Happy Independence Day St Lucia!

The date was Thursday, February 22nd, 1979. As the clocks all over St. Lucia struck midnight, the red, white, and blue Union Jack was lowered for the last time, and the blue, yellow, black and white of St. Lucia's very own flag was raised for the very first time. Then the sweet strains of the National Anthem were heard throughout the land, celebrating the birth of our new nation.

Anyone from St Lucia will tell you this: we can travel all over the world, but there is no other place like sweet home St lucia. Our majestic Pitons, our world class Rodney Bay Marina, our historical Fort Rodney, the world's only drive-in volcano... St Lucia is a paradise. St Lucia is ingrained in us. We all must come back, be it through the trinkets found in our homes, the flags proudly displayed, the culture displayed at our gatherings, or the food.... the food... the heavenly food!

That leads me to today's post. St Lucia's national dish: Green Fig (banana) and Saltfish (salted cod). For a long time, bananas were the island's main export. This dish was one of many created in order to use the abundance of bananas on the island. So here we go:

Green Fig and Saltfish

1 hand of green bananas  
1 1/2 lb of saltfish, preferrably boneless
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 carrot, grated
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
1 pinch salt
1/2 tbsp. oil
1/3 -1/2 cup water



Score each banana with a knife down the back seam. Place in a pot of water and add 1/2 tbsp of oil and a pinch of salt. Boil until the skin of the bananas change colour and the bananas are tender. This usually takes about 20 minutes.

Remove from heat. Leave the bananas in the water until ready to serve. This keeps them soft.

Boil your saltfish for about 20 minutes. Change the water, then boil again for 15 minutes more. Drain. Clean the saltfish and break it up into small pieces. If you are not using boneless saltfish, this is the time to remove the bones.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Sauté the onion and garlic on medium heat until translucent. Add the carrot, tomatoes, and peppers. Mix and cook for 3 minutes. Add the saltfish and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the water and let simmer for an additional 2 minutes.

Peel the skins off the bananas and arrange them on the serving dishes. Spoon the saltfish over the green bananas.

Serve with a cucumber salad or coleslaw.



Hope you enjoy this taste of St Lucia!

Ash :)