Part 03

How to make Chubby’s Jamaican Kitchen’s saltfish and ackee bites

“Chef Artois”—the eight-episode culinary miniseries produced by Toronto Life and Stella Artois—just wrapped up. If you weren’t following along, it’s not too late to catch the cook-off action. We’ve made it easy to binge the whole season. Here, you’ll find links to each of our bite-sized, 12-minute episodes. On “Chef Artois” the contestants have to scramble against the clock while recreating Toronto’s most iconic dishes without a recipe. Now, we’re inviting you to try making these dishes at home—but don’t worry, we’ve published the recipes alongside each episode recap.

Watch the episode

Make the dish

Makes six bites

Ingredients for the dumplings

  • 2 grams unsalted butter
  • 1 gram salt
  • 4 grams granulated sugar
  • 225 grams all-purpose flour
  • 10 grams baking powder
  • Water, as needed
  • Olive oil, as needed

Ingredients for the ackee and saltfish topping

  • 1 gram thyme, chopped
  • 2 grams green onions, finely chopped
  • 2 grams red bell pepper, julienned
  • 0.5 grams scotch bonnet pepper, chopped
  • 4 grams Spanish onion, julienned
  • 2 grams Roma tomato, seeded and julienned
  • 2 grams butter
  • 2 grams garlic, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 gram black pepper
  • 200 grams canned ackee, drained and rinsed
  • 150 grams salt cod saltfish base
  • 1 gram all-purpose spices

The recipe

  1. Start by throwing the salt cod into a Tupperware of cold water. Leave it to soak in the fridge for 10 hours (or overnight).
  2. Once the salt cod has hydrated, boil the it in fresh water for 20 minutes, strain and set aside.
  3. In a medium pan, heat the oil and then add the onions. Sauté for two minutes.
  4. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
  5. Add the bell peppers, tomatoes and scotch bonnet peppers. Cook for another two minutes
  6. Add the butter, allow to melt then add the salt cod and cook for another two minutes.
  7. Add in the ackee, season with salt and black pepper, and gently fold into the mixture.
  8. Add the thyme and green onions, and cook for another two minutes. Set the ackee and saltfish topping aside.
  9. Now it’s time to make the dumplings. In a mixing bowl, add flour, salt, baking powder, sugar and butter. Combine completely.
  10. Add water to the dry ingredients and mix into a smooth, soft dough.
  11. Let the dough rest for approximately 10 minutes.
  12. Once the dough has rested, shape the dough into six golf ball size pieces, flatten slightly with a dimple in the center of the dough.
  13. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
  14. Place each piece of dumpling in the skillet and let cook until golden brown on each side. Remove from the pan and set aside in a tray lined with paper to absorb any excess oil.
  15. Cut each dumpling in half and assemble the bites by placing the ackee topping on each half doughnut.