Jamaica: Roast Fish

Mi neglect unoo bad bad don’t it! I'm still in Jamaica, but the writing part of my brain is processing work now, so as I pointed out earlier, some things get secondary focus at times like this. Nonetheless, I thought I could share something that didn’t take as much thought and crafting, as I know the "Jamaica: Of white linens and street food" post will. It’s a delicate balance talking about the ways cultural xenophobia and ethnocentrism are manifested in eating habits among travelers, but once I think it through, it coming.

Till then though mek wi talk bout likkle fish; my favorite way of cooking and eating fish: roasting. One of the things that I miss most being in the Midwest is an affordable variety of fresh tropical seafood. Living in coastal cities for 28 of my 29 years thoroughly spoiled me where that is concerned and I am quite the seafood snob. Add to that not having a grill yet (thought I am thinking about it seriously for the fall) and it becomes clear that I don’t get to make and eat roast fish Jamaican style very much. But a Jamaica we deh, so you know seh likkle fish haffi run. As you know by now every thing about food: procurement, preparation, and consumption all contribute to the experience of eating. I still need to tell you about Lisa and I and our 441 pan chicken adventure don’t it? Soon man. Soon. Anyway, last Sunday after church Mommy and I decide we are going to head to the seaside at Port Morant  to look fish.  We stopped at two different spots and ended up with some parrot , snapper , and doctor fishes . Note the eyes on the snapper picture. In case you don't know how to tell when fish is fresh, its all in the eyes. They must be clear and not cloudy. Thank Lisa, or is it Mommy?

Now doctor is a tricky fish. Sometimes, people complain that it repeats (i.e. you keep burping it hours after eating it), or if it's old, its tough when it's cooked. It’s touch and go when you select doctor fish, but if you get a good young doctor fish, season it up right and roast it, it’s really really good. But like I said it’s touch and go, so every time we buy doctor we take the risk and this time it was no different. Whether your preference is doctor, snapper, parrot, or whatever for roast fish, my method is pretty much the same. So what I have for you today (in my best Creative Cooking voice) is a roast fish how to. Whatever you happen to pick out outa seaside, at the fish market, in Publix, Schnucks or HyVee, you can test it out this way. And never mind some of my descriptors, you hear. 

INGREDIENTS

4 whole white fish (snapper, doctor, etc.)

2-3 limes

4 stalks scallions 

1/2 small onion

4 cloves of garlic

1 smallish carrot

4 smallish okras

1/2 biggish scotch bonnet pepper (adjust or optional depending on your tolerance)

1 sweet pepper (bell pepper)

1 package chicken noodle mix (fish tea mix also works well if you have it)

Butter (optional)

Black pepper

Salt

METHOD

(di fixins - minus di garlic, I remembered it at the last minute)

1. Wash fish, and soak in water with the juice from the limes. This goes a long way to cutting some of the raw from the fish, especially if it isn’t super fresh.

(stuffing)

2. Chop scallions, onion, garlic, carrot, sweet and scotch bonnet peppers, slice okras and mix together with noodle packet and set aside.

3. Drain fish, rinse with just water once more and pat dry with paper towel.

4. Tear a piece of foil large enough to wrap the fish securely in (no drips) and put one fish on it.

5. Using a sharp knife, make a diagonal slice on either side of the fish. Do not cut through the middle bone. Depending on the size of the fish you can make two slices on either side. I only did one for the ones I did today.

6. Sprinkle both sides of the fish with salt and pepper to taste.

7. (Optional step) Spread a little (and I mean just a tups) butter on either side to spread the salt and pepper.

8. Open the belly and stuff it with the stuffing mix.

9. Sprinkle some of the stuffing mix on top and wrap the fish securely in the foil.

10. Repeat steps 4-9 for each fish.

11. Roast on a closed grill for 45 minutes to an hour. You can also bake in a 350-degree oven for the same amount of time.

We already know, I appreciate a flexible recipe that can take a good modification and this roast fish is no exception. One of the most amazing things to me about Jamaican and by extension Caribbean cooking is that it is a cuisine of necessity, invention, and convenience. That is, you cook whe u got inna di house.  Take toto (coconut bread) for example, it’s the Sunday dinner dessert that you make from trash. Follow me now, coconut trash from the coconut milk for the rice and peas, carrot trash from the carrot juice, likkle flour, sugar, one or so eggs, spices to taste and a it dat (the recipe in the Enid Donaldson book is the one I use). Nothing is wasted. One of my students made toto for her presentation on Caribbean cooking and brought it to share with the class. It wasn’t quite like it could be if it was made from freshly grated coconut, but the Bakers Shredded Coconut that she used still made a nice toto. Future post: “Cooking Jamaican When is not New York or Miami You Live”. I should be making a list of these promised future posts shouldn't I?

Back to di fish argument though, pretty much any mix of veggies can work for the stuffing; it all depends on what you have at home. There are few things that we always have on hand, like scallions, onions, and garlic. These combine to make the backbone of any good roast fish stuffing. You know if you’re cooking fish, you have to pick up some okra, and after that it’s pretty much whatever else you have on hand. You might also want to put into the belly a water cracker or two (depending on the size of the fish), and then put the stuffing on top of the cracker in the belly. Crackers can also go on top or under the fish, depending on what you like. It's what you have on hand, or in my case, what you remember is on hand.

So yesterday, we ate roast fish with macaroni salad and I’m almost sure by now you're wondering if it did eat good.  Hopefully this answers your question. 

Compliments to Alli B on the super super mango passion drink, the perfect company for a roast fish dinner on a summer evening. The only essential ingredient missing was Lisa. 
 

Till such time, I’ll be where the food is.