Welcome to Ghana! My Courageous Coworker currently has an exchange student from Ghana, so I thought it would be fun to make this meal. Then, come to find out, that my massage therapist's wife is from Ghana! So we spent my 90 minute massage talking about food - I left hungry...Haha! According to Google, the population of Ghana is 33.79 million people and the capital is Accra. Their national dish is...
Fufu!
Sound familiar? However, in looking at recipes, this fufu was different from other fufu's that I have made. To go with the fufu I made peanut soup. We've also had peanut soup before (thank you Africa!) and I remember it being so strange to make, but actually very good. Fufu is an interesting thing, as you eat it with your hands and dip it in the soup. Who doesn't like eating soup with their hands?! Anyway, this was a simple meal - here's what I did:
1 lb cassava
1 1/2 C + 3Tbsp water, divided
- Peel the plantain and cut it into cubes.
- Peel and scrape the cassava, de-string it and also cut into cubes.
- Place the cassava and plantain into the blender.
- Add 1 1/2 C water and blend the ingredients into a smooth paste.
- Heat the paste in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Stir constantly with a wooden spatula for 8 to 10 minutes to remove any lumps.
- Add 3 tbsp of water to the mixture.
- Reduce the heat to the lowest setting, cover with a lid and steam for another 8 to 10 minutes.
- Increase the heat to medium setting and stir. The fufu might look too soft, but it will become firmer as it cools down.
- Transfer the fufu into a bowl and sprinkle one teaspoon of water on the surface to prevent forming a film. Let it cool completely.
- Enjoy with stew!
1 tbsp of peanut oil
3 sprigs of thyme
2 onions
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
1 habanero pepper, chopped
Juice of half a lemon
1 C of smooth peanut butter
1 small can of tomato paste
2 C chicken stock
1-2 C water
- Chop chicken into large chunks.
- Heat a large frying pan to medium high.
- Place thyme in a big pot.
- Quarter and slice one of the onions.
- Add a tablespoon of oil to the frying pan and fry the chicken, skin side only, until the skin is golden and crispy.
- Once skin is golden and crispy, add to the big pot with the thyme.
- When all the chicken has been fried, add and fry the sliced onion.
- Add the onion to the pot.
- Add 1 C of the stock, bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
- Chop up the other onion roughly and blend with the ginger, garlic, habanero, lemon juice and the rest of the stock.
- Add this to the pot and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add the peanut butter, tomato purée and 1 C of water and simmer for 40 minutes.
- Serve with fufu and enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment