Recipe from Code Noir by Lelani Lewis
This is the national pride of Grenada, my father’s homeland. My aunts often served the souse for brunch. We would fill the bakes with the souse and large ripe “pears,” the Caribbean term for avocados, creating a sandwich.
FOR THE BAKES
2¼ cups self-rising flour, plus more for dusting
1½ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. fine salt
¾ tsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. plus 1½ tsp. unsalted butter
2 cups vegetable oil
FOR THE SOUSE
5 oz. boneless, skinless dried salt cod
1 Tbsp. virgin (unrefined) coconut oil, melted
2 scallions, finely chopped
2 medium tomatoes, cored and finely chopped
1 mini or Persian cucumber, finely chopped
½ medium green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
½ medium red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
½ medium yellow bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
½ small Madame Jeanette or Scotch bonnet chile (see headnote), finely chopped
½ medium white onion, finely chopped
Fine salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 ripe medium avocado, sliced
Start by preparing the bakes: mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the butter and use your fingers to create a crumbly dough. While kneading, add about ⅔ cup (150 milliliters) of water. Sprinkle some self-rising flour or regular flour onto a workspace and knead the dough until smooth. Roll it out until it’s about 0.8 inches (2 centimeters) thick. Using a glass, cut out 4 to 5 circles of approximately 3 to 3 ½ inches (8 to 9 centimeters) in diameter. Cover them with a damp kitchen towel and let them rest for 30 minutes.
Place the saltfish in a pot and cover with water. Boil for 20 minutes, using a slotted spoon to remove any salty foam that rises to the surface. Rinse the fish and taste it. It should be salty, but not inedibly so. If it’s too salty, put it back in the pot with fresh water and boil for another 5 minutes. Rinse the fish again and set it aside.
Dice the bell peppers, scallions, onion, cucumber, Madame Jeanette chili pepper, and tomatoes, then mix them together in a bowl. After allowing it to cool, pull the fish apart with your fingers and add it to the mix. Stir in the coconut oil and season with pepper and, if necessary, a little salt. Heat the oil in a deep pan until it reaches approximately 340°F (170°C) (use a kitchen thermometer or drop a piece of bread or the edge of a wooden spoon into the oil. If it immediately bubbles, the oil is hot enough). Fry the bakes for about 3 minutes on each side, until they are golden brown. Remove from the pan and let drain on paper towels.
Slice open the bakes and fill them with the saltfish souse and avocado slices.
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