Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Trini Tuesday-Buljol

I am bereft of inspiration today. It has been cold and rainy for days on end and I want to know where the heck Spring went. It's been over a year since I posted anything about Trinidad so I went digging back into the archives and so today you're getting a recipe from Trinidad that's cheap, easy and oh so yummy. I'm reposting and tweaking it a bit.


buljol

Buljol:
From the French patois, "Brûlê Gueule," or "burn mouth," a mixture of shredded, de-salted codfish, oil, onion, tomatoes, black, hot and/or sweet peppers, etc. Apparently the original recipe called for really hot peppers -- hence the name "burn mouth."
-- From Cote Ci, Cote La: Trinidad & Tobago Dictionary, by John Mendes, © 1986.

This is a recipe that everyone makes but everyone makes a little differently. I did some searching for authentic recipes and came up with such variations. They all had the same ingredients for the most part but how they readied them was different. I will simply give you my variation. Since it is more or less a salad sort of thing you can play around with the amount of the ingredients to suit yourself. It's most commonly eaten for breakfast in Trinidad but we generally eat if for dinner or lunch. It's great in the hot weather. Yes, I know I just said it's cold and rainy. Sometimes I need to pretend, so gimme a break already would ya?

It's one of those things I can make here in the States but the bread it is served on I can only get in Trinidad. The last time I went to visit...oh gosh, I tellin' yuh I was feelin' fuh buljol so bad! An' when I reach by meh friend's house what was waiting fuh me but a big plate of buljol and hops bread! Like meh friend jus' KNOW! Ok, ok, de recipe comin' just now...



BULJOL a la Lime
1 8-12 oz. pack of saltcod or other salt preserved mild fish
1 large onion
1 bell pepper
1 hot pepper, (jalapeno, habanero, whatever floats your boat, this is optional if you don't like it hot)
1 large or two medium tomatoes
2 Tbsp lemon or lime juice
Black pepper to taste

-Soak the saltcod overnight in about 8 cups of water. Change the water in the morning and a couple times during the day. Boil it in fresh water, drain, and boil again. It smells really fishy and gross during this process but it will taste fine if you've soaked it and rinsed it. Honest, I promise.
-Drain again and gently squeeze out excess water. Flake finely with two forks or your fingers.
-Finely dice all the veggies.
-Mix veggies, fish, lemon juice, and pepper.
-Serve it cold on hard rolls with sliced, hardboiled eggs, or avocado (called 'zaboca' in Trinidad).

By the way, this is very low calorie food.


Enjoy! Happy Trini Tuesday!

20 comments:

Mona said...

YAHTZEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mona said...

No fish for me Thanks :)!

But I simply LOVE salads! I love coleslaw!

Anonymous said...

That sounds very yummy. What would you suggest using if saltcod is not available?

G-Man said...

limey...
I think this would taste great using that fake crab, or any cold firm fish...maybe poached catfish, or even cold boiled shrimp!!
I'm stealin this one for sure...
Mona....?
Get some sleep....:-P

(M)ary said...

that sounds yummy!
g-man, i was thinking the same thing about substituting crab but i bet the saltcod gives it a distinctive taste

what do you think Ms Limey?

lime said...

for those asking for an alternate ingredients...the saltcod, when prepared as directed, really has a very mild taste and pretty much picks up the taste of the other ingredients so anything that would do similarly would be just fine. you can try anything you like really. i love real crab and i think that would be fantastic! i f you like shrimp go for that. other whitefish, sure. try anything.

Anonymous said...

I Love Fish!! LOVE LOVE LOVE Seafood! I do have to admit I myself have never really made anything other than salmon, I wouldn't even know how to shop for anything, but salmon. I am a whitefish moron.

That looks soooo tasty!!!

Mm Mm Mm

S said...

Im gonna have to pass...
but I do know what you mean about your pals having some treats ready for you when you got there.

That is just the best!

I might like that dish with chicken in it....

Anonymous said...

Where's my spoon....

Anonymous said...

Good God Almighty... that looks yummy! ::filing the recipe away for a rainy day::

Thanks!

Loraine said...

Looks yummy. I'm going to have to try this one.

Ed & Jeanne said...

What are you talking about...that's inspiring.

Mona said...

We can also add cottage cheese instead of fish. Cottage cheese is a very rich source of calcium & is fat less!

Galen? > it is just 11 : 30 Pm here.

But you are right. I'd better get some rest. Late nights are a No no
sez doctor!

EmBee said...

Kinda sounds like 'Ceviche' (sp?) but with that you don't cook the fish, the lemon juice does it for you... Man, I love that stuff on tortilla chips.

Anonymous said...

fun! :) And I am in the same state of mind, or lack there of with ya! :)

LOL... here's to a mindless Tuesday!

Fred said...

Can I just lick my monitor?

San said...

That sounds really good. And the Lime makes all the difference I'm sure.

Moosekahl said...

ooohhh, I bet that would be good with crab meat too!

Jocelyn said...

You make me want to have a third child, just so I can name it De-Salted Codfish.

Janets Planet said...

This looks good. I bet it would taste great with crab, too.