Ackee and saltfish with fried dumplings

For the ackee and saltfish: rinse the salt cod in warm water then put into a pan and cover with warm water. Bring to the boil and boil for about 5 minutes until the salt dissolves. Drain and rinse again.

Heat half the oil in a frying pan. Add the salt cod and cook for 5 minutes, then turn and cook the other side. Remove the salt cod from the pan and break it up into chunks.

Heat the remaining oil in a duchy or large flameproof casserole for a couple of minutes. Tip in the vegetables, chilli, ginger, thyme and garlic. Cover and cook very gently for 10 minutes.

Add the love apple tomato sauce and cook for a further 3 minutes. Drain 5 tablespoons of the oil and juices from the vegetables. Season with black pepper and add the drained ackee and the saltfish.

Cover, and leave to cook gently for a further 5 minutes until the ackee is tender and the flavour of the black pepper comes through. Pour off a little of the liquid if necessary – the finished dish shouldn’t be runny.

For the fried dumplings: put the flour and salt into a bowl and rub in the butter with your fingers until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.

Gradually add the water until the mixture comes together to form a ball – you may not need all of it. Using your hands, knead the mixture for a few minutes. If the dough is too dry, add a little more water, then continue to knead until a soft dough forms and the bowl is clean.

Divide the dough into 12 pieces. Take each piece of dough and knead until it is stretchy, then roll each one into a smooth ball.

Heat the oil in a large deep frying pan. Check to see if the oil is hot enough by taking a tiny piece of the dough and dropping it into the hot oil, if it is just bubbling around the edges it’s ready.

. Meanwhile, shape each ball into a flat cake. Gradually add 6 of them to the pan of hot oil. Keep the temperature low while you fry them. Cook for about 5 minutes, then carefully turn them over when the underside is pale golden and they are starting to look puffy. Fry for a further 5 minutes until they are golden and cooked through.

. Drain the dumplings on kitchen paper and serve with the ackee and saltfish.