St. Vincent & Grenadines

 Welcome to St. Vincent & Grenadines!  It's summer, well, almost, so a Caribbean country sounded great.  That and I FINALLY found breadfruit!  This country is apparently where the "rich and famous" play, including the British royals.  There is a volcano there, La Soufriere, which was dormant for over 40 years, and just erupted in 2021.  "Pirates of the Caribbean" was filmed here as well.  And the pictures are beautiful!  According to Google, the population of St. Vincent & Grenadines is 100,500 people and the capital is Kingstown.  Their national dish is...

Roasted Breadfruit and Fried Jackfish

Like I said earlier, finding breadfruit was HARD.  I've been looking for months (literally) and finally found some frozen at an Asian food store.  I bought a lot of it (there are several more countries coming up that include breadfruit) and prayed we liked it.  Breadfruit is supposed to taste like bread when you roast it or bake it - we were looking forward to seeing (or smelling) if that was true.  It also has a low glycemic index, and is high in fiber - who knew!  I didn't even try to find jackfish - it's a fish native to the area.  A firm cod was the suggested substitution.  So, I found the recipe and went to work!  Here's what I did.

ROASTED BREADFRUIT AND FRIED JACKFISH

1 breadfruit (or slices of breadfruit, like I had)

For the fish:

1 good-sized jackfish, filleted (or two cod filets)

Juice of 1 lemon

Enough flour to coat the fish fillets

A good pinch each of garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme, salt and pepper

Coconut oil for frying

For the sauce:

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 medium onion, chopped finely

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1/2 tsp thyme

1 medium ripe tomato, sliced

12g butter

1 tsp tomato puree

1 cup water

Salt and pepper, to taste

1. 1.  Wrap the breadfruit in foil and roast at 420 degrees F for one hour, or until soft. 
2. 2. After the breadfruit has been in the oven for about an hour, start preparing the fish by pouring the lemon juice over the fillets and leaving it to marinate for 15 minutes.
3. 3. While the fish is marinating, make the sauce.
4. 4.  Fry the onion, garlic, thyme and tomato in 1 tbsp coconut oil, until softened. 
5. 5.  Add the butter and stir until melted. 
6. 6.  Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and simmer until thickened.
7. 7.  Once the fish is marinated, mix all the seasonings into the flour, and rinse and pat dry the fish.
8. 8.  Coat the fish on both sides with the flour mixture, removing any excess.
9. 9. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat until very hot but not smoking.
10. 10. Fry the fish for approximately 4 minutes on each side until golden brown.
11. 11. In a skillet, melt 3 tbsp of coconut oil.
12. 12. Remove the breadfruit from the oven, and transfer to the skillet of coconut oil, and fry both sides until slightly crispy.
13. 13. Salt the breadfruit, and serve together with the fish, with the sauce poured over both.
14. 14. Enjoy!

(Source: Roasted Breadfruit and Fried Jackfish)

The verdict?  IT SMELLED LIKE BREAD!  And the smell started early on.  The breadfruit was very much like an unsweet plantain or a really done potato.  The first couple bites were ok, but as we continued to eat it, the better and better it got.  Salt helped a lot, and it was really tasty with the sauce.  The fish wasn't anything special.  I didn't think that the breading added much, but Handsome Husband said he liked it with the breading.  To each their own, I guess.  I do wonder if jackfish has its own unique taste - may have to go to St. Vincent & Grenadines to find out!

ME

Taste of Roasted Breadfruit and Fried Jackfish (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 7

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 6

 

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Roasted Breadfruit and Fried Jackfish (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 7

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 5

Hope you join us next time next door in Grenada!