Saltfish fritters, or accra as it’s otherwise known, is pretty much eaten on almost every Caribbean island. They are the perfect starter, snack, side dish, buffet accompaniment and they won’t disappoint whenever they are on the table!
As always, each island's recipe differs slightly. In Trinidad & Tobago they tend to add a little cumin to theirs but wherever you go, they are just delicious! This is just a simple recipe but of course, it's still full of flavour!
Tips
- Bring the saltfish up to the boil before covering it and leaving it to soak in the hot water ideally overnight. Pour the water out in the morning and then bring it up to the boil just one more time before rinsing it. This is the 'washed' saltfish.
- The most important tip I would give would be to pick nice chunky flakes of fish away from the bone and skin! To me there’s nothing more disappointing than biting into a saltfish fritter without being able to feel like I'm eating chunks of saltfish! I'd go for chunks that are about the size of a small garlic clove. When mixing it, be sure that you don't over mix the batter so that your chunks don’t break down.
- Depending on the brand of saltfish it may or may not have that salty taste after its been prepared. I always tend to make up my batter without salt and then do a taster to see if more salt should be added.
Feel free to freeze any saltfish that you don’t use to save you time when making your next batch! :)
Ingredients
275g washed & picked salted fish
225g plain flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of Myristica's Everyday Caribbean Seasoning
½ teaspoon of paprika
¼ teaspoon of onion powder
A pinch of cracked black pepper
A pinch of picked thyme leaves
20g spring onions, sliced
20g of peppers, chopped small (a mix of red and green are my favourite)
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 small egg, whisked
225ml milk
To taste - a little chopped scotch bonnet pepper or a few dashes of your favourite scotch bonnet based hot sauce
Method
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Combine all the flour, baking powder, Myristica's everyday Caribbean seasoning, paprika, onion powder, black pepper together and give it a good mix
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Add all over ingredients (including the scotch bonnet if you are adding it) to the flour and mix again
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Add all of the egg and add the milk gradually to sight. You want the texture to be a little thicker than natural yogurt; not too runny but also not like a stiff paste. Remember - Don’t over mix it as you don’t want to break up those lovely saltfish chunks
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Heat your oil to 170c
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Begin by doing a tester, add about a teaspoon of mix into the hot oil and fry for about 2 - 3 minutes until golden brown on both sides. You may need to flip them over.
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Drain on kitchen paper to remove any excess oil
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Taste them to see if you should add anymore salt
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Adjust the seasoning if necessary and then continue to fry teaspoon sized amounts in batches.
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Drain off on kitchen paper as soon as they come out of the fryer and serve!
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