Passport & Plate - Fish Cakes
Dominica | Saturday, March 7, 2015 | 5 photos
Ingredients
1 1/4 lbs. dried salted cod
1 finely chopped Scotch Bonnet/Habanero pepper
3 chopped scallions
2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
4 beaten eggs
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
oil, for frying
How to prepare this recipeSoak the cod in a large pot of water for 4 hours. Drain water and replace with fresh water. Bring to a boil and cook fish for about 15 minutes, until it flakes easily. Drain water.
As soon as it is cool enough to handle, flake fish by hand. Transfer to a large bowl.
Add all other ingredients, except the oil, and stir to combine.
Heat enough oil for shallow frying in a skillet. Add about 2-3 tablespoons of batter for each fritter into the hot oil, pressing down with the back of the spatula to flatten the fritter. Fry until golden brown on both sides. Repeat until all the batter has been used.
The story behind this recipeDominica…Nature Island of the Caribbean. Most people see this advertising slogan and to them it’s some far away place that sounds beautiful and might be nice to visit. For others that visit, they enjoy the untouched nature of the island. There are no huge Marriot’s or Hilton’s dotting the coastline. Instead, there are small bed and breakfasts and independently owned hotels. However, for me I have a personal connection to the island.
This is my grandmother’s birthplace. I grew up in New York with my grandmother and her thick Caribbean accent, listening to stories of her youth. Since I never visited, I could never really visualize as she described the point where the Caribbean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. You stand on an inlet and on one side you see the calm waves of the Sea and on the other side you see the raging Atlantic. My grandmother was not a great cook, however there were two things that my grandmother made that was loved by the whole family – her fish cakes and her bakes. Bakes are basically deep fried dough fritters and fish cakes are spicy dried cod fritters.
When I finally made it to Dominica, it was like coming back to a home I didn’t know I had. As I disembarked from the plane, you could smell the spices. Nutmeg, vanilla and cinnamon perfumed the air, welcoming me home. It smelled like my mother’s kitchen, who’s a better cook than my grandmother was.
Finally, I went to Market Day in Roseau, the capital. If you’re a foodie, this is the place for you. All the farmers come to the beachside in the capital city and they sell all their produce in what used to be the location where slaves were sold centuries ago. In addition to the fresh food you can buy, prepared foods like roasted corn and among other things, fish cakes were sold. I was now eating fish cakes in probably the same spot where my grandmother had as a child. This is my grandmother’s fish cake recipe which brought me full circle from New York to Dominica.
