| For those with a taste for spice, food from Jamaica | | | | 1 tsp salt |
| will be right up your alley! We love to cook with pepper, | | | | 1 1/2 tsp black pepper |
| and it is liberally used in many of our Jamaican dishes. | | | | 1 teaspoon crushed pimento (allspice) grains |
| Escoveitched fish is one of these. You can tone it | | | | Oil for deep frying |
| down to suit your palate, but quite frankly, if there's no | | | | Escoveitch Marinade |
| pepper, you'll have to call it something else, as it won't | | | | 1 cup water |
| be true escoveitch! | | | | 1 cup vinegar |
| The word escoveitch comes originally from the | | | | 2 tsp sugar |
| Spanish word "escabeche", which means pickled. The | | | | 1 large/2 medium onions, sliced into rings |
| dish is thought to have been introduced into Jamaica | | | | 1 carrot, sliced into strips |
| when Spanish settlers came to the island in the early | | | | 1 chocho, peeled and cut into strips (Substitute sweet |
| 16th century. Whole or sliced fish is fried and then | | | | pepper or more carrot if chocho not available) |
| covered with a spicy marinade, which acts as a | | | | 4 whole pimento grains |
| natural preservative. It was a convenient dish in the | | | | Sliced hot pepper to taste |
| days before electricity, as it could be left for over a | | | | Make diagonal slashes in fish. Mix together the salt, |
| day without refrigeration. | | | | black pepper and crushed pimento. Place a little of this |
| It is traditionally eaten with bammy, which is the oldest | | | | mixture inside each slash. If using whole fish, rub the |
| prepared food in Jamaica. Made from cassava, | | | | mixture inside the fish itself. If using sliced fish, rub the |
| bammy was eaten by the Tainos, the people who | | | | mixture over each slice. |
| Columbus found when he landed in Jamaica. Other | | | | Dust the fish with the seasoned flour, and deep fry in |
| side dishes which go well with escoveitched fish are | | | | hot oil until golden brown. Set aside. |
| festival (a dumpling made with cornmeal, flour, sugar | | | | Place all the ingredients for the marinade in a pot, and |
| and salt), johnny cakes (fried flour dumplings), roasted | | | | bring to a boil. Boil for about half a minute. Don't boil too |
| breadfruit, or hard-dough bread. | | | | long or vegetables will lose their crunch. Pour the |
| Here's a recipe for Escoveitched Fish, a | | | | marinade over the fish. |
| mouthwatering Jamaican dish. | | | | Your escoveitch fish is ready! Eat it right away, or wait |
| Ingredients | | | | until the next day. No need to refrigerate, unless you |
| 2 lbs fresh fish, whole or sliced | | | | plan to keep it longer than a day (which will be hard to |
| 1/4 cup flour, with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper | | | | do, as it looks and smells so delicious). |
| added | | | | |