Cou-cou and flying fish
Barbados’s national dish: cou-cou, a cornmeal polenta with okra, and flying fish stewed in a spiced tomato sauce.
Ingredients
- 8 flying fish fillets (or red mullet, large sardines or mackerel)
- Juice of 1 lime
- Seasoning: spring onion, thyme, garlic, parsley and chilli
- 1 onion, 2 tomatoes and 1 pepper
- 250 g cornmeal
- 8 okra pods
- 50 g butter
- Salt
How to make it at home
- Marinate the fish with the lime, the pounded seasoning and salt for 30 minutes.
- Cook the sliced okra in 1 litre of salted water for 10 minutes; keep the water.
- Add the cornmeal to the okra water a little at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon until it’s firm and comes away from the pan. Add the butter.
- Fry the onion, tomato and pepper, lay the fish on top and cook covered for 8 minutes.
- Serve the cou-cou shaped into a dome with the fish and its sauce.
The trick: Stir the cou-cou vigorously: it needs to be smooth, with no lumps.