Cou-cou and flying fish

Ingredients

Cou-cou

• 250 gfine yellow cornmeal
• 250 gokra, topped and sliced into 1 cm rounds
• 1.2 litreswater
• 1 tspsalt
• 40 gbutter, plus extra for the bowl
• 1 sprigthyme

Flying fish

• 8flying fish fillets, boned (about 700 g)
• juice of 2 limes plus 1 tbsp salt, for washing
• 3 tbspBajan green seasoning (spring onion, thyme, marjoram, parsley, garlic, Scotch bonnet, minced together)
• ½ tspblack pepper

Steaming gravy

• 2 tbspvegetable oil
• 1onion, sliced
• 3garlic cloves, sliced
• 2tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tbsptomato paste
• 1 sprigthyme
• 1 sprigmarjoram
• ½Scotch bonnet, whole
• 1 tspyellow mustard
• 1 tspWorcestershire sauce
• 200 mlwater
• juice of ½ lime
• 1 tspsalt

Directions

1. Wash the fish fillets in water acidulated with the lime juice and salt, then pat dry — the standard Bajan first step with any fish.
2. Rub the green seasoning and black pepper into both sides of each fillet, roll each one up from the tail end, and leave to marinate 20 minutes.
3. Simmer the okra in the salted water with the thyme for 10 minutes until soft and the water has gone slippery and slightly viscous. Lift the okra out and reserve; keep the okra water hot. This water is what gives cou-cou its texture.
4. Measure 900 ml of the hot okra water into a heavy pot. Rain in the cornmeal in a thin stream with one hand while beating hard with a wooden cou-cou stick or flat spoon in the other, so no lumps form.
5. Cook over low heat for 20–25 minutes, beating and turning the mass against the side of the pot every couple of minutes. It is ready when it comes cleanly away from the sides and a spoon stands up in it.
6. Beat in the okra and the butter, then scrape the cou-cou into a buttered bowl, swirl it round to coat, and turn it out onto a plate as a smooth glossy dome. Cover so it does not skin.
7. For the gravy, fry the onion and garlic in oil for 5 minutes, add tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs, whole Scotch bonnet, mustard, Worcestershire, salt and water, and simmer 10 minutes to a loose sauce.
8. Slide the rolled fillets into the gravy in one layer, cover, and steam gently for 8–10 minutes, spooning gravy over, until the flesh is opaque and firm. Finish with lime juice and lift the pepper out whole.
9. Serve the dome of cou-cou with the rolled fish alongside and the gravy poured over both.

Technique

• This is the national dish of Barbados and the traditional Friday lunch. The flying fish is bought already ‘boned’ by a filleter at the market in seconds flat.
• Beat, do not stir. Cou-cou is worked hard against the pot; lumps that form in the first minute never come out.
• The okra water is not optional. Cornmeal cooked in plain water gives stiff, grainy polenta rather than the smooth, slightly elastic cou-cou.
• The dish is called steamed fish although it is really a gentle braise in tomato gravy; frying the fillets in seasoned flour instead is the other accepted way.

Substitutions

• Flying fish is rarely exported fresh; frozen Barbadian fillets are widely sold, and lemon sole, trout or small mackerel fillets roll up the same way.
• If okra is unavailable, cook the cornmeal in plain salted water with 2 tbsp extra butter — you lose the silkiness, so beat it even harder.

Variations

• Fried flying fish, dusted in seasoned flour and shallow-fried, served with cou-cou or in a cutter (a salt bread roll).
• Cou-cou is also made with breadfruit or green banana in place of the cornmeal on some parts of the island.

History

The national dish: cornmeal and okra cou-cou from West African fufu, with the flying fish that gave Barbados its nickname.

Frequently asked questions

What is Cou-cou and flying fish?

Cou-cou and flying fish is a main from Barbados: national dish: cornmeal-okra mash with steamed flying fish. The national dish: cornmeal and okra cou-cou from West African fufu, with the flying fish that gave Barbados its nickname.

How long does Cou-cou and flying fish take to make?

Cou-cou and flying fish takes 30 min of preparation and 45 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Cou-cou and flying fish?

Yes, within limits. Flying fish is rarely exported fresh; frozen Barbadian fillets are widely sold, and lemon sole, trout or small mackerel fillets roll up the same way. If okra is unavailable, cook the cornmeal in plain salted water with 2 tbsp extra butter — you lose the silkiness, so beat it even harder.

What is the most important thing to get right in Cou-cou and flying fish?

Beat, do not stir. Cou-cou is worked hard against the pot; lumps that form in the first minute never come out.