Ackee and Saltfish

Native to tropical Western Africa consumption of ackee fruit takes place mainly in Jamaica and is a staple of Jamaican cuisine, their national fruit and the key component of their national dish - Ackee and Saltfish.

Ackee is related to the lychee and produces a pear-shaped fruit. Green unripened fruit can lead to poisoning. When ripe, the fruit bursts open to reveal a bright orange/yellow flesh with the consistency of lightly scrambled egg.

Saltfish is dried and salted cod.

It is important and to read the name of this national dish - Ackee and Saltfish. This is not fish with fruit, but fruit and fish. Ackee and fish should be balanced as equal quantities.

Pass the dutchie ... we've got fish to fry ...

This dish takes some preparation - 24 hours, to be exact, or thereabouts.

First, soak the fish in water, pouring out and replacing a few times. After that, boil the fish for about half an hour and then set aside to cool.

Cooling is important since we're going to be shredding the flesh off the skin which turns gelatinous and can be lava hot!

Flake the flesh off the skin and set aside.

Drain a can of ackees and set aside.

Prepare the other ingredients ...

Slice some streaky bacon into small slices around half a centimetre, cube some red or green pepper, dice some tomatoes and spring onions (scallions, in Jamaican), and rough chop some flat leaf parsley and some thyme.

Finally, finely slice one Scotch Bonnet pepper for a likkle tikkle.

Making the dish is simply a case of putting those ingredients into a frying pan ... in the right order.

Start out with frying off the bacon to release some of its fat content. Once coloured and the fat has rendered out, toss in the fish and sautee until warm.

Add the scallions and fry for a few more minutes, tossing through the fish and bacon.

Add the peppers, tomato, chilli and thyme. Warm through, tossing through thoroughly.

Finally, add the ackees and parsley, gently tossing through to ensure all the ingredients are well mixed while retaining the structure of the delicate fruit and aromatics of the herbs.

Serve out onto a plate and enjoy.

Traditionally, Ackee and Saltfish would be eaten with some plantain, breadfruit, yam, fried dumplings or hard dough bread. Making it paleo, I like strong green vegetables alongside - kale or tenderstem broccoli are great. If you're looking for more carbohydrate, rice might be something you are happy with and makes a good accompaniment.

Certainly, a bottle of Guinness, Dragon Stout or Red Stripe is a must!

Boom! Dat a shot!

Cauliflower Cheese

Classic British, possibly Colonial Cypriot; a simple dish of cauliflower and béchamel sauce.

Béchamel is a milk-based sauce, thickened with butter and flour. Leaving the flour out, we can keep it paleo ...

Trim the florets from a cauliflower and select the tender leaves from the inside.

Steam the florets until soft, drain off and arrange in an oven-proof dish.

Make up a cheese sauce with milk and cream - this will give the slightly thicker sauce, negating the need for flour. Add in the cheese and this will thicken right up. Cheddar is ideal. Just a touch of nutmeg, too.

Pour over the cauliflower.

Breadcrumbs are often used to provide a final crunch, sprinkled over the top - we can deploy a primal weapon here: bacon!

Sprinkle just a little more cheese over the top and then a good handful of fried bacon pieces. Streaky bacon is best here as the fat content really crisps up and the saltiness works so well with the sauce and soft cauliflower.

Place in a pre-heated oven set to 175C for 20 minutes, or so, until the cheese topping has melted fully and the sauce warmed through.

Cauliflower Cheese is a great dish on its own or as an accompaniment, often as part of the traditional Sunday Roast.

Of course, if dairy is out of your paleo diet then just enjoy a bowl of clean steamed cauliflower with some spice and bacon bits!

Scrambled Eggs over Tenderstem Broccoli

Eggs should be free range at the very least, woodland reared are best since the chickens are left to roam, peck and scratch for grubs natural to their diet, and the taste difference is evident.

Let's get cracking ...

First, steam or boil some tenderstem broccoli and place on a plate.

Crack three eggs into a bowl and gently whisk - not too much as to make a smooth liquid, but just enough to break the yolks and combine lightly. This texture will add to the overall effect of the dish.

Drop a good knob of pastured butter into a frying pan and just after it has melted, pour in the eggs.

Fold the eggs periodically to produce a nice texture and keep lifting off the heat so as not to over cook. The eggs want to be "just done", not dry.

Just before the eggs have fully cooked, drop a little heavy cream into the egg mixture and just fold it gently using the residual heat in the pan to finish the cooking. Optionally, add in a little sea salt at this stage, too.

Spoon over the broccoli. Garnish with a grind of freshly milled black pepper.