Saint Vincent's national dish — breadfruit roasted whole over an open fire until the skin chars and the inside turns smoky and tender, served with jackfish fried or stewed in onion and tomato.
Roasted breadfruit and jackfish is the national dish of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, pairing the national fruit (roasted over fire) with the everyday reef fish.
Eat roasted breadfruit and jackfish together — the breadfruit is smoky and charred outside, dense, starchy, and faintly sweet within, the jackfish savory in its onion-tomato stew. Bite: the fire-roasting gives the breadfruit a deep smokiness no boiling can, the fish fresh and clean, lime and avocado cooling it. The national plate of Saint Vincent — fruit and catch, cooked over fire.
Roasting the breadfruit whole over fire chars the skin and steams the inside in its own moisture, giving a smoky depth boiling can't match. The fish is cooked separately in a tomato-onion stew so it stays moist; the smoky-starchy fruit and savory fish are the classic pairing.
Variations
With salt cod instead of jackfish. With fried fish. Breadfruit boiled instead of roasted. With coconut in the stew. With more pepper. With a side of provisions.
On the Palate
Where Roasted Breadfruit and Jackfish sits in the Vincentian flavor cloud
Roast the whole breadfruit right over open flame until the skin chars black — that steams the inside in its own moisture and gives a smoky depth that boiling simply can't match.
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · 35 min active + 40 min waiting
- 146 min
Roast 1 whole breadfruit directly over an open flame (or in a 220°C oven), turning, until the skin is charred black and the inside is tender, 45 min.
Watch outThe skin should blister and blacken all over and a skewer slides into the center easily — that's when the inside has steamed tender.
- 28 min
Soak/clean 600 g jackfish (or salt cod); season with lime, garlic, and thyme.
- 35 min
Fry 1 chopped onion, sweet pepper, and tomato in oil.
- 412 min
Add the fish and a little water; stew (or fry) 12 min until cooked.
Watch outThe fish is done the moment it turns opaque and flakes; 12 min is plenty, longer and it dries.
- 54 min
Peel the charred breadfruit and cut the smoky flesh into wedges.
Watch outPeel back the charred skin to reveal creamy smoke-scented flesh; cut it into wedges.
- 62 min
Season the breadfruit with a little oil, salt, and pepper.
- 72 min
Plate the breadfruit wedges with the stewed jackfish over.
- 82 min
Serve hot with avocado and lime.
