In Western and Central African cooking, fufu holds the same position as mashed potatoes do in traditional European and American cuisine. This staple dish is served with all kinds of soups, stews, and sauces, and looks like a soft, slightly elastic white purée of neutral taste.
Depending on the country, the ingredients for fufu may differ. In Ghana, fufu is most commonly made by mashing together cassava and unripe plantains or yams. Fufu-like staples are widespread across the entire Sub-Saharan Africa. Apart from the ingredients mentioned earlier, they can also be prepared with cocoyams, cassava flour, maize, rice, semolina, or potato flakes, and even pre-made fufu powder which only needs to be mixed with water and cooked shortly is commonly used.
TIME
- Preparation time: 20 min
- Cooking time: 20 min
- Total time: 40 min
MAIN INGREDIENTS
This New England staple is made with white beans, such as Navy beans or yellow eye beans, molasses, salt pork, and mustard. To prepare, the presoaked beans are mixed with the remaining ingredients and then slow-cooked overnight. Traditionally, the beans would have been cooked in a clay pot in an ember-filled hole in the ground.
However, in today's recipes, to cut on time, beans are typically either boiled or simmered until softened or cooked, then mixed with the remaining ingredients in either a casserole or a Dutch oven and slow-cooked in the oven anywhere from four to eight hours, depending on the recipe.
TIME
- Preparation time: 20 min
- Cooking time: 5 h
- Total time: 5 h 20 min
MAIN INGREDIENTS
This authentic panisses recipe is published with the permission of the Nice Côte d'Azur Tourist and Convention Bureau, and is their official recipe for the dish. Panisses can also be eaten cold as desserts, in which case they are sprinkled with sugar or covered in chocolate.
TIME
- Preparation time: 10 min
- Cooking time: 25 min
- Total time: 35 min
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Imagine a dish which can be served as a hearty breakfast, makes a great side dish to grilled steaks and roasts, and is also a delicious dessert. This, in short, is the Paraguayan kivevé — a humble, but also a versatile combination of pumpkin, cornmeal, and fresh cheese, whose consistency is similar to porridge or purée.
The preparation starts with peeling, deseeding, and dicing a pumpkin, which is then cooked in water until tender, and smashed into a smoother or a coarser purée. A finely chopped onion is sautéed in a separate pan and mixed with the pumpkin purée, the liquid the pumpkin has been cooked in or milk, sugar, and salt.
TIME
- Preparation time: 10 min
- Cooking time: 45 min
- Total time: 55 min
Zarangollo is a traditional Spanish egg-based dish originating from Murcia. It's made with scrambled eggs, onions, and zucchinis in an earthenware pot. Some cooks also like to add potatoes to the mix for richer texture and flavor. Oregano and garlic are also common modern additions to the dish.
Zarangollo is a staple at tapa bars in the region, but it's also often served as an accompaniment to fish dishes. It is usually served warm, but it can also be served cold on a piece of bread.
TIME
- Preparation time: 5 min
- Cooking time: 15 min
- Total time: 20 min
One of the most characteristic breakfast dishes of the American South, grits are essentially a porridge made from dried, hulled and ground corn kernels cooked in water or other liquid, and seasoned with salt and butter. White, yellow, or blue corn can be used, and the process starts with hominy, dried corn kernels from which the hull has been removed by soaking them in water mixed with lime mineral, wood ash, or other alkaline products.
Dried and ground hominy is called hominy grits, or simply grits, and it is available in four varieties. Whole-ground or stone-ground grits are the coarsest, regular grits are medium ground, quick grits are ground finely, while instant grits have the finest texture.
TIME
- Preparation time: 0 min
- Cooking time: 1 h
- Total time: 1 h
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Served on Christmas Eve, during Lent, as a party appetizer or a side dish, Polish śledzie is a versatile dish made with salted herrings pickled in vinegar, oil, sour cream, onion, apples, and spices. Its preparation begins with pre-salted herrings which can be purchased whole (with skin and bones) or filleted.
To remove excess salt and pungent smell, the herrings are soaked in cold water for a few hours or overnight, after which they are marinated or pickled. Oil and vinegar are the most traditional options, and they are usually combined with peppercorns, bay leaves, and allspice.
TIME
- Preparation time: 1 h
- Cooking time: 0 min
- Total time: 1 h
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Although it looks simple, this dish is surprisingly tricky to make, mainly because of the lengthy dough resting process and a lot of manual work. Following the recipe is essential, especially when resting the dough. The process starts with mixing the leavening agents — either baking powder and baking soda, or baking soda and baking ammonia — with water, each in their own bowl.
The mixtures are then joined with flour, salt, sugar, and water, kneaded briefly, and the dough is left to rest for 20 minutes under a damp cloth or covered with a plastic wrap. The process of kneading and resting is repeated for 3 times overall, after which the dough is rolled out into a flat disc and left to rest for another 2,5 to 4 hours.
TIME
- Preparation time: 5 h 30 min
- Cooking time: 20 min
- Total time: 5 h 50 min
Serve with
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Nicknamed “the southern popcorn”, fried okra is a simple side dish which can also be served as an appetizer, especially when paired with various sauces or dips. The preparation is simple and rather quick. First, you will need to choose fresh okra pods, preferably under 3-4 inches in length, since smaller okra pods tend to be softer and less chewy than the larger ones.
The stem and the tips are cut off, and the pods are sliced into 1/2-inch-thick pieces. Then, okra slices can be dipped either in flour, beaten eggs, and cornmeal, or coated in buttermilk and a mixture of flour and cornmeal. Various seasonings, such as salt, pepper, and ground red paprika, may be added to the coating mixture.
TIME
- Preparation time: 10 min
- Cooking time: 30 min
- Total time: 40 min
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Spicy, colorful, versatile and easy to prepare, chakalaka is a vegetarian South African dish which can fit into many categories — it can be a salsa, a relish, a condiment, or a main dish, depending on what it is paired with. Most commonly, chakalaka is prepared by sautéing finely chopped root vegetables such as onions, garlic, and carrots with spices like curry powder or leaf masala, after which the bell peppers, fresh tomatoes or tomato sauce, baked beans and seasonings are added.
Other additions may include ginger, chilis, cauliflowers, shredded cabbage or anything else you may have at hand. This dish is as tasty hot as it is cold, because, like many other relishes, it develops its full flavor through time. Very often, chakalaka is garnished with some chopped fresh coriander, which gives a note of freshness to the dish.
TIME
- Preparation time: 10 min
- Cooking time: 15 min
- Total time: 25 min
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