Jamaican Roasted Ackee Salad

This roasted ackee salad is plant based making it perfect for vegans. A combination of low carb/weight loss ingredients including - lettuce, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and pear (avocado) with an optional dressing.

You guys should know by now that I'm not afraid of trying something new. I love exploring new recipes, whether it's revamping a classic dish or making some fusion food.

We all know that Jamaica's national dish is Ackee and Saltfish if you don't, well you do now.

I wanted to do something that was vegan and included using some ackee. This salad is strictly for my vegans or anyone who adores meatless recipes.

I know eating healthy, especially from a Caribbean standpoint can be quite daunting. There's this fear that going low carb or changing your eating habits will strip you of your cultural identity.

This couldn't be further from the truth, I've spoken about the importance of embracing healthy eating habits and the associated health risks a few times - see my Unrefined Saltfish post and my Caribbean Foodie 101 post to learn how about my stance.

Why ackee salad?

Good question! Simply put, I want to show you, that you can uphold your culture and still loose weight while focusing on better eating habits.

Potato salad is nice, but it's not the best option if you are looking to loose weight or eat less calories.

This ackee salad has some similar vegetables, so you won't feel out of your depth or too much outside of your comfort zone.

You get a nice crunch from the iceberg lettuce, cucumber and the bell peppers and then you get the juiciness from the sweet cherry tomatoes and omega fats (HDL - our good cholesterol) from pear (avocado).

The ackee is roasted because it yields more flavour from the roasting process. If you want your fruit/vegetables to taste a millions times better then roasting/grilling will give you that depth in flavour (don't skip this step).

The steps

• Pre-heat oven to 180c/356f/gas mark 4.
• Line a baking tray with parchment paper and coat with some olive oil and set aside.
• Carefully pour the canned ackee into a colander then wash it off with cold water to rid the excess saltiness.
• Place the ackee on the lined baking tray and spread it out so it doesn't overcrowd.
• Roast the ackee in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until the ackee is slightly golden.
• Once the ackee is roasted simply set aside to cool.
• Place the lettuce, bell peppers cucumber, tomatoes and pear (avocado) in a large bowl and toss together.
• Portion the salad into bowls (evenly) then carefully place the ackee on the salad bed.
• Combine the ingredients for the dressing and mix together.
• Drizzle the dressing over the salad.

Notes and tips

• Head to a Caribbean grocery store if you want to get hold of some canned ackee.
• Add the roasted ackee once you have portioned the salad because the ackee is less lightly to break up (canned ackee is more fragile than fresh ackee).
• Canned ackee sits in salted water so make sure you thoroughly wash off your ackee to rid the saltiness.
• When washing off the ackee use a colander to drain off the salted water and gently wash the ackee so it doesn't break up.
• If you live in the Caribbean, chances are you can get hold of fresh ackee, just make sure to parboil before roasting it.
• Fresh ackee tastes a millions times better then the canned stuff and is A LOT firmer too.
• Feel free to add any additional ingredients to your salad if you want to.

Other low carb Caribbean recipes to try

• Caribbean Saltfish Salad
• Caribbean Detox Soup (Vegan)
• Gungo Peas Salad (Vegan)
• Okra Rice (Vegan)
• Saltfish Buljol
• Boiled Plantain and Kale
• Vegan Bean Salad (Vegan)

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