Ackee Plantain Cups

Plantain Cups

·       2 Green Plantains

·       Vegetable Oil, for frying

·       Sea Salt, to taste

1. Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Peel the plantains and slice them into thick rounds (about 3 to 4 chunks depending on size of the plantain). 
2. Fry the plantain chunks until they are golden brown and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes.
3. While the plantains are still warm, place one piece of plantain into a lime squeezer or plantain press and press firmly but gently to shape them into cups without breaking and set aside.

Ackee

·       440ml Can Ackee drained

·       1/2 med Onion finely chopped

·       1/4 Orange Bell Pepper finely chopped

·       1/4 Red Bell Pepper finely chopped

·       1 sm Tomato sliced into thin wedges

·       3 sprigs Fresh Thyme

·       1 Scotch Bonnet Pepper

·       1/4 tsp Black Pepper more or less to taste

·       2 tbsp Vegetable Oil

Prep Ackee

Remove ackee from the can and drain off liquid using a strainer. Then, rinse with cool water, drain again then set aside. Bring to a boil a pot of water. Add ackee, let sit for about 3 minutes or until ackee starts to float, then drain and set aside.

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion, bell peppers, tomatoes, thyme, scotch bonnet pepper and sauté until almost tender and aromatic, about 5 minutes.
2. Gently fold in the ackee, and cook until the ackee is fully heated through. Season with black pepper to taste.
3. Spoon the ackee filling into the plantain cups, filling each cup generously. Serve while warm, and enjoy!

Jerk Marinade

INGREDIENTS

·      1 med Onion chopped in quarters

·      5 stalks Escallion cut in half

·      1 bunch Thyme hard stems removed

·      1 head Garlic 12 – 15 cloves

·      2 Scotch Bonnet Peppers more or less, depending on preference

·      1 pinch Ginger (23g)

·      10 Whole Pimento Seeds allspice berries

·      2 tsp Smoked Paprika

·      1 tsp Ground Cinnamon

·      1 tsp Ground Nutmeg or freshly grated

·      1/4 tsp Ground Allspice

·      1/8 tsp Ground Cloves

·      2 tbsp Soy Sauce

·      1/2 tbsp Browning 

·      1 tbsp Honey

·      2 tbsp Brown Sugar

·      Juice from 1/2 Lime optional

·      Juice from 1/2 Lemon optional

·      Juice from 1/2 Orange optional

INSTRUCTIONS

1.     Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender. Pulse until finely chopped, pureed, or desired texture is reached.

2.     Store in an airtight glass jar in the coldest part of your refrigerator. Alternatively, you can freeze in ice cube trays and transfer to a freezer bag once frozen.