COPPERWhat is the national dish of Saint Lucia?
The national dish of Saint Lucia is green fig and saltfish: unripe green bananas, called "figs" on the island, boiled in their skins and mixed with salt cod stewed with onion, garlic, sweet pepper, tomato and thyme. No law makes it official, but Saint Lucian media and food references consistently name it as the national dish.
What is green fig and saltfish?
In Saint Lucia, "green fig" means an unripe green banana, not the fruit of a fig tree. The bananas are boiled until tender and served with saltfish, dried and salted cod rehydrated and cooked with Creole seasoning. Breadfruit and saltfish is a popular alternative among Saint Lucians.
A typical home recipe, like the one published by The Voice, uses about 1 lb of saltfish for 8 to 10 green bananas, with onion, garlic, bell pepper and thyme.
It often comes with avocado or fried bakes, the fried bread Saint Lucians also call floats.
How green fig and saltfish is made
Our green fig and saltfish recipe takes two parallel steps, the saltfish and the figs:
- Desalt the cod. 450 g of salt cod soaks 8 hours in cold water, changed 2 or 3 times, then boils 10 minutes before it is flaked.
- Boil the figs in their skins. 900 g of green bananas are scored lengthways and boiled whole for 20 to 25 minutes in salted water.
- Peel them hot. Oil your hands first: the sap of green bananas stains. Cut them into thick rounds.
- Build the sauce. Onion, garlic, bell pepper and scotch bonnet soften 5 minutes in coconut oil, then tomatoes and thyme cook down for 5 minutes.
- Bring it together. The flaked cod fries 5 minutes in the sauce, the banana rounds are folded in and rest 5 minutes over low heat, finished with parsley.
Is green fig and saltfish only Saint Lucian?
Saltfish with a boiled starch is a pattern across the Caribbean. Green fig and saltfish is also a traditional meal in Dominica, Saint Lucia's northern neighbour, where it is often served with boiled eggs or avocado. Jamaica pairs saltfish with ackee instead of bananas for its own national dish.
What sets the Saint Lucian version apart is its status: The Voice, a Saint Lucian newspaper, calls it the national dish.
For the Jamaican pairing, see the national dish of Jamaica.
Callaloo and the Saturday pot
Callaloo soup is Saint Lucia's Saturday soup, made from dasheen (taro) leaves and stalks with okra and salted pigtail, simmered until everything collapses, then swizzled thick. The okra gives it body, not flour or cream. Crab callaloo is especially popular for the island's Creole Day celebrations.
To make it, salted pigtail soaks overnight and boils 30 minutes in fresh water, which is thrown away to draw off the salt. The dasheen leaves are stripped from their stalks, the stalks peeled, and both chopped; gloves help, because raw dasheen irritates the skin. After 25 minutes with the okra, 400 ml of coconut milk and a whole scotch bonnet go in, and the pot is swizzled hard with a wooden swizzle stick until thick and smooth.
Bouyon is the other one-pot meal: a thick soup of red beans, meat, ground provisions and vegetables.
Other dishes to know from Saint Lucia
Saint Lucian cooking combines French, East Indian and British influences on top of the Kalinago and Arawak foods that came before. Stewed chicken uses the browning method also found in Trinidad and Dominica: sugar is melted in oil until deep amber, and the seasoned chicken is turned in that dark caramel before it simmers.
The chicken is first marinated, overnight if possible, in green seasoning, a blend of chive, thyme, parsley, garlic, celery and hot pepper. Two tablespoons of brown sugar melt in hot oil, froth and turn amber; the chicken is turned in it for about 5 minutes, then simmered with onion, garlic, thyme and tomato paste for 35 to 40 minutes until the sauce is thick and glossy.
Accra, fritters of saltfish in a seasoned flour batter, are made especially around Easter, and cocoa tea, a spiced hot cocoa drink, is a traditional breakfast. Green fig salad, despite the name, is also made with green bananas.
British and Indian influences show in the spices: garlic, cinnamon, nutmeg, cocoa, parsley, cloves and allspice. Golden apples, mangoes, starfruit and tamarind are pressed into juices, though lime squash is the most common drink with a local meal.
You will find all three Copper dishes on our page about the food of Saint Lucia. For the neighbouring islands, see our guide to Caribbean food.
The recipes
- Green fig and saltfish🇱🇨 Saint Lucia · 8 hours and 55 minutes
Callaloo soup🇱🇨 Saint Lucia · 13 hours and 25 minutes
Stewed chicken🇱🇨 Saint Lucia · 2 hours
Questions people ask
What are green figs in Saint Lucia?
Green figs are unripe green bananas. Saint Lucians boil them in their skins and eat them as a starch, most famously with saltfish.
Is green fig and saltfish the same as ackee and saltfish?
No. Both use salt cod, but Saint Lucia pairs it with boiled green bananas, while Jamaica's national dish pairs it with ackee fruit.
What is served with green fig and saltfish?
Avocado and fried bakes are common partners. Breadfruit is sometimes used instead of the green bananas.
Is green fig and saltfish the official national dish of Saint Lucia?
There is no law making it official, but it is consistently named as the national dish by Saint Lucian media and food references.
What is bouyon?
Bouyon is a thick Saint Lucian one-pot soup of red beans, meat, ground provisions and vegetables.
Keep reading
- Traditional food of Saint Lucia: 12 dishes to know
- What is the national dish of Antigua and Barbuda?
- What is the national dish of the Bahamas?
- What is the national dish of Barbados?
- What is the national dish of Cuba?
- What is the national dish of Dominica?