PICKLED FISH AND HOT CROSS BUNS

So after all the observances for Good Friday,
the time has come at last for a hearty meal of Pickle fish [sic] and Hot Cross Buns!

HOT CROSS BUNS

When I think of Hot Cross Buns I can't help thinking of my dear Aunt Kate. Oh how she use to terrorise poor Uncle Linton into buying all the right ingredients and only the best. I recall a day when he came home with salted butter instead of unsalted,  she went ballistic. The tantrum Aunt Kate threw was hilarious...... NOW! Bless their souls!  Preparing for Good Friday was as much a religious practice as being Roman Catholic for her!  She honed all her energies into making perfect pickle fish, Gefilte Fish and Hot Cross Buns for Good Friday! Drawing ideas and practices from different cultures into ones own (a very normal practice) truly reflects the strength and diversity of the coloured (mixed race) community in South Africa!

I always ended up doing the laborious tasks in the making process because as she put it: "my arms kannie meer nie (my[her] arms can't anymore)"! My aunt never discussed the ingredients and quantities, it was always just the method because that part involved me.  I cherish those privileged moments that I shared with them. Her hot cross buns always were really soft and deliciously spicy!

I made my own last night, combining various recipes with my own experiences and voila!

PICKLED FISH

PICKLE FISH [sic]  is a very big traditional Good Friday delicacy in the coloured (mixed race) community of South Africa.  The tradition, drawing from various cultures, is rooted in the Christian practices of keeping Good Friday as a Holy day of fast and abstinence (no meat and no work - hence no cooking either). The method of making pickle fish lends itself perfectly to Good Friday observances. My own family tradition has always been to refrain from meat after the Maundy Thursday Evening Mass until Easter Saturday.  On Good Friday we would normally fast until after the three hour Good Friday service whereafter we would feast ourselves on pickle fish and hot cross buns!

Pickle fish is prepared by frying a fairly meaty fleshed fish in batter and then covering it with a pickled onion sauce.  The pickle sauce is normally quite spicy.  The pickle fish then has to stand for several days absorbing all the flavours of the spices and vinegar for intensity and is served as a cold dish (room temperature). During Holy Week the aromas of pickle fish emanating from all the homes can be quite overwhelming. There is nothing better than a plate of pickle fish and a freshly baked hot cross bun on Good Friday!