Ackee Tacos With Island Guacamole

While shooting the photos for our first cookbook, Caribbean Potluck, our food stylists, Christine Albano and Nora Singley, came up with the novel idea that ackee would make a terrific taco filling. We love ackee and have prepared it in a variety of unconventional ways (as a dip, in a pasta sauce, in lasagna, on a pizza), but it had never occurred to us to use it as a filling for tacos. Boy, was that a fantastic idea! Though it is Jamaica’s national fruit, ackee is cooked and used as a vegetable. It is an unusual ingredient that we feel should be explored and consumed way more often than it is. With a subtle, almost nutty taste, it is an exciting addition to vegetarian menus. We love the fresh ackee available in markets in Jamaica, but canned or frozen ackee is a fine substitute if you can’t get it fresh.