Fish water

Ingredients

Fish

• 1 kgsmall whole fish
• or 1 kg fish heads and pieces
• juice of 2 limes
• 1 teaspoonsalt

Broth

• 2 litreswater
• 2onions, chopped
• 4spring onions, sliced
• 4garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 sprigsthyme
• 1green seasoning bundle
• 1scotch bonnet, whole
• 2stock cubes
• black pepper
• salt to taste

Provisions

• 4green figs, green bananas
• 400 gyam or dasheen, in chunks
• 300 gsweet potato, in chunks
• 2carrots, sliced

Dumplings

• 250 gplain flour
• 1/2 teaspoonsalt
• about 120 ml water

To serve

• lime wedges
• hot pepper sauce
• bread

Directions

1. Cut the ends off with a knife. Score the skin lengthways in three places. Cut through the skin but not the flesh. Rub your hands with oil first if you can. Preparing the fish takes a few minutes.
2. Scale and gut the fish if not done. Rinse everything very thoroughly. Rub it with lime juice and salt. Rinse the lime off after ten minutes. Put the water into a large pot.
3. Add the chopped onions and spring onions. Add the crushed garlic and the thyme. Add the green seasoning bundle. Crumble the stock cubes into it.
4. Add the whole scotch bonnet in. Never let it burst in the pot. Season it well with black pepper. Bring the whole pot up to a simmer. Adding the provisions is done by timing. Add the yam or the dasheen first. Give it about fifteen minutes.
5. Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Add water slowly until it comes together. Knead it briefly into a firm dough. Roll pieces into short thick fingers. Caribbean dumplings are firm rather than fluffy.
6. Drop them into the simmering broth. They take about fifteen minutes to cook. Lay the fish down into the broth. Do not stir the pot after this point. Simmer it gently for about ten minutes. The broth should stay thin and clear. Taste the broth and adjust the salt. It should be peppery and well seasoned.
7. Ladle broth, fish and provisions into each. Make sure everyone gets some of each. Put hot pepper sauce on the table. It keeps two days refrigerated.

Technique

• A water in Caribbean English is a thin broth rather than a thick soup, the same usage as in conch water and goat water.
• Fig in Caribbean English means banana, so green fig is green unripe banana and has nothing to do with the fruit called fig elsewhere; green fig and saltfish is the national dish of Saint Lucia.
• The soup uses fish too small to sell or fillet along with heads and frames, which make the best broth, so nothing from the catch is wasted.

Substitutions

• Any small fish or fish frames work, and the heads give the most flavour.
• Green plantain stands in for green banana.

Variations

• Some cooks add a little coconut milk to the broth.
• A version with more provisions and less fish is made when the catch is small.
• Green fig and saltfish uses the same green bananas quite differently.

History

A St Lucian fisherman’s soup made from the day’s small fish and eaten as an evening meal.

Frequently asked questions

What is Fish water?

Fish water is a soup & stew from Saint Lucia: thin peppery fish broth with green fig, dumplings and provisions. A St Lucian fisherman’s soup made from the day’s small fish and eaten as an evening meal.

How long does Fish water take to make?

Fish water takes 30 minutes of preparation and 40 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Fish water?

Yes, within limits. Any small fish or fish frames work, and the heads give the most flavour. Green plantain stands in for green banana.

What is the most important thing to get right in Fish water?

Add the whole scotch bonnet in. Never let it burst in the pot. Season it well with black pepper. Bring the whole pot up to a simmer. Adding the provisions is done by timing. Add the yam or the dasheen first. Give it about fifteen minutes.