Bajan Steamed Flying Fish with Okra Cou-Cou

⏱ 55 min · Serves 4

Barbados on a plate: tender fillets steamed in a fragrant tomato, thyme and hot pepper gravy, spooned over silky cornmeal and okra cou-cou. If flying fish is hard to find, any small firm white fillet works beautifully.

Per serving: 585 kcal · 41.0g protein · 62.0g carbs · 19.0g fat

Ingredients

• 8 small flying fish fillets (about 700g), or 4 sea bream/tilapia fillets
• 2 tbsp Bajan green seasoning (or blend of parsley, thyme, spring onion, garlic, lime juice)
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 4 ripe tomatoes, chopped (or 400g tin chopped tomatoes)
• 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1/2 scotch bonnet, whole or finely chopped to taste
• 1 tsp Bajan pepper sauce or hot sauce
• 150ml water or fish stock
• 1 tbsp butter
• Salt and black pepper
• For the cou-cou:
• 250g fine yellow cornmeal
• 250g okra, trimmed and sliced into 1cm rounds
• 1.2 litres water
• 1 tsp salt
• 30g butter, plus extra to finish
• 1 spring onion, chopped

Method

1. Rub the fish with lime juice, rinse, then pat dry and coat with the green seasoning. Season with salt and pepper and chill for 15 minutes.
2. Make the okra water: simmer the okra, spring onion and salt in the 1.2 litres of water for 10 minutes, until soft. Lift out half the okra with a slotted spoon and set aside; keep the liquid at a bare simmer.
3. Whisk the cornmeal with 300ml of the hot okra water in a bowl to a smooth slurry, then pour it back into the pan, stirring hard with a wooden spoon (a cou-cou stick if you have one).
4. Cook the cou-cou over low heat for 15–20 minutes, stirring and folding constantly and adding splashes of hot water if it stiffens too fast. It's ready when it pulls cleanly from the side of the pan. Beat in the butter and reserved okra, then keep warm, covered.
5. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a wide lidded pan and soften the onion, garlic and red pepper for 6–7 minutes.
6. Add the tomatoes, ketchup, thyme, scotch bonnet, pepper sauce and water. Simmer 10 minutes until saucy, then taste and season.
7. Lay the fillets into the gravy, spoon a little over the top, cover and steam gently for 6–8 minutes until just cooked through. Stir the butter into the gravy off the heat.
8. Wet a small bowl, pack it with cou-cou, and turn out onto each plate. Top with fish, ladle over plenty of gravy and serve with lime wedges.