The Poor Man's Fish Creates a Rich Meal

Passport & Plate - Curried Saltfish, Pickled Cucumbers & Johnny Cakes

US Virgin Islands | Friday, March 6, 2015 | 5 photos

Ingredients
For the Curried Saltfish
1 pack of Alaska Pollock Fillets
2 TBSP Vegetable Oil
½ Maggi Chicken Flavor Bouillon Cube
2 tsp Yellow Curry
½ chopped onions
1 garlic clove, chopped
½ cup sweet peppers, chopped
1 sprig of thyme
2 TBSP Viking Garlic Sauce

For Pickled Cucumber
1 large cucumber
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP of vinegar
½ lime
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

For Johnny Cake
1.5 cups All Purpose Flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 TBSP white sugar
1¼ tsp room temperature butter
Water
Oil for frying
Extra flour

 

How to prepare this recipe
For the Saltfish:
Rinse saltfish thoroughly & boil it to remove salt. Pour out water & boil again. Once it starts to boil, turn off stove and leave overnight. Sautee onions, garlic, peppers & thyme in oil. Add bouillon cube and crush it to mix into the vegetables. When onions are opaque, add in saltfish, curry & garlic sauce. Allow to cook for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat to avoid saltfish from drying out.

For the Pickled Cucumber:
Using a small knife, cut cucumber into very thin slices and place them into a bowl with a lid. Add garlic, olive oil, vinegar, salt & pepper. Cover bowl and shake until cucumber is fully coated. Squeeze the lime into the bowl and have it sit for 12-24 hours, preferably overnight.

For the Johnny Cake:
Sift all dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, sugar & salt) in a large mixing bowl. Work in the butter with your fingers.

Add ¼ cup of water at a time into the dry ingredients by stirring it in with a fork until the mixture forms a soft dough.

Sprinkle flour on the counter and transfer the dough. Knead for 1-2 minutes to allow the ingredients to blend. You may have to add a few sprinkles of flour at a time to keep the dough from becoming too sticky. Allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes.

Flour your hands and your counter top. Make about 12-15 round balls of dough and set aside. Heat your frying pot with oil. While the oil is heating, use a rolling pin to flatten out each ball but do not flatten them too much or they will be like crackers. When a drop of water pops in the pot, it is ready for frying. Fry a few johnny cakes at a time but do not overcrowd the pot as this will make the Johnny Cakes greasy. When the underside is golden brown, flip it over using tongs. Do not flip each cake over more than once. Fry each until both sides are golden brown. Drain Johnny Cakes on a cooling rack.

 

The story behind this recipe
As an only girl growing up with 3 boys, food was the thing that connected Dad & me where a day in the kitchen was our special time together. A Saturday morning trip to the fish market watching an array of boats come into shore at the docks in St. Croix meant our time in the kitchen cooking our lucky finds would soon be underway. Living on an island meant we had our prime picking for seafood. The days when saltfish caught weeks before had been dried out and was ready for sale were the best as a family feast would soon follow. We would be devouring a magnificent plate filled with curried saltfish, pickled cucumber salad & Johnny Cakes. Coined by my dad as “the poor man’s fish”, he would buy enough to feed a family of 13 as a young St. Lucian boy. Migrating to St Croix in 1973, he brought his knowledge of turning the poor man’s fish into a topnotch meal that had family & friends alike waiting each month for this grand feast.
On these days, we would stop in at Whim Plantation Museum to get fresh Johnny Cakes from the local women frying them in their antique cast iron pots. Chock full of rich history, this museum told the tale of times past when workers would travel far distances to get to work and wives would prepare “journey cakes” for them to eat on their way into the fields. With the influx of people from neighboring islands, “journey cakes” evolved into Johnny Cakes and have been called that ever since.
These early morning adventures for a young girl would often result in a short-lived nap due to the sweet aroma of sautéed garlic, onions & peppers wafting through the air, awaking me out of the bed with great anticipation of the meal to come. A quick trip to the neighbor for fresh, local cucumbers would make the meal complete. Soon, the house is overflowing with people anticipating a hearty meal made with love by the Daddy/Daughter team. Preparing this meal will forever remind me of the island life, eating “the poor man’s fish” but being rich in laughter and love.