Breadfruit is a healthy, filling and delicious staple that grows on a tree in tropical places. It’s a very versatile food that can be boiled, baked, roasted, pickled or fried, and when over-ripe – even blended into drink or made into a dessert.

Today, we’re boiling breadfruit, not til it’s soft enough to mash but enough to easily slice a knife through…like hot bread. Here’s a blog post with more about breadfruit if you’re now hearing about it. A few days ago, I was given with 5 freshly-picked breadfruits. Gave some away and made breadfruit oildown from one that happened to be (what we call in Barbados) a ‘yelluh meat‘ breadfruit. A few okras were ready in the garden and a handful of herbs so they’re in the mix too but spinach, noni leaf or another green would go good with it if that’s what you have.

Ingredients:

water

oil (I used a splash of olive)

1 Breadfruit

Kidney beans

Onion and garlic

A handful of sliced okras

Curry spices

1 cup of Coconut milk

Fresh herbs (sweet basil, Jamaican thyme, fennel)

1 soursop leaf and a spinach leaf

Salt & cayenne pepper to taste

1 sprinkle of black (Kalonji) seeds

To Make Breadfruit Oildown:

1. Peel the breadfruit and remove the speckled center (‘heart.’) Wash and cut the fruit in big chunks.
2. Heat a little oil in a pan or pot. Add onion for 2 minutes, then garlic, spices and okra.
3. Add the breadfruit chunks and stir so the pieces absorb the flavours.
4. Sprinkle on salt, pepper and half of the herbs. Stir for a minute then pour in coconut milk and rest the soursop leaf and spinach in. Stir, cover and let simmer on medium heat. If needed, add a little extra water to submerge (not drown) breadfruit.
5. When breadfruit is almost ready, drain off brine before adding kidney beans, kalonji seeds and the rest of the herbs. Stir.

Breadfruit selection is key for this dish. This one was so on-point, I fried a few breadfruit chips in a hint of olive oil before doing the oildown and they were bright yellow and soft yet slightly crispy on the outside. Breadfruit goes well with so many things you can have it with your favourite stew, a creamy sauce or just butter. When a slab of plain or garlic butter meets a now-boiled or roasted breadfruit, it’s no longer ‘just butter’ but way better.

Preserve The Breadfruits In Barbados | A Plea To The People | Fruits Of The Land | Health Benefits Galore

Related post: Let’s Make Breadfruit Cou-Cou With Bodi (Beans) & Greens

Get more recipes here

If you want to help support this blog and beyond whether with a $1. today or more monthly, the PayPal email address is itsjoywithin@gmail.com – thanks very much.