Ackee Tacos with Island Guacamole

Name: Ackee Tacos with Island Guacamole
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 3 medium avocados, peeled, pitted, and sliced; 1 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced; 3 tbsp diced red onion; 0.5 cup diced pineapple or mango; 1 tbsp lime juice; 1 tbsp orange juice; 1 tsp orange zest; 1 tsp minced Scotch bonnet pepper; 2 tbsp olive oil; 3 tbsp chopped cilantro; 1 Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste; 2 tbsp coconut oil or other vegetable oil; 1 small yellow onion, diced; 1 plum tomato, diced; 2 clove garlic, diced; 4 tbsp diced bell pepper; 0.25 tsp seeded and minced Scotch bonnet pepper; 1 stalk scallion; 2 dozen frozen ackee or 2 cans ackee, drained; 1 tsp thyme leaves; 0.5 tsp chili powder; 1 Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste; 12 taco shells; 0.67 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese; 1 cup shredded lettuce or purple cabbage; 1 large handful chopped fresh cilantro; 1 Salsa; 1 Sour cream

From the kitchen of Carly

Jamaican ackee brings creamy, delicate texture to these island tacos. Paired with a vibrant guacamole spiked with tropical fruit, lime, and Scotch bonnet heat, they're bright and boldly seasoned. This is comfort food with serious flavor and personality.

Ackee is savory, tender, and faintly buttery, nothing like what your brain expects from something that looks like scrambled eggs. Pair it with the sharp bite of Scotch bonnet pepper, the brightness of island fruit in the guac, and you've got a taco that tastes nothing like the usual suspects. This one's about heat, citrus, and letting creamy ackee be the star.

Prep: n/a
Cook: n/a
Total: n/a
Servings: 4
Difficulty: medium

Ingredients

4 servings

3 mediumavocados, peeled, pitted, and sliced
1plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
3 tbspdiced red onion
1/2 cupdiced pineapple or mango
1 tbsplime juice
1 tbsporange juice
1 tsporange zest
1 tspminced Scotch bonnet pepper
2 tbspolive oil
3 tbspchopped cilantro
1Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
2 tbspcoconut oil or other vegetable oil
1 smallyellow onion, diced
1plum tomato, diced
2 clovegarlic, diced
4 tbspdiced bell pepper
1/4 tspseeded and minced Scotch bonnet pepper
1 stalkscallion
2dozen frozen ackee or 2 cans ackee, drained
1 tspthyme leaves
1/2 tspchili powder
1Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
12taco shells
2/3 cupgrated sharp cheddar cheese
1 cupshredded lettuce or purple cabbage
1 largehandful chopped fresh cilantro
1Salsa
1Sour cream

Instructions

Dice or mash the avocados to your preferred texture, anywhere from chunky salsa-like pieces to a smoother spread. Fold in the remaining guacamole ingredients, stirring gently so everything combines without turning to mush. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to build the tacos.
Warm the coconut oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Tumble in the onion, tomato, garlic, bell pepper, Scotch bonnet, and scallion, cooking until everything softens, about 3 minutes. Nestle the ackee in with the thyme, chili powder, salt, and pepper, folding carefully to keep the ackee intact. Let it all cook together for 5 to 8 minutes until heated through, then pull the pan off the heat.
For a casual spread, arrange the ackee mixture, guacamole, grated cheddar, shredded lettuce or cabbage, cilantro, and any optional salsa and sour cream in colorful bowls alongside a basket of soft or hard taco shells so everyone builds their own. Prefer to plate them ready to eat: fill each shell with a few tablespoons of ackee, layer on the lettuce, guacamole, and cheese, then finish with a generous mound of fresh cilantro. Set out salsa and sour cream on the side for anyone who wants them.

Tips from the kitchen

Ackee breaks apart easily, so fold it in gently at the end. Treat it like cooked eggs and you'll keep those delicate curds intact.
The Scotch bonnet is punchy, so taste as you go. Seed and mince it fine, and you control the fire without overpowering the whole filling.
Make the island guac first and chill it so the flavors meld while you cook the ackee. Cold guac against warm ackee is the texture play that matters here.

Variations

Meatless but want weight: top with black beans or refried beans under the ackee for substance.
Skip the island guac entirely and use a straight lime and cilantro crema for a lighter, creamier approach.
Go full breakfast taco: add scrambled or fried eggs to the ackee filling for double richness.
Use ackee as a bed: swap the shells for rice or mofongo and serve the ackee mixture on top as a composed plate.

Make ahead and storage

Ackee filling keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days but is best eaten the day you make it. The guac should be eaten within a day to avoid browning, though a squeeze of lime and plastic wrap directly on the surface buys you extra time. Freeze the ackee mixture only if you really must, though the texture won't be the same after thawing.