Accra

Easy·30 min active + 15 min resting

Saltfish fritters — soaked, flaked salt cod folded into a seasoned flour batter with onion, chive, and scotch bonnet, then spooned into hot oil and fried into crisp golden puffs.

Accra (saltfish fritters) are an Afro-Caribbean snack found across the islands, the name from a West African word; a Saint Lucian street and breakfast staple.

Bite a hot accra and the crisp golden shell gives way to a soft, savory inside flecked with salt cod, onion, and herbs. Bite: shatteringly crisp outside, fluffy within, the saltfish savory and a little salty, the scotch bonnet a gentle heat, the chive fresh. Eaten hot with pepper sauce — the everyday Saint Lucian fritter.

Baking powder makes the batter puff in the hot oil into a light fritter; resting hydrates the flour for a better rise. The flaked saltfish seasons the batter from within (no added salt needed), and a hot oil temperature crisps the outside before the inside overcooks.

Variations

With pumpkin (pumpkin fritters). With more pepper. With a cornmeal batter. Made tiny for canapés. With chopped tomato. Served with a tamarind dip.

On the Palate

Where Accra sits in the Saint Lucian flavor cloud

Cook to learn

Hot oil at 180°C is the make-or-break: it must crisp and puff the outside fast before the inside overcooks, and the baking powder plus a 15-min rest is what makes the batter balloon into a light fritter.

Techniques

Deep Frying

Ingredients

Serves 5

How it's made

8 steps · 30 min active + 15 min waiting

1
12 min
Soak 250 g salt cod overnight; boil briefly, then flake finely.
2
4 min
Make a batter from 200 g flour, 1 tsp baking powder, and water to a thick drop consistency.
Watch out
The batter should drop thickly off the spoon in a slow blob, not pour like a liquid.
3
3 min
Fold in the flaked saltfish, 1 finely chopped onion, chive, thyme, and a little scotch bonnet.
4
1 min
Season with black pepper (the fish provides salt).
5
15 min
Rest the batter 15 min.
6
5 min
Heat oil to 180°C.
Watch out
Test the heat with a drop of batter — it should bubble up and float within a second or two.
7
4 min
Drop spoonfuls of batter into the oil and fry 3-4 min until golden and puffed.
Watch out
Golden all over and visibly puffed means done; pale means the oil dropped too low.
8
1 min
Drain and serve hot with pepper sauce.