Plate 07 of 10

Her'heri with Bakkeljauw

Name: Her'heri with Bakkeljauw
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 65 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Suriname
Ingredients: 400 g Salted dried cod, bakkeljauw, soaked 2 hours, boiled 10 minutes, flaked and boned; 500 g Cassava, peeled, woody core removed, in 5 cm chunks; 500 g Sweet potatoes, peeled, in 5 cm chunks; 450 g Green plantains, peeled, in 4 cm rounds; 450 g Ripe yellow plantains, peeled, in 4 cm rounds; 10 g Fine sea salt, for the boiling water; 80 g Unsalted butter; 30 ml Neutral oil; 2 medium Yellow onions, sliced into thin rings; 6 cloves Garlic, minced fine; 3 medium Ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped; 30 g Double-concentrated tomato paste; 25 g Surinamese celery leaves, finely chopped; 6 whole Allspice berries, coarsely ground; 3 g Freshly ground black pepper; 1 whole Madame Jeanette pepper, whole; 6 Hard-boiled eggs, peeled and halved lengthwise

The dish of Keti Koti, the first of July, when Suriname marks the end of slavery. Cassava, sweet potato, green and ripe plantain boiled in stages until tender and arranged round a golden-red sauté of desalted salt cod with butter, onion, garlic, tomato and celery leaf, garnished with halved boiled eggs.

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 35 min
Serves: 6
Difficulty: Easy

Researched · Kitchen testing pending

A her'heri plate of boiled cassava, sweet potato, green and ripe plantain, halved boiled eggs and flaked salt cod with tomato and onion.

Her’heri is the sacred dish of Afro-Surinamese heritage, bound to Keti Koti, the first of July celebration of the end of slavery in 1863. On the plantations the enslaved were provisioned with the hardiest earth crops, cassava, sweet potato and plantain, and with salt cod shipped from the North Atlantic.

Generations of freedom turned that ration into a feast. The roots and plantains are boiled gently until tender, keeping their own colours, and arranged on a wide platter round a golden-red sauté of flaked cod with butter, onion, garlic, tomato and celery leaf, with hard-boiled eggs on top. It is eaten together, in remembrance.

Ingredients

Provisions
400 gSalted dried cod, bakkeljauw, soaked 2 hours, boiled 10 minutes, flaked and boned
500 gCassava, peeled, woody core removed, in 5 cm chunks
500 gSweet potatoes, peeled, in 5 cm chunks
450 gGreen plantains, peeled, in 4 cm rounds
450 gRipe yellow plantains, peeled, in 4 cm rounds
10 gFine sea salt, for the boiling water
Bakkeljauw sauce
80 gUnsalted butterdivided
30 mlNeutral oil
2 mediumYellow onions, sliced into thin rings
6 clovesGarlic, minced fine
3 mediumRipe plum tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
30 gDouble-concentrated tomato paste
25 gSurinamese celery leaves, finely chopped
6 wholeAllspice berries, coarsely ground
3 gFreshly ground black pepper
1 wholeMadame Jeanette pepper, whole
Garnish
6Hard-boiled eggs, peeled and halved lengthwise

Stagger the boil

Green plantain and cassava need 20 to 25 minutes for their rigid starches to hydrate. Sweet potato and ripe plantain soften in 12 to 15. Ten minutes apart, or the sweet ones dissolve while the cassava is still hard.

Gentle with the cod

Desalted cod is lean. Eight minutes in the butter-tomato sauce over low heat coats the flakes in fat; boiled hard it turns dry and leathery.

The five tastes on this plate

Salt is the desalted cod against sweet boiled roots and egg. Fat is butter and oil glossing the cod and the roots. Acid is fresh tomato and paste. Heat is the whole pepper's aroma, black pepper, allspice and garlic. Umami is dried cod, sautéed onion sugars and tomato paste.

Equipment

6-quart stockpot
12-inch heavy skillet
Colander
One very large platter

Two cast-aluminium calderos in Suriname, one for the roots and one for the cod. A stockpot and a wide skillet do the same.

Method

Desalt the cod2 hr 15 min
Soak the cod in cold water 2 hours, changing the water once. Boil in fresh water 10 minutes, drain, cool, and flake, removing every pin bone.
Soak the cod in cold water 2 hours, changing the water once. Boil in fresh water 10 minutes, drain, cool, and flake, removing every pin bone.
Boil the dense roots10 min
Bring 3 litres of water and the salt to a rolling boil in the stockpot. Add the cassava and green plantain and boil over medium-high 10 minutes.
Bring 3 litres of water and the salt to a rolling boil in the stockpot. Add the cassava and green plantain and boil over medium-high 10 minutes.
Add the sweet roots15 min
Add the sweet potato and ripe plantain, reduce to medium, and simmer 12 to 15 minutes until everything is fork-tender. Drain gently, keeping 60 ml of the cooking water.
Add the sweet potato and ripe plantain, reduce to medium, and simmer 12 to 15 minutes until everything is fork-tender. Drain gently, keeping 60 ml of the cooking water.
Build the sofrito3 min
Melt 40 g butter with the oil in the skillet over medium and sauté the onion rings and garlic 3 minutes until soft and translucent.
Melt 40 g butter with the oil in the skillet over medium and sauté the onion rings and garlic 3 minutes until soft and translucent.
Simmer the cod sauce13 min
Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, ground allspice, black pepper and the reserved cooking water and sauté 3 minutes until the tomatoes collapse into a glossy red sauce. Stir in the flaked cod and the whole Madame Jeanette and simmer gently over low 8 to 10 minutes.
Add tomatoes, tomato paste, allspice, black pepper and reserved cooking water; sauté 3 minutes until tomatoes form a glossy red sauce. Add flaked cod and the whole Madame Jeanette; simmer gently on low 8–10 minutes, without boiling hard.
Finish the cod2 min
Discard the pepper. Stir in the celery leaves and the remaining 40 g cold butter to mount the sauce into a rich glaze. Taste for pepper.
Discard the pepper. Stir in the celery leaves and the remaining 40 g cold butter to mount the sauce into a rich glaze. Taste for pepper.
Arrange and serve
Ring the hot cassava, sweet potato, green and yellow plantain round the edge of a large platter. Spoon the cod and its butter-tomato sauce into the centre, garnish with the halved eggs and celery leaves, and serve piping hot.
Arrange hot cassava, sweet potato and both plantains around a platter. Spoon cod and butter-tomato sauce into the centre; garnish with halved eggs and celery leaves. Serve piping hot.
08
Sensory cues of doneness
- Visual: a mosaic of snowy cassava, orange sweet potato, pale-green and deep-yellow plantain round glistening red-amber flaked cod and bright-yolked eggs.
- Auditory: a gentle bubble from the root pot and a soft sputter as the cod simmers in butter.
- Olfactory: sweet boiled roots, nutty plantain, warm butter, tomato sofrito, allspice and salt fish.
Look for distinct tender roots and plantains surrounding glossy red-amber cod and bright-yolked eggs. Keep both pots bubbling gently; expect sweet roots, nutty plantain, butter, tomato, allspice and saltfish aromas.

Troubleshooting

Waterlogged, dissolved sweet potato.: It went in with the cassava. Cassava and green plantain first, sweet potato and ripe plantain ten minutes later.
Stringy cassava.: The woody central cord was left in. Split each chunk and pull the fibre out before boiling.
Dry, leathery cod.: It cooked too hot for too long. Eight minutes on low in the sauce.

Substitutions

One-to-one swaps, with the technique change each one needs.

Ingredient substitutions

Ingredient	Replace with	Culinary impact and technique adjustment
Bakkeljauw	Fresh white fish seasoned with extra salt, or smoked haddock	One-to-one
Cassava	Malanga, taro or russet potato	One-to-one
Green plantains	Green cooking bananas	One-to-one

Scaling

Half

Halve everything; boil the roots in a 4-quart pot and simmer the cod in a 10-inch skillet.

Double

Boil the roots in an 8 to 10-quart stockpot so they cook evenly.

What to serve it with

The halved hard-boiled eggs on the platter
Zuurgoed of cucumber and red onion
A sambal of crushed Madame Jeanette for those who want heat

Questions

Can I use frozen cassava?

Yes. Good frozen peeled cassava goes straight into the pot from frozen and is tender in 18 to 20 minutes.

Why both green and ripe plantain?

Green gives a firm, savoury, potato-like bite; ripe gives soft, caramelised sweetness. Together they are the dish's balance.

What is Keti Koti?

"The chain is cut": the first of July, the anniversary of the abolition of slavery in 1863, when her'heri is eaten across Suriname to honour the ancestors it sustained.