Boil and Fry Plantain and Salt Fish (Salted Cod)

This poor post has been in draft for a quite a while now. I am finally getting back into blogging after a long hiatus. I took some time off to experience all the wonderful things the summer and fall had to offer including a visit from my mother. I have mentioned in previous posts that the kitchen is usually my Dad’s domain. After a week of being with me and dining on quinoa, vegetable wraps and green smoothies, my Mother declared that she needed “real food” so I stood back and let her take control of the kitchen. It was so wonderful to come home from work to a freshly made meal almost every day.  I ate to my heart’s content. I was in food heaven, my waistline on the other hand…

One of the things my Mother enjoyed cooking was ground provision especially those that are not available in Botswana. We always had a supply of cassava, yellow and green plantain, edo, sweet potato etc. The ground provision was usually boiled or baked and served as the starch for most meals. On this one particular day, she took it up a notch and prepared a boil and fry. This is when you first boil the provision then fry them with onions, garlic and seasoning. To make it a complete meal, she added salt fish. The recipe is below:

Ingredients

2 ripe plantains

12 oz salted cod

1 large tomato

3 cloves garlic

2 chives or spring onions (she used chives because I had them growing in my little herb garden)

½ large onion chopped

1 thyme leaf

½ green pepper chopped

2 T olive oil for frying

Black pepper to taste

Directions

To desalt the cod fish, place in a bowl and pour hot water over the fish and let soak overnight. 

The next morning pour out water and rinse. Tear off a piece of the fish and taste it for desired saltiness. If it is still very salty boil for about 10 minutes to remove excess salt. I usually do not have to take this step after soaking overnight. Drain off the water and use your fingers to shred the fish into small pieces.

Wash plantains, cut off the ends and cut in half. Boil for about 15 minutes, drain off water and set aside.

Chop onions, garlic, scallions, tomato, green pepper, thyme and hot pepper

Heat oil in a skillet, add onions and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes

Add tomatoes, thyme and black pepper, sauté for 5 minutes

Add green peppers

Add fish and sauté for another 5 minutes

While fish is cooking, remove plantain from skin and cut in half lengthwise

Add plantains to pan and gently combine all the ingredients so that the plantain is coated with the fish, onions, tomatoes etc. 

Let cook for another 5 minutes, remove from heat, sprinkle with chives and enjoy!

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