World Cup Special - Côte d'Ivoire

 When searching for some recipes for Côte d'Ivoire that were plant based it seemed obvious to go for some plantain and cassava dishes.... I was going to use attiéké (an Ivorian version of couscous using cassava) but found a recipe for placali instead that I just had to try. .

Now, you might be looking at my version of placali and say it looks nothing like how it should - take a look here . It was all a bit of disaster really... placali is made from cassava flour and you prepare it like polenta... stir in the flour into boiling water and keep stirring.  I failed to get the lumps out and maybe put too much water in so the consistency was all wrong. I could not form into balls and instead got this gloopy mess.  The placali still went well with the aubergine dish with the spicy fried plantain on the side it did make for an interesting meal.  The best part was the bissap (a drink made from hibiscus flowers) that had a great sharpness that cut through the rather sticky placali.


Clockwise: Placali, vegan aubergine sauce, fried plantain with peanuts and pistachio nuts.

Bissap

Ingredients

  • 1 cup dried hibiscus flowers
  • 2 l water
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ½ cup fresh mint leaves
  • 2-3 cm fresh ginger (remove skin)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract (I left this out to suit my taste)

Instructions

  1. Rinse the dried hibiscus flowers with cold water to remove any dust.
  2. Combine the flowers and water in a large pot and bring to a boil,
  3. Simmer for 10–15 minutes until the water is deep red.
  4. Remove from the heat and add the mint leaves, the cubes of ginger , and vanilla (if using).
  5. Cover and let it steep for 10-20 minutes.
  6. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a container, discarding the flowers and ginger.
  7. Stir in the sugar whilst the liquid is still warm, and adjust to taste. If you want it sweeter add a little more sugar
  8. Allow the mixture to cool, and put in the fridge for about 2 hours. You can serve the drink over ice.
Fried plantain with bissap

Fried Plantain with Roasted Nuts

Ingredients

  • 1 plantain peeled and sliced (1 cm wide)
  • 200ml vegetable oil 
  • 1 small handful salted peanuts 
  • 1 small handful pistachio nuts shelled 
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 small chunk fresh ginger finely grated
  • 1 tsp sea salt flakes

Instructions

  1. Place a heavy bottomed frying pan on a medium high heat and add the nuts.  Move them around from time to time, so that they do not burn. 
  2. Once the nuts are toasted turn off the heat and set aside.
  3. Use a wok to slowly heat enough vegetable oil to fry the plantain.
  4. In a bowl add all the spice mix (cayenne pepper, fresh ginger and salt) and then the sliced plantain. 
  5. Mix the plantain around in the spice mix.
  6. Get the oil in the wok hot enough to fry, and using a slotted spoon, dip one of the plantain slices; if you get an instant reaction, it is ready to cook the plantain. In batches, lower in enough plantain so they are not overcrowded and cook for about 4-5 minutes - they should be golden once cooked.
  7. On a plate, place a few layers of kitchen towel and using a slotted spoon, fish out the plantain and place on the plate to drain.
  8. Place on a dish and scatter with the roasted nuts.


Fried plantain with roasted nuts


Vegan Aubergine Sauce

Ingredients

  • 9 yellow aubergines - halved
  • 2 purple aubergines - peeled and diced
  • 4 tomatoes
  • 3 onions - peeled and sliced into half moon shape
  • 6 garlic cloves - diced
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 carrots - diced
  • handful of Akpi (a seed from West Africa)  or egusi seeds
  • 1 tbsp fresh ginger
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 4 chillies
  • 1 handful shredded cabbage
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 kable (you can use basil if you cannot find kable)
  • water - to consistency of choice

Instructions

  1. In a heavy bottomed saucepan heat the vegetable oil (I used rapeseed oil) gently.
  2. Add the onions and the aubergines to the oil and cook gently for about 10 minutes.  
  3. Add the tomatoes and water to the pot and cook until the aubergine is tender.  Set aside to cool.
  4. Blend the aubergine mixture until smooth. I used an immersion blender that worked quite well.
  5. Toast the akpi for 3 mins in a dry pan and grind it into a powder.  This works as well if you are using egusi seeds.  Both ingredients are useful to thicken the stew.
  6. In a separate pan sautée the cabbage, garlic and carrots for 10 mins in the vegetable oil.
  7. Add the tomato paste to the sautéed vegetables and mix well.  Cook for another 3-5 minutes.
  8. Stir in the aubergine mixture and then the akpi/egusi powder.
  9. Add the spices of choice and the kable/basil and cook for another 5-10 minutes to allow the flavours to develop.
  10. Serve with the placali
Vegan aubergine sauce

Placali

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of cassava flour
  • 4 cups of water
  • Salt to taste (I used vegetable stock to impart more flavour)

Instructions

  1. Begin by boiling the water in a large saucepan.
  2. In a separate bowl, mix the cassava flour with a pinch of salt or vegetable stock powder.
  3. Once the water is boiling, gradually add the cassava flour mixture while stirring continuously to avoid lumps. This is a difficult task that I failed miserably at… I could not get the flour ‘bubbles’ out to ensure all the flour combined with water.
  4. Continue to stir until the mixture thickens and pulls away from the sides of the saucepan; about 10-15 minutes. This is a real workout on your arms as you try to stir the gradually thickening mixture.
  5. Once cooked, remove from heat and let it cool slightly.
  6. Shape the placali into small balls. To do this wet your hands in cold water and scoop out a ball.  You should be able to shape the scoop into a ball. 

Placali







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