By Nigel Spence
CJ Contributor

Recently, I had the immense pleasure and honor of attending a very special event in my hometown Kingston, Jamaica.  It was my Dad’s 90th birthday celebration.

I say “honor” because it really is an achievement for him considering all the pharmaceutical pollution the elderly are bombarded with, most times unnecessarily so.  I can only hope and pray that my inherited genes will stand up to the test as much as his.

Regardless of whatever health issue he has had to battle, Dad’s appetite never waned. Well, okay, maybe these days he may only have one cup of tea instead of two on most occasions, but try nuh bodda hol’ back on the rest of the 3-course meal.

What I am extremely happy about is his continued love and appreciation of fruits.  Knowing this about him, my siblings ensure each morning, as part of his breakfast, he is served a large plate filled with a delightful array of local, fresh fruits of the season. Mi nuh mean a small fruit bowl American style, I mean a full on 12 inch diameter Jamaican DINNER PLATE. In no time the man will “box it off” with no hesitation.  That alone could easily be the morning meal for mere mortals but for Dad it was only the first course – ha!

After the fruit plate, a bowl of cereal may or may not be in the line-up that morning, but he is always ready and waiting for the follow up breakfast main course, which leans toward being a mini smorgasbord. It must include items from every food group, and does not have to be limited to just one item.

One may hear a faint grumble between bites criticizing a particular item for being too salty or spicy or tasteless, but rest assured, these comments are simply meant to alert the chef to his preferences for the next time, not that the item should be removed from his Lazy Susan, lest you get a gentle tap on your wrist for even attempting to do so!

This voracious appetite was not lost on his offspring, as I personally witnessed while taking on the task of preparing dinner for the small army of siblings, cousins and other relatives that made his house their home for the weekend celebrations. I would attempt to satisfy the vast array of dietary requirements in one dish for the sake of simplicity and my sanity. As I worked on each component of the dish, setting each item down for later use, I would notice every time I went back to use the ingredient, it magically disappeared. It was then that I realized that the apples didn’t fall far from the tree (no pun intended).  Only, this was not about fruit and it did not stop at 3 courses! Each item set on the table met with a rapid show of hands – not in the air, but over the plate, followed by a quick vanishing of the contents. These people are all bottomless pits I mumbled to myself while having to re-prep for the third time due to the continuous THEFT of ingredients.

I learned quickly to hide each item while we worked on the rest to actually be able to have a finished product. So with the unyielding help of my right-hand partner in crime -my brother – we pulled it off.

The dish we created was a spinoff of a Jamaican Mackerel Rundown. Run Down in Jamaica is traditionally breakfast fare. It is ideally-suited to serve when vegetarians are present but for a dinner occasion such as this, I felt it would have been too heavy a meal for that time of evening, too salty for the health conscious and would need to be paired with the usual green bananas and boiled dumplings which were not included on the line up for this occasion. Instead, we deconstructed the traditional recipe in an effort to be a bit lighter, with less sodium and put more emphasis on the vegetables, which also made it more aesthetically appropriate for a dinner party.

We substituted fillets of kingfish for the salt mackerel, but to retain the essence of rundown, I blended a small amount of salt mackerel with coconut milk, tomato, thyme and scotch bonnet pepper to create a rundown sauce. We then sautéed each vegetable separately, some in olive oil and some in coconut oil.The kingfish fillets were seasoned and seared in a hot pan for just a few minutes for color, then transferred to a baking dish. The previously sautéed vegetables were added to the baking dish along with the run down mixture from the blender, baked and served with rice.  With a likkle a dis and a likkle a dat…I no doubt created a tantalizing sensation that met with approval by all – even my Dad, cause there were no grumbling from his end about it being too salty, spicy or tasteless!

This is such an easy meal preparation, you too might find yourself becoming vegetarian for a day. Enjoy and eat good!

Roasted Kingfish Run-Down

6 large 8oz Kingfish Fillets

8 oz porcini or baby bella Mushrooms

2 cup Okra, blanched, sliced in half lengthwise

2 whole Carrots, blanched and julienned

1 cup grape Tomatoes, or large diced plum tomatoes

4 chef Potatoes, boiled and cut in 4 lengthwise

1 large yellow Onion, sliced thick

4 stalks Scallion, rough chopped

1/4 cup Olive oil

1/4 cup Coconut oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Run Down Sauce

2 whole salted Mackerel, boiled and deboned

1 can Coconut milk (13.5oz)

1 tablespoon unsalted Butter

1 sprig Thyme, hard stems removed

1 teaspoon Scotch bonnet pepper, finely chopped

1/2  plum tomato

Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until all are incorporated (about 20 seconds).

Method:

Season kingfish fillets with salt and pepper. In a hot sauté pan, sear fish in coconut oil on one side only until golden brown – about 2 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Sauté carrots, okra and mushrooms in olive oil till brightly colored but still slightly firm then set aside. Sauté onions scallions and tomatoes in coconut oil until bright colored but still slightly firm. Remove from heat. .

In a baking dish large enough to hold all the fillets, place the fish seared side up and arrange all the sautéed vegetables and potatoes around the fish fillets.

Pour the rundown sauce over the fish and vegetables and bake for approximately 15 minutes until the vegetables are al dente and the fish is cooked through.

Remove from oven and serve immediately with white or seasoned rice.