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This ultimate Jamaican breakfast is a hearty, plant-based meal that looks and tastes amazing. This breakfast is perfect for family gatherings or weekend brunches. It’s filling, full of textures, and offers a variety of flavors, from crispy dumplings to savory ackee and “salt fish.”
The dish uses hearts of palm in place of the traditional salt fish, making it a vegan twist on the classic. The hearts of palm have a similar texture to fish, giving the dish that “seafood” feel without any animal products. Kale adds a nutritious boost to the dish, while ripe plantains bring a sweet contrast when fried to perfection.
This meal takes a bit of time to prepare, especially with the resting time for the dumplings, but it’s worth it for the depth of flavor. The dumplings, fried to a crispy golden brown, pair wonderfully with the garlicky greens and ackee. Whether you’re making it for a special occasion or simply want to enjoy a comforting breakfast on the weekend, this dish is sure to impress.
This recipe is from Denai Moore’s Plentiful, offering a vegan twist on a traditional Jamaican breakfast.
Read more: Need A Protein-Packed Vegan Breakfast? Try This Scrambled Tofu Burrito
The ultimate Jamaican breakfast
Ingredients
FOR THE DUMPLINGS
- 400 g self-raising flour or 4 cups all-purpose flour plus 3½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoons light brown soft sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon vegan block butter
- 200 ml water
- Vegetable oil for frying
FOR THE ACKEE AND ‘SALT FISH’
- 2–3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 red onion diced
- 1 tomato diced
- 1 Scotch bonnet deseeded and chopped
- 1 spring onion scallion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves chopped
- 350 g kale
- Splash of water
- 4 sprigs of thyme leaves chopped
- 210 g hearts of palm roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon vegan fish sauce
- Splash of water
- 500 g tin of ackee rinsed and drained
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Your favourite hot sauce to serve
FOR THE GARLICKY GREENS
- 1 tablespoon vegan block butter
- 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 350 g spinach
FOR THE FRIED PLANTAINS
- 2 ripe plantains peeled and sliced diagonally into 8 pieces
- Olive or vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- First make the dumplings. Put the flour, sugar and salt (and baking powder if using all-purpose flour) into a bowl with the butter. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the dry ingredients. Add the water to bring it together, then knead in the bowl until you have a smooth dough. Cover with cling film (plastic wrap) and leave to rest for 1 hour. This will allow the gluten to fully hydrate and give you the fluffiest dumplings. Once rested, separate the dough into eight pieces, then form into balls by rolling in your hands. Set back in the bowl.
- Next prepare the ackee and ‘salt fish’. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat. Sweat the onion for 2–3 minutes with a pinch of salt until softened, then add the tomato, Scotch bonnet, spring onion, garlic and thyme. Fry for a few more minutes until wonderfully fragrant. Now add the heart of palm and season with the vegan fish sauce. Fry for another minute. Add a splash of water to the pan to deglaze and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the ackee, cover with a lid and steam for 5 minutes.
- For the plantains, in a separate frying pan, heat enough oil to coat over a medium heat and fry the plantain slices for 3–4 minutes until golden, flipping to cook each side.
- Now make the garlicky greens. Heat the butter in a frying pan and once melted fry the garlic until fragrant. Add the kale and a splash of water. Season with salt and pepper, cover and steam for 2 minutes. Next add the spinach, put the lid back on and cook until just wilted. Check for seasoning.
- Heat 2.5 cm (1 inch) of oil in a deep-sided heavy-bottomed frying pan over a medium heat. Test the temperature by using a wooden spoon – if lots of bubbles appear around it immediately, it’s ready to go. Fry the dumplings for 3–4 minutes – be careful, if they are browning too quickly, the temperature of the oil is too high.
- Put a couple of fried dumplings, some plantains and garlicky greens on each plate. Finally, add the ackee and ‘salt fish’ in the middle. Serve with your favourite hot sauce and enjoy!
This recipe was republished with permission from Plentiful by Denai Moore (Hardie Grant, £24), Photography © Yuki Sugiura
Read more: How To Make Vegan Shakshuka
