Saltfish Fritters

The story

Saltfish Fritters is a Jamaican starter with a clear sense of place. Saltfish fritters, often called stamp and go in Jamaica, combine preserved cod with a seasoned batter and are a longstanding snack and breakfast food. 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

• 250 g salt codsoaked and desalted
• 220 g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 260 ml water
• 80 g Spring onionsfinely sliced
• 120 g tomatoseeded and diced
• 2 tsp fresh thymeleaves
• 0.5 piece Scotch bonnet chillifinely minced
• 0.5 tsp black pepper
• 800 ml neutral frying oil

Method

1. Soak salt cod in cold water for

   Soak salt cod in cold water for several hours or overnight, changing the water, then simmer 10 minutes. Drain, cool, flake and taste for salt before seasoning anything else.

   Tip: Always taste the cooked saltfish before adding any salt to the batter. Avoid: Poorly desalted fish can make the whole batch inedible, and thin batter drinks oil rather than puffing.

2. Whisk flour and baking powder with water

   Whisk flour and baking powder with water into a thick dropping batter. Fold in saltfish, spring onions, tomato, thyme, Scotch bonnet and black pepper.

3. Rest the batter 10 minutes

   Rest the batter 10 minutes. It should fall from a spoon slowly; if it runs like pancake batter, add a spoonful more flour.

4. Heat oil to 175°C

   Heat oil to 175°C. Drop heaped tablespoons of batter into the oil, leaving space for expansion.

5. Fry 3–4 minutes, turning once or twice,

   Fry 3–4 minutes, turning once or twice, until deep golden and crisp. The centres should feel light, not wet or doughy.

   Look for: deep golden and crisp

6. Drain on a rack and serve immediately

   Drain on a rack and serve immediately with lime and pepper sauce.

   Look for: Fritters are golden all over, feel light when lifted and have no wet floury centre when split.

Nutrition

per serving

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