Ash Wednesday is a holiday in Jamaica. My husband and I spent the day diving in Port Antonio, on the northeast coast, with friends. It’s a good place to spear lionfish. We caught three big ones and a few smaller ones and handed them over to a local who has become our cook on the Blue Lagoon beach–yes, it’s the beach in the titular film–when we visit.
Lionfish, an invasive species outside of Asia, makes for an excellent seafood dish. This time, our cook grilled the fish with a dressing of margarine, scotch bonnett, and green pepper. The morning was cloudy, but, as usual in Jamaica, the sun came out and made the green of the land and the blue of the ocean pop. We sat on the shore and dug into our dishes, warming up from the dives and enjoying the bounty of the day.
Illustration by Aileen Torres-Bennett
ATB 