Bammy with Escovitch Vegetables

The story

Bammy with Escovitch Vegetables is a Jamaican starter with a clear sense of place. Bammy is a cassava flatbread with roots in Jamaica’s Indigenous Taíno food traditions. It remains strongly associated with fish dishes and can be soaked in milk or coconut milk before frying or baking. The recipe below keeps the defining ingredients and technique intact while giving practical metric quantities and enough detail for a home cook to judge texture, seasoning and doneness rather than simply follow a timer.

Ingredients

• 4 piece bammy cassava flatbreads
• 250 ml coconut milk
• 150 g red onionthinly sliced
• 120 g carrotjulienned
• 120 g red pepperthinly sliced
• 1 piece Scotch bonnet chillithinly sliced
• 180 ml white vinegar
• 80 ml water
• 8 piece allspice berries
• 15 g caster sugar
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 15 ml neutral oil

Method

1. Put vinegar, water, allspice, sugar and salt

   Put vinegar, water, allspice, sugar and salt in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add onion, carrot, pepper and Scotch bonnet and cook only 2 minutes so the vegetables stay crisp. Cool in the liquor.

   Tip: Drain vegetables before topping and add pickling liquor by the spoonful rather than pouring freely. Avoid: Over-soaking makes bammy fragile, boiling the vegetables removes crunch and excess vinegar on the bread turns it soggy.

2. Soak the bammies in coconut milk for

   Soak the bammies in coconut milk for 8–10 minutes, turning once. They should soften and absorb flavour without becoming fragile.

3. Heat a lightly oiled frying pan or

   Heat a lightly oiled frying pan or griddle. Cook the soaked bammies over medium heat for 3–4 minutes per side until the surfaces are toasted and the centres hot.

   Look for: the surfaces are toasted and the centres hot

4. Drain the escovitch vegetables, reserving the vinegar

   Drain the escovitch vegetables, reserving the vinegar liquor. Taste and adjust the balance of sweet, salt and acid.

5. Cut each bammy into wedges and top

   Cut each bammy into wedges and top with a modest amount of vegetables. Spoon over just enough pickling liquor to flavour without saturating the cassava bread.

6. Serve warm bammy against cool or room-temperature

   Serve warm bammy against cool or room-temperature escovitch vegetables for the strongest texture contrast.

   Look for: Bammy is browned outside and hot through; vegetables remain vivid and crisp.

Nutrition

per serving

Estimated from the listed ingredients and default serving size. Actual values vary with brands, trimming, absorption and cooking losses.