes and stews. Can’t wait to hear about the fritters – love them!
December 3rd, 2009 at 6:03 pm
Fantastic. I thought the same thing the last time I was down in Peckham: so many new things to try there. Salt fish looks tasty. Look forward to the NIgerian vegetable adventure.
December 3rd, 2009 at 6:47 pm
I find the more you pay for your salt fish – and that generally means boneless fillets – the easier it comes apart after soaking . . .
Will definitly be trying above recipe – but if next time you wanted to go mediterranean with salt fish (which I believe is usually cod) – I can’t recommend it with onions and garlic melted in plenty of olive oil, then eggs scrambled in at last minute. absolute heaven.
December 4th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
oops, I meant ‘can’t recommend it enough’!!
December 5th, 2009 at 7:40 am
The food on your blog both looks and sounds delicious. Sadly I am a consumer and not much of a creator, but you make me want to try. I hope I can find the ingredients in the states – always looking for unique and different food experiences. Thanks!
December 5th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Salt fish is amazing… in my limited experience the more you spend the better it is.. my folks bought me a batch of hi-grade from Barcelona and it kicked ass compared with the cheaper stuff over here…
December 6th, 2009 at 11:23 am
Full marks for giving it a go, and it’s good to see so many helpful responses in answer to your questions, too. I really must get some saltfish myself – would like to give your recipe a whirl, and I have a weak spot for saltfish croquetas…
December 6th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Your blog is super. So are your photographies. They make me hungry. I have spent a nice moment when seeing them. Thanks a lot.
December 6th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
Kristina – I was slightly worried myself!
James – Good luck! I’ve just tried a really odd meat/fish combo in the latest post and it did actually work. I really hope you experiment and report back…
Su-Lin – ah yes I do love a good dumpling to scoop everything up with. I have a bag left over now so I think fritters first then branch out a bit. I’ll make sure to research Catalan preparations.
Kake – Thanks! I am very much enjoying the adventure so far.
Petra – Ha ha! JUST yams though yeah? Oh yeah…etc…
LexEat – I do love a little culinary challenge.
Catherine – Thanks very much for all the info. I didn’t realise it needed to be boiled after soaking, which must have been why it was so tough. I boiled it the next time I used it and the flesh came away incredibly easily and it took no time at all! I’m making salt fish fritters next and will bear in mind your comment about keeping it a bit chewy. Thanks again.
Kerri – Oh yes! Blimey I can’t remember the last time I did that to be honest. Rock n roll!
Lizzie – Cheers dude. I can highly recommend the salt fish. Now I’ve worked out how to boil it then it seems much less hassle. Ahhh, Lisbon memories.
Patrick – thanks very much for the comment! Very interesting. I bet it does burn your mouth! I will try the cold version. Thanks again.
Shayma – Yep, never again though! Boiling all the way for me now.
BSG – Thanks! Glad to have inspired a little experimentation in someone else’s life too. I am making the fitters this week.
Ginandcrumpets – Yeah, it’s going to take me a while to get through all that stuff!
Huey – That sounds really rather good! Will try it, thank you.
Valentino – Give it a go, you know you want to…
Charlie – Aha! Well, you know, it is Peckham
Aforkfulofspaghetti! Me too! I love it when people share the love
Eleonora – You are very kind, thank you.
December 11th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
very, very nice! always great to read more recipes utilizing salt fish. with so many Caribbean communities in brooklyn, you can almost get salt fish in the drug store! the prep isn’t bad, but the wait can be annoying if you just want to eat soon. thanks for introducing me to this, helen.