Bakes and Kipper

My bakes and smoked herring

I had this crazy craving for bakes a few days ago, but sometimes I'm just to lazy for the long preparation that usually goes with traditional dishes...especially when it comes to dough. You know the ones where you need baking powder AND yeast AND shortening AND patience because it has to rest for so long to properly rise! Thanks to the Caribbeanpot website, I discovered a tip to gain time. Of course it's cheating... but what smart and sassy cook would overlook a useful little secret? :) Let me whisper it to you: buy pizza dough! Hey it's basically the same ingredients and the result is amazing.

This is the recipe of my home-made fried bakes (also called johnny cakes) that I stuff with smoked herring. Initially it had to be saltfish but I'm on a budget and this thing is just to costly here. Thinking of how it's seen as poor people's food back home and how expensive it is here just kills me.

If you want to offer your guests something original, easy to make, tasty and colorful, try this.

It's a simple recipe for a traditional West Indian snack. 

To add to the pleasure I ate it with a glass of Bombay Bellini, an even easier item to prepare. Yes I know...this should be called the lazy Keme snack duo. 

 

 Bombay Bellini cocktail:

• 1 splash of mango nectar or smoothie
• 4 - 6 oz  of Champagne (you can also use white wine)

Pour mango puree into a glass and slowly add champagne. Stir gently. Garnish with a mango slice.  

Bakes: 

• Any pizza dough from the grocery store (one ball made 10 little bakes for me). 

Let the dough come to room temperature, then make little balls and flatten them to give the bake shape. Deep fry until golden brown color, the bakes will puff out while frying. Slice for stuffing. Your bakes will look better (smoother) than mine if you flatten them with a rolling pin.

Smoked herring stuffing: 

• 1/3 lb smoked herring 
• 1/2 small onion sliced 
• 1 medium tomato cubed 
• 1 clove garlic chopped 
• 1/4 medium green bell pepper cubed 
• 1 green onion chopped 
• 1 tbsp lemon juice 
• 1/2 tsp of black pepper or a tbsp of sweet or hot pepper chopped (according to your taste). 
• 3 tbsp of virgin coconut oil (you can use canola oil too) 

Soak the herring in water for about 20 mn, then boil in new water for 15mn to remove the excess salt. Shred the herring. Put the bell pepper, onion, tomato, green onion, garlic and shredded herring in a bowl; pour the lemon juice and mix. Heat the coconut oil and pour the heated oil onto the mix, mix one last time. Stuff in the bakes. 

Enjoy!