These yummy Fish cakes are very popular and found everywhere that people gather.  Made with salted cod and sold outside of supermarkets, in restaurants or on stalls on the sides of the street. Served with a cocktail sauce or a mustard based pepper sauce they are always a welcoming snack

I have shared the recipe below, taken from Sally Miller’s “Bajan Cooking in a Nutshell” so you can try them at home!

Bajan Fish Cakes

• 1/2lb/250g boneless salt fish                      1/2 cup/4 oz/125ml water
• 1 small onion finely chopped                       1oz/30g butter
• 3 cloves garlic finely chopped                      1/4 cup/2-3 finely chopped spring onions
• 1 tablespoon pepper sauce (optional)         sprigs of parsley, thyme, marjoram
• 1 1/4 cups/6 oz/185g flour                             picked off the stems and finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons baking powder                           Fresh ground black pepper white pepper and
• 1 egg                                                                     salt to taste.
• 1/2 cup/4 floz/125ml milk

Method:

1. Place the salt fish in a saucepan with 6 cups of water. Bring to the boil for a few minutes, pour off the first set of water and bring it to the boil a second time in a fresh 4 cups of water for 1/2 hour.   Check the saltiness of the fish. It should be salty but not overly so.  If it is you may need to boil it up a third time.

2.  Shred the salt fish with your fingers or a fork.

3. Put all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir vigorously until a thick batter is formed.

4. Deep fry teaspoonfuls over a medium heat until golden brown,  Avoid the outside of the fish cakes burning before the middle is well cooked by carefully monitoring the heat.

5. Drain on absorbent Kitchen paper.

6. Serve hot with Marie Rose Sauce or yellow Bajan pepper sauce

Marie Rose Sauce is an English cocktail sauce, with a mayonnaise base that is commonly served with shrimp.

Sauce Marie Rose     

Whisk together:

1/2 cup/4floz/125ml mayonnaise
2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Caribbean pepper sauce – or tabasco sauce
1 teaspoon sugar

Careful with how much pepper sauce you add. Start with a little and work your way up to a spice level you can handle.

Enjoy this taste of Barbados!