There's a Cote D'Ivoirian / West African place in Portland called Akadi where I've had some of the best and most interesting meals of my life. They do jollof and mafe and the things I'd heard of, but also many things I hadn't--with some really amazing treatments of mushrooms in particular.
During a recent trip to South Africa I was introduced to a grain (or seed?) called Fonio. It is similar to couscous and provided a lovely base for a tomato and peanut stew. I'll definitely make it on repeat...and I just found that fonio is available at Whole Foods!
My most memorable was Ofada Stew. Honestly, I made it at home though I can’t remember where I got the recipe. My motivation was I had a jar of Iru from Burlap and Barrel and read Iru was traditional in that dish. Goat, smoked dry catfish and shrimp, ofada rice, Iru, etc. Not sure how close I was but I had to make it 3 times to get the heat right (called for LOTS of habanero peppers). Second is Jollof rice - recipe from Abena Foli. (Milk jug was safe on that one. :) There is an Ethiopian restaurant in Atlanta I’ve visited but nothing is more memorable than the burn you give yourself.
Haha, typical Nigerian food. I can't stand locust beans aka iru, I didn't grow up eating it, far too pungent for me pre-cooked. However I would happily eat Ofada rice is someone else cooked it. I go for a tease of heat rather than a burn haha. The easy thing with scotchies and habaneros and any chilli pepper really, is you can use as little or as much as you desire.
I had the opportunity to try egusi stew, served with fufu, both for the first time, a couple of weeks ago at an international food festival and I loved them!! The egusi stew was made with spinach and was so so delicious. It’s been a long time since I’ve had Ethiopian food but that’s always so delicious too. My husband used to make a tagine sort of stew that we really enjoyed ... we should make it again.
How wonderful! Egusi is quite possibly the first recipe my mother taught me before I flew the nest. Rich with the pumpkin-esque seeds, red oil, greens...Its a centre fold in my book. Also love a variety of tagines from Moroccan to the not so typical Tunisian tagine which is more like a frittata bake with a bouquet of herbs, potatoes, spicy merguez which I often have to replace with spicy chorizo due to lack of availability. Doro wot is a divine inferno with a bewitching fragrance and flavour, mopped up with injera. The variety is just wonderful! Yes make it all again!
Two of my favorite African dishes (scratch that — two of my ALL-TIME favorite dishes), which are both core comfort foods from childhood:
–Groundnut stew, a peanut-based West African stew (that can easily be made veg/vegan!) that was a part of my family's repertoire thanks to my dad's childhood spent in Ghana.
–Harira, which is a North African lentil, chickpea, pasta, and meat (although I skip that part) soup that's traditionally eaten to break the Ramadan fast. My parents picked up that recipe from a friend from Fez while they were doing Peace Corps in Morocco.
Joy Joy! Andrew thank you for this very kind gesture of sharing my book with the world. I am thoroughly enjoying reading the comments readers sharing their favourite African food experiences and also lack there of. Its wonderful to shares together.
I love injera, as I love every form of flat bread, no matter what grain it is made of, because it is not only food but it is also a brillant instrument to hold it.
I've not cooked African food before and look forward to trying these recipes. Beautiful photos!
Yum! I would love to try these recipes!
There's a Cote D'Ivoirian / West African place in Portland called Akadi where I've had some of the best and most interesting meals of my life. They do jollof and mafe and the things I'd heard of, but also many things I hadn't--with some really amazing treatments of mushrooms in particular.
During a recent trip to South Africa I was introduced to a grain (or seed?) called Fonio. It is similar to couscous and provided a lovely base for a tomato and peanut stew. I'll definitely make it on repeat...and I just found that fonio is available at Whole Foods!
I haven't cooked African recipes before but these definitely look interesting :)
My most memorable was Ofada Stew. Honestly, I made it at home though I can’t remember where I got the recipe. My motivation was I had a jar of Iru from Burlap and Barrel and read Iru was traditional in that dish. Goat, smoked dry catfish and shrimp, ofada rice, Iru, etc. Not sure how close I was but I had to make it 3 times to get the heat right (called for LOTS of habanero peppers). Second is Jollof rice - recipe from Abena Foli. (Milk jug was safe on that one. :) There is an Ethiopian restaurant in Atlanta I’ve visited but nothing is more memorable than the burn you give yourself.
Haha, typical Nigerian food. I can't stand locust beans aka iru, I didn't grow up eating it, far too pungent for me pre-cooked. However I would happily eat Ofada rice is someone else cooked it. I go for a tease of heat rather than a burn haha. The easy thing with scotchies and habaneros and any chilli pepper really, is you can use as little or as much as you desire.
Wow, I was in Morocco over Christmas and would LOVE to try my hand at making Mafouna!
Sphex, then you are in luck, because you won the book! Please email me with your particulars and I'll get it out to you!
Wait what???? I never win anything!! Thank you!
Oh, I'm so excited, I'll email you right away. (And you can also see, here, why I never order the sourdough stirrers in time... I'm slow!) :)
I haven't ventured much beyond Moriccan tagines and salads, but I love them.
I had the opportunity to try egusi stew, served with fufu, both for the first time, a couple of weeks ago at an international food festival and I loved them!! The egusi stew was made with spinach and was so so delicious. It’s been a long time since I’ve had Ethiopian food but that’s always so delicious too. My husband used to make a tagine sort of stew that we really enjoyed ... we should make it again.
How wonderful! Egusi is quite possibly the first recipe my mother taught me before I flew the nest. Rich with the pumpkin-esque seeds, red oil, greens...Its a centre fold in my book. Also love a variety of tagines from Moroccan to the not so typical Tunisian tagine which is more like a frittata bake with a bouquet of herbs, potatoes, spicy merguez which I often have to replace with spicy chorizo due to lack of availability. Doro wot is a divine inferno with a bewitching fragrance and flavour, mopped up with injera. The variety is just wonderful! Yes make it all again!
Two of my favorite African dishes (scratch that — two of my ALL-TIME favorite dishes), which are both core comfort foods from childhood:
–Groundnut stew, a peanut-based West African stew (that can easily be made veg/vegan!) that was a part of my family's repertoire thanks to my dad's childhood spent in Ghana.
–Harira, which is a North African lentil, chickpea, pasta, and meat (although I skip that part) soup that's traditionally eaten to break the Ramadan fast. My parents picked up that recipe from a friend from Fez while they were doing Peace Corps in Morocco.
Joy Joy! Andrew thank you for this very kind gesture of sharing my book with the world. I am thoroughly enjoying reading the comments readers sharing their favourite African food experiences and also lack there of. Its wonderful to shares together.
I would love to try these recipes, they sounds so amazing and totally new to me :)
I would love to own this book and try her recipes. They look soooo gooood. Thank you for this opportunity 🙏
Ethiopian flatbread called injera - fermented and tangy. Perfect for scooping up the tasty stew!
I love injera, as I love every form of flat bread, no matter what grain it is made of, because it is not only food but it is also a brillant instrument to hold it.