Barbados

The dish

Saltfish and bake is a classic Bajan breakfast. The saltfish is salt cod cooked with onions, peppers, and tomatoes. The bake is a fried dough that puffs up in the oil.

What we thought

The saltfish was terrible. The bake was one of the best frybreads. Saltfish: 0/5. Bake: 4/5.

Ingredients and directions

Bake

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1– 1 ½ cups water
• vegetable oil for frying

Directions

1. Combine all of the dry ingredients together except the water (and frying oil)
2. Add a little water at a time until a batter forms. This batter will be similar to pancake batter.
3. Heat some oil in a frying pan. I like to add enough that half the dough will be in the oil at a time.
4. Grab a spoon and scoop a couple of tablespoons of batter into the heated pan. The bake should bubble and rise. Once it’s browned on one side, flip it over and allow it to cook on the other side.
5. Place the bake on a paper towel to remove the extra oil. Enjoy with powdered sugar, butter, jam, or plain.

• Saltfish

Ingredients

• ½ lb dried salted cod, soaked in cold water 4+ hours or overnight
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small tomato, chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 scallions, sliced
• 1 hot pepper, minced (habanero is preferred but I used a serrano since I had extra)

Black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Drain the saltfish then re-cover the saltfish in fresh water and boil 10-15 minutes until tender. Drain, cool slightly, and flake with a fork into small pieces, removing any skin or bones. It will smell like fish and have a white nasty film.
2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, cook until tender, 3-4 minutes.
3. Add the flaked saltfish and hot pepper if using. Cook a couple of minutes, then add the chopped tomato. Cook 5-6 minutes until the tomato breaks down into the fish.
4. Stir in the tomato paste and scallions. Mix well and adjust seasoning with black pepper. The fish has a ton of salt so you likely don’t need more.

Again, I hated this recipe.