Belize's beloved Saturday morning national dish — a pot of salt fish, boiled eggs, plantains, cassava, and ground provisions swimming in a fragrant tomato-onion broth.
Boil up is what you cook on Saturday morning in Belize when you want the whole family at the table. It is not complicated and it is not trying to be impressive — it is a one-pot assembly of whatever provisions are available, cooked together in a seasoned broth until everything is tender and the pot smells like the entire week is forgiven. The components are negotiable. Salt fish is traditional — dried salted cod soaked overnight, then cooked in the pot. But pig's tail is also classic, and hard-boiled eggs always appear, usually nestled in the pot during the last few minutes to warm through. The starchy vegetables — cassava, sweet potato, plantain, cocoa — are essential. They absorb the broth and become something more than boiled vegetables. Boil up is sold in Belize City at roadside stalls on Saturday mornings, served from enormous pots to people who drove across town specifically for it. It is eaten with hot sauce and fry jacks, in the mid-morning, unhurried. It is one of those dishes that requires no ceremony but creates ceremony by its presence.
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