Bakes and saltfish

Ingredients

Bakes

• 400 gplain flour
• 2 teaspoonsbaking powder
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 1 tablespoonsugar
• 40 gbutter or coconut oil, cold
• about 200 ml water
• oil, for frying

Saltfish

• 400 gsalted dried cod
• 1large onion, sliced
• 3tomatoes, chopped
• 4garlic cloves, chopped
• 1sweet pepper, sliced
• 3spring onions, sliced
• 1 sprigthyme
• 1bonnet pepper, whole
• 3 tablespoonscoconut or vegetable oil
• black pepper

To serve

• lime wedges
• pepper sauce
• cocoa tea or coffee

Directions

1. Salt cod came to the region through the Atlantic trade. It arrives stiff, pale and extremely heavily salted. Rinse the surface salt off under running water. Put the fish in a large bowl of cold water. Refrigerate it and leave it for twenty-four hours.
2. Taste a small flake to judge the salt level. It should taste seasoned rather than harshly salty. Put the rinsed fish in a pan of fresh water. Bring it to a boil and cook it for ten minutes. Drain it, taste a flake, and repeat if it is still salty. Drain it and let it cool enough to handle. Flake the flesh away from the skin and bones.
3. Check carefully for small bones as you work. Shred it into fairly fine flakes with your fingers. Put the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl. Whisk them together so the raising agent is even.
4. Rub the cold fat into the flour with your fingertips. Work until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Add water gradually and bring it into a soft dough. Stop adding as soon as it comes together. Knead it very briefly, for under a minute. Cover it and let it rest for fifteen minutes. Divide the dough into eight equal pieces. Roll each into a ball between your palms.
5. Flatten each into a disc about a centimetre thick. That helps the middle cook through evenly. Heat the oil in a wide frying pan. Fry the sliced onion until soft and golden. Give it a good eight minutes over a medium heat.
6. Add the garlic and the sweet pepper. Cook them for about three minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and the thyme sprig. Let them break down for five minutes. Drop the whole bonnet pepper into the pan. Add the flaked saltfish and stir it through. Cook it for five minutes to bring it together.
7. Add the spring onions near the end. Grind in plenty of black pepper. Taste it before adding any salt at all. The fish almost always brings enough on its own. Pour oil into a deep pan to about five centimetres. Never fill a pan more than halfway with oil.
8. Heat the oil up to about 170C. Fry them for about four minutes on each side. They should puff up and turn deep golden. Break one open to check the first batch. The inside should be cooked with no wet dough.
9. Lift them onto a wire rack to drain. Serving it is always done hot. Spoon the saltfish inside or serve it alongside. Squeeze fresh lime over the fish. Put pepper sauce on the table. That is a spiced hot chocolate made with local cocoa.

Technique

• Bakes and saltfish is eaten across the Caribbean, and the Guyanese, Trinidadian and Barbadian versions are all closely related.
• Cocoa tea, a spiced drink made from local cocoa sticks, is the traditional Dominican accompaniment.

Substitutions

• Any salted white fish works, and salted pollock is often cheaper than cod.
• Coconut oil is traditional in Dominica but any oil will do.

Variations

• Roast bakes are baked rather than fried and are lighter.
• Some households cook the saltfish with coconut milk for a wetter sauce.
• Bake and saltfish in Guyana is essentially the same dish with different seasonings.

History

Fried dough with salt cod stewed in onion and pepper, the standard Dominican breakfast.

Frequently asked questions

What is Bakes and saltfish?

Bakes and saltfish is a breakfast from Dominica: fried bakes with salt-cod sauté. Fried dough with salt cod stewed in onion and pepper, the standard Dominican breakfast.

How long does Bakes and saltfish take to make?

Bakes and saltfish takes 20 minutes plus soaking the fish of preparation and 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Bakes and saltfish?

Yes, within limits. Any salted white fish works, and salted pollock is often cheaper than cod. Coconut oil is traditional in Dominica but any oil will do.

What is the most important thing to get right in Bakes and saltfish?

Taste a small flake to judge the salt level. It should taste seasoned rather than harshly salty. Put the rinsed fish in a pan of fresh water. Bring it to a boil and cook it for ten minutes. Drain it, taste a flake, and repeat if it is still salty. Drain it and let it cool enough to handle. Flake the flesh away from the skin and bones.