Ackee

[alekolu]

Does anyone here eat ackee? I had it years ago on a vacation to Jamaica, and I remember it tasting like what scrambled eggs would taste like if scrambled eggs tasted good. I've looked for cans of it online, but have had no luck. Where I can find some?

[Canon]

Is there a Jamaican restaurant in your area?

[alekolu]

Nope. No Caribbean food markets either, that I know of. I think that ordering some is going to be my only choice... or I guess driving up to Chicago.

[GoodbyeGirl]

try gracefoods.com

[Michael Benis]

I really like it. Not too difficult to get hold of in the UK (tinned). If yo buy it fresh you have to be VERY careful to preapre it properly.

It's great scrambled with tofu....

Cheers

Mike

[Jamie]

I've seen it sold in a little carribean store in my town, but I'm a bit scared to try it!! I didn't really like the taste of eggs, but I did once.

how exactly do you use it MB??

[Michael Benis]

Well, I'm not sure they're that eggy, though they are very yellow.

You can just bung them in a pan and fry enough to warm them. You can also fry up some diced oinion first. Some people like them with turmeric, whihc makes things even more yellow and gives everything a slightly stronger flavour. They're fin on thier own, but you can also add diced tofu. The two go pretty well together.

Once you've fried them up in whichever way takes you fancy you can eat them as they are, as part of a meal with rice and whatever, or heap the micture onto toast or into pie cases... All of these work very nicely.

I'm very fond of everthing about ackies except for the.....







price

Cheers

Mike

[kiwi.tyger]

I made a great brunch this weekend using leftover tinned ackee from a quiche I made in the week. Here's my recipe if you want to try (might even fool omnis!!) Serves 1-2

Half tin (about 200g) tinned ackee
100g firm tofu (silken would probably work too)
teaspoon chopped parsley
pinch of turmeric
1 clove crushed garlic
black pepper (to taste)

Mash the ackee in a bowl with the herbs.
Break the tofu into about 8 pieces and squeeze half the water out. Crumble into the ackee mash and stir to mix.
Heat a pot or pan to a medium-high temperature with a slosh of rapeseed oil, and fry the ackee mixture, stirring constantly until hot through.

Serve on toast with a sprig of fresh parsley for that gourmet touch! You could add fried onions, mushrooms or capsicum for something different.

Easy as that. I agree the price is a bit steep, although tends to be cheaper in specialist Carribean stores. In the UK it varies between about £4 - £5 for a 580g tin.