Recipe
Coucou and Flying Fish
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Ingredients
- 1/2 pt. cold water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 stick of butter
- 4 okras, thinly sliced
- 1 pt. boiling water
- 1/2 pt. corn meal
For Flying Fish
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 cup water
- 2 fresh limes juiced
- 6 flying fish, filleted
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup fry oil
- 1 bunch thyme and majoram (like oregano)
- Chopped very fine
- 1 bunch fresh green celery, chopped very fine
- 1 onion, chopped very fine
Method
Preparation of cou cou:
- Cook the okras in the boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes.
- While they are cooking, mix the corn meal and cold water to a smooth paste.
- When the okras are soft, lower the heat, add salt and wet corn meal, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon until mixture becomes fairly stiff.
- When the mixture can break away cleanly from the pan the cou cou is ready.
- Butter a bowl, turn the mixture into the bowl, shaking it into the shape of the bowl.
- Turn it out into a serving dish.
- With the back of a spoon, make an indentation in the top and place a stick of butter in it.
Flying Fish Preparation:
- Mix lime juice, salt and water, and put the fish to soak in this mixture for 15 minutes.
- Remove and dry.
- Mix together the seasonings and onion and then place in the spaces from which the fish bones have been removed, press in very firmly.
- Dip each fish into the egg, then coat with breadcrumbs.
- Fry in hot oil placing each fish face down first.
- Cook for a few minutes on each side until lightly brown.
Note: If the fish was packaged with the skin of one next to the flesh of another, before seasoning, take a knife and run it along the skin firmly. This will remove any oil that may give the fish an unpleasant taste.