Ingredients
Pepperpot
- 400 gsalt beef, soaked overnight and cut into 3 cm pieces
- 300 gsalt pork or pig’s tail, soaked overnight
- 500 gspinach or callaloo leaves, chopped
- 300 gdasheen (taro) leaves or extra spinach, chopped
- 250 gokra, sliced
- 300 gpumpkin, in chunks
- 2aubergines, in chunks
- 1onion, chopped
- 4garlic cloves, minced
- 4spring onions, sliced
- 2 tbspchopped thyme
- 1whole scotch bonnet chilli
- 2 tbspcoconut oil
- 1.5 litreswater
- black pepper
Dumplings
- 150 gplain flour
- ½ tspsalt
- about 80 ml water
Fungee
- 250 gfine yellow cornmeal
- 200 gokra, thinly sliced
- 1 litrewater
- 1 tspsalt
- 30 gbutter
Directions
- Boil the soaked salt beef and salt pork in the water for 45 minutes, then taste the broth. If it is still fiercely salty, pour half away and top up with fresh water.
- Add the onion, garlic, spring onion, thyme, coconut oil, aubergine and pumpkin and simmer 20 minutes until the pumpkin starts to collapse and thicken the pot.
- Rub the dumpling flour, salt and water into a stiff dough, roll into finger-length ropes, and drop them in to poach for 15 minutes.
- Stir in the greens and the sliced okra with the whole scotch bonnet, and simmer 30–40 minutes uncovered, stirring now and then, until the leaves have melted into a thick dark green stew that holds the trace of a spoon. Remove the chilli whole.
- For the fungee, simmer the sliced okra in 300 ml of the water for 5 minutes until soft and slippery, then keep it in its liquid.
- Whisk the cornmeal into 400 ml cold water in a bowl to a smooth slurry. Bring the remaining water and the salt to a boil, pour in the slurry and whisk hard.
- Add the okra and its liquid and cook over low heat for 15–20 minutes, beating steadily with a wooden fungee stick or spoon, until the mixture is thick, glossy and pulls away from the pan in one mass with no raw cornmeal taste.
- Beat in the butter, then use a wet spoon or a wet cup to shape the fungee into smooth balls. Serve one ball per plate with the pepperpot ladled around it, and eat by breaking off pieces of fungee to scoop the stew.
Technique
- Antiguan pepperpot is a green, leaf-heavy stew and is not the same dish as Guyanese pepperpot, which is dark, sweet-spiced and preserved with cassareep. Do not add cassareep here.
- The okra in the fungee is what gives it its characteristic slipperiness and stops the cornmeal from setting into a hard cake as it cools.
- Soak the salt meats properly, changing the water at least twice. Every other seasoning in the pot is measured against the salt they carry.
- Wet the spoon and the hands before shaping the fungee, or it will stick to everything.
Substitutions
- No salt beef? Use fresh beef shin plus 2 tsp salt, and expect a cleaner, less cured flavour.
- Dasheen leaves must be well cooked, as raw taro leaf is irritating; frozen callaloo, or plain spinach, is the safe and common substitute abroad.
Variations
- A Barbudan version made with more pumpkin and less leaf, and served looser.
- Fungee served with saltfish and a tomato-onion sauce, the everyday weekday pairing.
History
The national dish: cornmeal fungee, a descendant of West African fufu, with a stew of salt meat, okra and vegetables.
Frequently asked questions
What is Fungee and pepperpot?
Fungee and pepperpot is a main from Antigua and Barbuda: national dish: cornmeal-okra ball with leafy meat stew. The national dish: cornmeal fungee, a descendant of West African fufu, with a stew of salt meat, okra and vegetables.
How long does Fungee and pepperpot take to make?
Fungee and pepperpot takes 35 min of preparation and 2 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Fungee and pepperpot?
Yes, within limits. No salt beef? Use fresh beef shin plus 2 tsp salt, and expect a cleaner, less cured flavour. Dasheen leaves must be well cooked, as raw taro leaf is irritating; frozen callaloo, or plain spinach, is the safe and common substitute abroad.
What is the most important thing to get right in Fungee and pepperpot?
Stir in the greens and the sliced okra with the whole scotch bonnet, and simmer 30–40 minutes uncovered, stirring now and then, until the leaves have melted into a thick dark green stew that holds the trace of a spoon. Remove the chilli whole.
