Ackee Couscous Delight

Homemade Breakfast Meal: *Ackee Couscous Delight*

Have you ever eaten foods from the islands? If that's the case or not, then you should know that they simply have a flavor or taste of their own. The kind that resonates well with your buds - those of your tongue of course. So, today, I'm introducing you to a Caribbean cross-cultural meal that I've whipped up on my own, as being a vegetarian and/or vegan at times, I or should I say, we, have to get creative in the kitchen to stay enthusiastic about it all. Afterall, meat is sensational. Right? - ha. I'm sure it is, but we want to go easy with it, consuming it regularly can weigh in heavily and detrimentally too. Anyhoo, that's a whole other topic. So, let's leave it there. Of course being a creative thinker and all, is how I created this new mention of mine, "Ackee Couscous Delight" and delightfully light it is, not heavy at all. 

Ackee as it grows on tree

Ackee when it ripens and opens

  By the way, ackee is imported from the island of Jamaica. It's canned for preservation and  transport. However, fresh is always best if you can find it here in the USA or where ever it is that you live. Additionally, ackee is Jamaica's national fruit and is a yellow fruit in color. It's grown on a tree and is enclosed in a reddish yellow pod looking skin or outer layer. When opened naturally by nature, it either holds three or four ackees encased in slot like spaces or columns if I may say so, with a very shiny black seed at the top of it and reddish pink veins down the center of the subtle hued yellow ackee itself. It's truly divinely crafted by God himself and tasteful too, especially when mixed with saltfish, thus creating ackee + saltfish, Jamaica's national dish! Hmm, Yum!

Moving right along, I decided to whip up this ackee concoction of mine and to much of my delight, it was sweet to the taste. Yes, ackee has a very sweet sizzle to it and will get your taste buds jumping off the charts with praises of hallelujah and amen. :-) Well, without any further adieu, here it is, the recipe. So, go whip it up in your kitchen and be sure to come back and tell me how much you love it or like it, but nothing less. :-)

Here's what you'll need:

1 can of ackee (any brand of choice)
*I used the Grace brand.
1 box of "Near East" garlic couscous
1 heirloom tomato
1 quarter of red onion
1 stem of scallion
3 garlic buds
A pinch of cumin
A sprinkle of cayenne pepper
A dash of crackled black pepper
A few shakes of all purpose herbal seasoning
1 quarter cup of organic extra virgin 
olive oil or coconut oil

Preparation instructions:

First, bring about a cup and a half of water in a small pot or sauce pot to boil. Cut open the can of ackee. Strain the water reserve from it and then pour it all into the boiling pot of water. Cover and let it cook for about 10 to 15 minutes. Next, while the ackee is cooking, you'll want to quickly put on another small pot to cook the couscous. Couscous does not require washing, that has already been taken care of for you. How nice! :-) However, you can wash it if you feel the need to do so. After doing, either, pouring the couscous into the pot as it is or washing it first, along with its garlic pouch seasoning content that comes with it, you'll want to add some water to it that comes up to just about an inch or two (preferably two) above where the couscous content levels out in the pot.  Give it a nice stir to mix both the couscous and its seasoning together, then cover it and let it too cook for about 10 or so minutes. Thirdly, thoroughly wash and begin to finely dice or chop (whichever you prefer) your onions, garlic, tomato, and scallion. Afterwards, put a stir fry pan onto the stove to heat up and then add some oil of your choice to it, either olive or coconut. I used coconut oil. It gives it that nice Caribbean coco-nutty smell and flavor as it dissolves and that you may be going for and/or want to achieve, plus it's super rich in MCF, lauric, caprylic, and capric acids and antioxidant that are good for a great number of things, and I'm sure you've heard about all the coconut rave going on about the place; so, you know it's great stuff! Once the oil is nicely heated in the pan, put in all three chopped veggies, plus garlic and stir it around in the oil to release their flavors, for a true synergy that'll be sure to be operatic  like that of Mozart Symphony No. 9, lol :-). Anyhoo, last, you'll want to remove the ackee contents from the pot after it's cooked, then strain and wash it under some cold water. Next, pour it into the pan of veggies that's cooking. Give it a nice stir, blending it all together. Be sure to season it with some crackled pepper and a hint of cayenne pepper, cumin, and some all purpose herbal seasoning of your choice. No salt. I don't cook with it.  However, you can add a tiny pinch of Himalayan and/or sea salt of your choice if you feel the need to have it. Finally, remove the couscous from its pot after it's through cooking or just about done and stir fry it in the same pot that holds the ackee + veggies/garlic. Give it a nice stir, by continuously mixing it around in the pot until it get a tad bit crispy and clustered looking, and voila, you've got yourself some delicious tasting, ackee couscous delight! Enjoy! :-)

Nutritional Value of Ackee:

"Studies [1] done in the Biochemistry Department at UWI, Mona on the fatty acid composition of the arilli from ackee have found that 51-58% of the arillus dry weight consists of lipids. Linoleic, palmitic and stearic acids were the major fatty acids observed with linoleic accounting for over 55% of the total fatty acids. These results show that the purified oil from ackee has high nutritive value and makes an important contribution to the fatty acid intake of many Jamaicans."

"According to CFNI's (Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute) "Food Composition Tables for the English-speaking Caribbean" (1998) the contents of a 100g serving of "Ackee, canned, drained" are as follows: Water (76.7 g), Energy (625 kJ or 151 kcal), Protein (2.9 g), Fat (15.2 g), Saturated fat (0 g) Cholesterol (0 mg), Total carbohydrate (0.8 g), Dietary fibre (2.7 g), Calcium (35 mg), Iron (0.7 mg), Potassium (270 mg), Sodium (240 mg), Zinc (1 mg), vit A -, thiamin (0.03 mg), riboflavin (0.07 mg), niacin (1.1 mg), total folacin (41 microgram), vit C (30 mg)."

So, it's safe to say that ackee is one very highly nutritional national fruit of the island of Jamaica and that you'll definitely want to partake in all its sweet goodness! :-) You can find this savory delight at any Caribbean foods market and/or restaurant in your area. You'll want to Google to find one nearest you.

Resources:
http://wwwchem.uwimona.edu.jm/lectures/ackee.html
http://www.picsearch.com/Ackee-pictures.html