Fanciful Beet Salad

I first tried beets when I was eighteen years old during the first week of my freshman year of college. I walked into the Yale dining hall, full of its delicious treasures, and spotted the deep purple vegetable among the salad offerings. I've been in love with beets ever since. Particularly common in Africa, Europe and Asia, beets are one of nature's healthiest vegetables. They detoxify the body, help with blood pressure, act as antioxidants and have great anti-inflammatory qualities. 

Originally people consumed the beet's tasty leaves before they discovered that the root was equally as appealing. Considering how common beets are across the continent, I find it rather surprising I encountered them so late in life. In Ghana, I've been happily consuming my fair share of beets. I grow bored with traditional salad recipes quickly, so I decided to make this fun, fanciful beet salad with avocado, cucumber, mint, goat cheese, sunflower seeds, couscous and quail eggs. I typically prefer to pair beets with quinoa because the texture holds up a bit if there's some excess beet juice, but as import prices are not in my favor... couscous it is!

Fanciful Beet Salad
Makes 2 large salads or 4 small salads.

½ cup cooked couscous
1 cup sunflower seeds
3 medium raw beets, peeled and cubed
2 medium avocados, cubed
2 medium cucumbers, sliced thickly and cut into quarters
Handful of mint
½ cup goat cheese
5 quail eggs
 

Vinaigrette
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
¼ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. To cook couscous: I love this simple technique via The Kitchn.
2. To prepare the quail eggs: Fill a small saucepan with salted water and bring to the boil. Add the quail's eggs using a spoon and boil them for 4 minutes for perfectly hardboiled eggs. Remove with a slotted spoon and cool down under cold running water or in a bowl filled with ice water. Peel carefully to avoid puncturing the eggs.
3. To prepare the salad: Cut all pieces into fairly even cubes. Combine with the goat cheese and sunflower seeds. 
4. To prepare the vinaigrette: Whisk together all of the ingredients.
5. Finally, drizzle dressing over the mixture (you won't use all of it) and gently toss to combine.
6. Season again with salt and pepper as needed. 

Want even more color? Add some red bell peppers and/or some grated carrots. 

Baobab and Coconut Pancakes with Honey Bananas

In recent years, baobab has garnered a fair bit of attention as a "superfruit." Companies like UK-based Aduna have publicized the myriad benefits of baobab pulp, which contains vitamin C, thiamin, potassium, calcium and vitamin B6. During the rainy season, baobab trees absorb water, storing it in their trunks, which allows them to produce fruit in the dry season. When Aduna first started in 2011, over 95% of people in the UK had never heard of baobab; however, across Africa, baobab is nothing new. 

The majestic baobab tree is one of the iconic images of the Sahel region. With a lifespan of over 5000 years, these "grandmothers of the Sahel" can reach 90 feet. In The Gambia, my mother's country, we call the fruit of the baobab buoy and use it in a traditional desert called naan mburu that is served at Easter. Baobab pulp has an acidic, tart flavor that tastes like a combination of grapefruit, pear, and vanilla — aka delicious. When I found the pulp at a local market in Cantonments, I figured I would try to develop new ways of using it, and then settled on pancakes. The sweet coconut balances out the tart baobab giving the pancakes a unique flavor. Try it out and let me see what you think. In the US and UK, you can buy baobab from Aduna. 

Baobab and Coconut Pancakes
Serves 3 – 4

4 tbsp of baobab powder (in the West, you can get some through UK company Aduna)
4 tbsp of desiccated coconut
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 cups of flour
1 cup milk (add more if the mixture is too dry)
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup sugar
½ oz butter, melted
2 large eggs
Canola oil, for brushing
Maple syrup or agave syrup for servings

In a large bowl, combine the flour with the baking powder, sugar, salt, desiccated coconut and baobab powder. In another bowl, mix the milk, the eggs, and butter.  Mix the dry and wet ingredients until combined. Make sure not to over-mix—there should still be a few lumps. Let the batter sit for a 5 minutes.

Heat a griddle until hot then brush it with oil. Ladle ¼ of a cup of batter. Repeat with the remaining batter. You should have 6 – 8  pancakes. Dust with a fruit-based coulis or fresh fruit if you are feeling fancy. I topped these pancakes with fried honey bananas. (See recipe below).

Serve immediately with maple or agave syrup.  

Honey Bananas

2 bananas, sliced
2 tbsp. oil (I use coconut oil)
1 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. water
Cinnamon and nutmeg (optional)

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add bananas to the skillet in one layer. Fry for two minutes on both sides. Remove from heat, then combine the honey and water. Cover the bananas with the mixture then top with cinnamon and honey. Serve over the pancakes.  

Pan-Seared Tilapia & Okra Tempura

What's a girl to do when she's short on time and expecting friends over for dinner? A cross between Southern and Mediterranean cuisine using two pillars of Ghanaian cuisine: tilapia and okro (as Ghanaians call it). Okro is prominent ingredient local stew like okro soup (which I've blogged about in the past) while tilapia is one of the most common fish found in the Volta region of Ghana. Tilapia is a very forgiving fish that absorbs flavors well and, when cooked at the right temperature, melts in your mouth.  Although simple, this marinade was a bit of an experiment, but ended up working out well. 

Pan-seared tilapia topped with scallions, basil and tomatoes alongside some fried okra, green beans and brown rice. 

Pan-Seared Tilapia

4 tilapia fillets tilapia
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon corinader
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 lemons
3 cloves of garlic
1 bunch of scallions
2 tablespoons, olive oil
3 medium tomatoes
1/4 cup basil leaves
 

1. Squeeze three lemons and set aside the juice. Crush garlic cloves and add to the lemon mixture. Add half of the scallions to the mixture.
2. Rinse the tilapia fillets before covering with the lemon mixture. Set aside in the refrigerator for 10 - 15 minutes. 
3. Place the marinated fillets on a flat plate or baking dish and lightly sprinkle them on both sides with the flour, salt, pepper, and coriander.
4. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the tilapia until it flakes easily with a fork, about 3 - 4 minutes per side. Serve immediately.
5. After removing the fish from the skillet, add another tablespoon of olive oil and tomatoes. Season the tomatoes with salt and pepper. 
6. Garnish with the remaining scallions, basil and tomatoes.

Okra Tempura

5 cups of oil
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup buttermilk (see below for a substitute if you don't have it on hand)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 pounds fresh okra, sliced thickly
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 cloves of garlic
 

1. Heat oil in a large pot. 
2. In a bowl, combine the milk with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to make buttermilk if you don't have it on hand. 
3. In another bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, salt, and cayenne pepper. Dip the okra in buttermilk and then coat it in the cornmeal-flour mixture. Carefully add okra to the hot oil and cook until golden brown.
4. When removing it from the oil, drain it with a slotted spoon and place it on paper towels to absorb the oil.  

I also made some green beans and brown rice to go along with this dinner, which serves about 4 people. 

Fried Eggplant and Chickpeas in a Tomato-Onion Berbere Sauce

Fried eggplant accompanied by chickpeas in a tomato-onion berbere sauce

Lately, I've become very interested in learning about various spices of the world. In the next few weeks, I aim to learn to make some of the essential major African spice blends: Morroco's Ras el Hanout, Egypt's dukkah, Tunisia's baharat, and Ethiopia's famous berbere. Based on the availability of different ingredients in my kitchen, I decided to start with berbere on a whim. If you can't handle pepper, you can substitute a little bit of paprika; however, any true version of berbere requires the essential ingredients of fenugreek and chili peppers.

Berbere, which means "hot" in Amharic, is a common Ethiopian/Eritrean spice mixture that includes delicious flavors like ginger, chili peppers, garlic, cardamom, cumin, and fenugreek. It is an essential part of many classic Ethiopian meals, especially the famed Doro Wat. According to Ethiopian-Swedish celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson, "berbere can be used to season everything from vegetables to meats and stews." As a devotee of Samuelsson's amazing Harlem soul food restaurant Red Rooster, I've been eager to employ some of his techniques and recipes in my own kitchen experiments. 

Along with cauliflower, my other go-to vegetable in a pinch, eggplant absorbs flavors well and can be an excellent meat substitute in a meatless dinner. It doesn't hurt that eggplant is rich in fiber and antioxidants. It also helps prevent cancer and lower cholesterol. When buying eggplant, a word of caution: they are very perishable, so if you buy them, you should intend to eat them within 1 -  2 days. Eggplants can also be a little bitter, so you'll need to salt them to pull out some of the bitter components.

After making berbere following Samuelsson's recipe, I fried some eggplant until golden and then made a fragrant sauce with some tomatoes, onions, chickpeas, and berbere with a side of couscous. If you don't use all the berbere mixture, you can keep it in a small glass jar with an airtight lid for a few months.

My soundtrack to this dinner was Jill Scott's "It's Love" from her debut album "Who is Jill Scott?" alongside a little Cabernet Sauvignon, which goes well with eggplant.

Fried Eggplant and Chickpeas in a Tomato-Onion Berbere Sauce
Serves about 3 hungry people as a main course, 5 - 6 as a side dish.

2 baby eggplants, sliced into rounds
Kosher salt, to taste
3 - 4 tablespoons olive oil (You may need to add a little more if the pan is too dry)
2 medium-sized red onions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1  1/2 teaspoons berbere (Spice blend following Samuelsson's recipe)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
4 ripe beefsteak tomatoes (or any large tomato variety)
One 15-oz can of cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
 

1. Heat a frying pan on high heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add enough eggplant slices to fit in one layer. Salt to taste (otherwise the eggplant will be bitter). Cook until the bottoms are golden brown, then flip it until it is golden brown on the other side. I like my eggplants truly brown, so I cook them for about 5 minutes on each side, adding more oil as needed. Add more salt as needed.
2. In a small pot, add the onions and cook until they are soft. Add the garlic and cook for 2 additional minutes. Add the berbere and cayenne. Cook until the mixture becomes fragrant, before adding the tomatoes, chickpeas and half a cup of water.
3. Cover the pan and allow the mixture to simmer until the tomatoes break down into the sauce. 
4. Serve the eggplant and chickpea tomato berbere sauce over couscous. 

If you're feeling like you really want to try something a little different, you can also serve this mixture over attiéké, a popular Ivorian side dish made from cassava. Attiéké has a texture very similar to couscous, but it's gluten-free and quite healthy. It's simple to make and can be found in most African grocery stores. To make attiéké, you can simply steam it. Alternatively, you can pour it into a bowl and cover it with boiling water. While letting it steam for about 10 minutes, you use a fork to occasionally separate the grains.  

Mango Date Bread

Mango date bread

You can probably tell that I’m still on a mango binge. I made this mango-date bread last week for my colleagues at the office and everyone loved it! It’s very moist and dense.  You can serve it as a dessert or have it in the morning with some tea. I think it goes particularly well with a pot of rooibos, a wonderful red tea from South Africa. If you're looking for a great rooibos, check out YSWARA's lovely Makeda of Sheba tea. I just interviewed YSWARA's founder, Swaady Martin-Leke, for Ayiba. YSWARA is currently the leading producer of premium African tea. I've admired Swaady and her approach to business for some time. In the words of Strive Masiyiwa, she's a true "African Lioness." 

In the past, when using dates in baking, I often like to add coconut because I think the flavors complement each other well. If you choose to add coconut to this recipe, about ¾ to 1 cup of shredded coconut should do the trick. 

A tip regarding baking with dates from The Kitchn: For years, I baked with Medjool dates, but they are expensive and difficult to cut uniformly. After reading about different varieties of dates, I've switched to deglet noor dates for baking. They're comparatively inexpensive and easy to chop. Most varieties will work well (with the exception, in my opinion, of thoory dates. I have yet to try halawi dates but they are on my list!) Be careful not to have a heavy hand with dates because they have a high caloric content — definitely something to save for decadent occasions. Not an everyday snack!

Mango Date Bread

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour 
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar 
½ cup butter (generally 1 stick butter) 
2 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ½ cups mangoes, chopped. Keep 2 slices to garnish the top of the bread.
1 cup chopped dates 
Optional: 1 cup shredded coconut 

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  
2. Grease a 9x x 5 inch loaf pan, dust the inside with flour and tap out the excess.  
3. Beat together the butter and the sugar until thick and creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and salt.  
5. Fold the dry ingredients and the mango into the wet batter, alternating between the dry ingredients and the mango to make the batter easier to mix.
6. Stir in ¾ of the chopped dates until evenly distributed. 
7. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
8. Top the batter with two slices of mango and a few remaining dates.
9. Bake the bread for 1 1/2 hours, or until it is golden brown and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean.  If the bread looks as if it’s getting too brown as it bakes, cover loosely with a foil tent.  
10. When the bread is finished, transfer it onto a rack for 5 minutes to let it cool. Run a knife alongside the inside of the pan to make it easier to separate. Allow the bread to reach room temperature before inverting and transferring to a plate to serve. 

Mango Slaw

I've never been a big fan of traditional cole slaw, so I like to play around with the basic premise (finely-shredded raw cabbage and a vinaigrette) to incorporate more unusual flavors. In the past, I've made a stone fruit slaw with apricot and plum that was absolutely delicious. So I figured, why not mango slaw? 

It's mango season in Ghana and the fruit is omnipresent on Accra's city streets. As a result, I've been thinking a lot about how to integrate mango into my daily diet. When I incorporate mango into recipes rather than just eating the plain fruit raw, I often use it as a dessert. In my quest to find a way to incorporate it into a lunchtime dish, I had the idea to make it into a mango "slaw."

Mango Slaw
2 mangoes, peeled, pitted and cut into short, thin strips 
1 small head of cabbage, halved and sliced very thinly
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
Juice from 2 limes (about 6 tablespoons)
1/4 cups apple cider vinegar 
2 olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
1/4 cup toasted cashews, chopped

Combine all ingredients. Toss with with the vinaigrette if eating immediately or put it aside to add to the mango slaw later to avoid excessive sogginess. If you're looking to add some pretty color, toss into some julienned bell peppers.