Here are some African-inspired dishes I have cooked or eaten in restaurants. The magic of Africa, which encompasses 54 countries, is the abundant native ingredients that have been traded throughout the word, the variety of flavors, and the stories that go along with the cooking. This is one continent that is not often recognized for their culinary gifts to the world of food, and should be.
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An African Stew Journey
A Stew With African Roots
Jayne Rain published an African Bean Stew recipe that I wanted to try, for it looked really good, and her directions are awesome. She wrote that the stew she was discussing could be one served in many places in Africa, such as: Kenya, Zanzibar, Tanzania, and Mozambique. But that she was especially inspired by a stew served in the Swahili Coast in East Africa, where she says there is an Indian influence.
I have learned that commonly eaten African foods today, have already incorporated an international flair, as they have combined native foods with international ingredients that have been introduced over time. This is in part related to colonialism and its impact on Indigenous People’s food throughout the world.
Readers of mine will know that I have a hard time just following a recipe, and when I am confident in my abilities to make a particular dish, I tend to get a bit ”full of myself” and start adding a bit-of-this and a bit-of-that. Without her base recipe I would not have made this version of the dish, so I send my thanks.
Transforming an African Stew
Africa is one continent whose cuisine I need to explore much more. Hopefully this follows my infatuation with Ethiopian food, and will lead me to try more dishes. However, I am not saying my version of this dish is African, in that I have made changes that probably would not normally be used on that continent. Here are our differences, along with why:
- Recipe called red kidney beans that originated in Peru, and I prefer using them only in American Chili dishes. I used black beans for this dish mainly because I did not have any kidney beans on hand, and I do not often eat kidney beans anyway. I find the kidney beans shell to be a bit too hard and do not like its texture as much.
- Recipe used Indian “curry powder” which I take to mean the generic curry powder that can be found in USA national grocery stores. I used that curry powder, but then added some Thai Red Curry Paste. I wanted to up the smoothness of the curry flavor and have a bit more depth of flavor.
- She used tomatoes that originated from the Peru-Ecuador-Bolivia area of the Andes, and USA (Texas) chili powder, to make the reddish-orange color. I used tomatoes, chili powder, Korean Gochugaru, and the Thai red curry paste.
- In general, African dishes use regular ”paprika.” I chose to use Turkish smoky paprika, again to add just a hint of smoky flavor to the curry. But this is not traditional. In fact, and as a general rule
- France and Ethiopia use paprika or sweet paprika
- Hungary uses hot paprika
- Turkey and Spain use smoked paprika
- Her dish is vegetarian. I decided to add diced chicken, since I had those on hand and they needed to be eaten. To make this dish a vegetarian one, simply do not add the chicken. But I did not add much for I wanted this to be a smooth stew with nothing but the broth taking center stage.
PattyCooks African-inspired Stew
Ingredients
Here are all the ingredients you will need to make my variation of the African Stew above. I also recommend that you Mise en Place, as once you start cooking, you will be stirring with one hand and grabbing ingredients with the other.
- 2 chopped chicken thighs (pre-cook)
- 3T avocado oil
- I diced yellow onion
- 1C sliced leek
- Spices
- 1t kosher salt
- 1t ground pepper
- 1t curry powder
- 1t chili powder
- 1t Korean Gochugaru
- 1t Turkish smoked paprika
- 1t Red Thai curry
- 1t grated via planer Garlic
- 1t grated via planer Ginger
- 3-4 chopped, skinned tomatoes
- 1C water with 1 chicken bullion cube
- 2C tinned coconut milk
- 2 cans drained and rinsed black beans
- 1C diced parsley leaves for topping
Directions
Timing of the additions are important so let me talk this through. Start by cleaning and prepping the veggies (onions, leeks, carrots, tomatoes), drain the cans of beans and rinse under running water, open the tins of coconut milk, and prep the herbs and aromatics (garlic, ginger, parsley). Skin the tomatoes by roasting or parboiling them, and then peeling off the skin. Put the bullion cube in the warm water and mix. And place the proper measurement of dry spices in a small bowl so they can all be put in the pan at once. Finally, pre-cook all the skinless chicken thighs and set aside.
Cooking the stew starts with a good stew pot that is heavy bottomed and has a good fitting lid. Add the oil to the pot and heat up to medium. Then add all the spices, and continue to mix, as the spices will bloom in the heated oil, and by releasing their oils will integrate with the vegetable oil to spread the flavors around all the ingredients.
Then it is time to add the onions and leeks, stirring for ~1 minute, mixing well to make a flavorful base. Then add the carrots and continue to mix, so that nothing burns, for ~1-2 minutes. The goal is to soften, not cook, the carrots.
As the aroma of the spices and veggies peaks, add the skinless tomatoes, mix and cook ~5 minutes, until the tomatoes break down and start to create a little juice at the bottom of the pan. Now add the water with chicken bullion smashed in it, and coconut milk. Mix well, then cover and cook on a slow simmer for ~20-30 minutes.
To assess if done, check the carrots. If it meets your preference of softness it is then time to add the pre-drained beans, and the precooked chicken thigh. Mix well for about ~1-2 minutes and then turn the heat off, but put the lid back so the food sits and continues to cook.
Dish into a bowl with a topping of chopped parsley, and serve with bread for dipping.
This made enough for 4-6 servings (depending upon portion size).
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Eggah (Egyptian Dry Omelet)
We always need more zucchini recipes, as those of us who grow these squash plants in their yards well know, they are amazingly prolific plants.
Ingredients
- 2 thinly sliced, medium zucchini
- 1 diced, medium yellow onion
- 1 diced red tomato
- 1 diced green top of a leek
- 2 minced garlic
- 1 lemon cut into wedges (set aside for serving)
- 1C julienned mint leaves (or use parsley)
- 1/2t cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, turmeric
- Kosher salt + freshly ground pepper
- 2 toasted, sliced bread
- 1/3C milk (I prefer 2%)
- 5T olive oil (use half per frying instructions)
- ~6 eggs
- Dried red pepper to taste
- 1t garbanzo flour (your choice)
- Feta cheese
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Thinly slice 2 zucchini and set in bowl with a pinch of salt and set aside; then drain the liquid and pat the slices dry.
- Set 2 toasted bread slices in 1/3C milk and set aside to soak up the milk.
- Heat 2T oil in a skillet and sauté the zucchini, yellow onion, and garlic. Then add the spices and let cook a bit until they are aromatic.
- Then add 2/3 of the julienned mint leaves, mix well, turn off the heat, and set aside.
- In a bowl, whip the eggs, salt and pepper, crushed red pepper and the flour.
- Squeeze out the liquid from the bread and break apart by hand into the egg mixture along with crumbled feta, then combine well.
- Add the zucchini, onions and garlic into an oiled, oven-proof skillet.
- Pour the egg mixture into the skillet and place into the 350F oven for 15-20 minutes until the mixture is dry, or fully cooked.
- Top with feta cheese, sliced tomatoes, the remaining 1/3 mint leaves and sliced lemon wedges.
Red Chakchouka (Tunisia) or Shakshouka (Middle East)
Chakchouka is the name of this dish in Tunisia, and Shakshouka is the term used in the Middle East. I have seen many variations of this dish:
- Red (tomatoes, onions, garlic, spices and poached eggs)
- My favorite is Green (Greek ingredients: leeks, spinach, celery, green herbs like dill or mint, feta, and eggs)
- Orange version (butternut squash, onion, orange bell pepper, vegetable broth, garlic, spices, herbs and eggs).
You can actually make your own by choosing a color and gathering the ingredients on hand to support that color. Just make sure things taste good together.
Ingredients
- 2T olive oil
- 1 diced onion
- 1 sliced red bell pepper
- 1 sliced green bell pepper
- 3 minced garlic cloves
- 4 diced tomatoes
- 1t cumin
- 1t paprika
- ¾t salt
- ½t chili powder
- 4 eggs
Directions
Heat oil in oven proof skillet. Sauté onions, garlic, red and green bell peppers and tomatoes. Add spices and mix well. Lower heat, add lid, and cook for ~10-15 minutes. Then using a big spoon, make 4 wells and crack an egg in each one, then put the lid on and keep the skillet on the stove, but no heat.
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PattyCooks African-influenced Recipes
Below are the recipes I have posted on PattyCooks that either were influenced by African recipes, or where I have followed others’ recipes, but am unsure if they taste correctly, although they are good. Africa is a very large continent, and variety of the food is so large that it would take a life time to travel and taste all it has to offer.
Egyptian Recipes
I made a Hawawshi “burger” one night and found it was very tasty. My spouse was quick to mention this should go on rotation; meaning we need to have this again. This meal tastes really good, but it should as it contains a lot of ingredients in that little burger. Basically all these ingredients are mixed in a bowl, stuffed into a pita, and baked until the meat is cooked. Then the outside is oiled a bit and topped with spice.
Ingredients
- 2 t Coriander
- 2 t Allspice
- 2 t Sweet Paprika
- 2 t Ground Pepper
- 2 t Ground Cardamon
- 1 t Ground Cinnamon
- 1 t Dried Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 t Ground Cumin
- 1 Yellow onion
- 2 Garlic cloves
- 1 Green bell pepper deseeded
- 1 Jalapeño deseeded
- 1/2 C Parsley leaves and some stems
- 11 Mint leaves [My add, not authentic to dish]
- 1/2 # Ground Lamb
- 1/2 # Ground Chuck (but any ground beef is okay to use)
- 3 T Tomato Paste
- 1/2 C Panko [My add, not authentic to dish]
- 1.5 t Kosher salt
- 1 C Crumbled Feta Cheese [My add, not authentic to dish]
Serving
- 6 Pita bread Slice in half
- 1/3 C Olive oil to brush on bread
- 3 t Sprinkle Za’Atar spice on hot pita before serving [My add, not authentic to dish]
Ethiopian Recipes
I love Atakilt wat a cabbage, carrots + potatoes dish.
Misir wat is a lentil dish that I tend to eat first when we go to Ethiopian restaurants.
Berbere is an Ethiopian Blend of spicy, sweet, and citrus that is great for stews. The good news is you can make this blend yourself.
Morocco Recipes
I have posted my favorite Sweet Veggie Tagine and a Chicken Tagine that I cook in my slow cooker. I do not have the proper tagine cooking vessel, but the slow cooker does a pretty good job of imitating the self-braising process the tagine provides.
My Moroccan lentil stew also tastes pretty good, lasts a long time, and freezes easily. This is a hearty and filling dish.
Given how many lemons my tree makes, finding the preserved lemons recipe was a great new additional way for me to store lemons.
Ras el hanout is a spice blend used in Moroccan, Algerian, and Tunisian food.
Tunisia Recipes
In fact, I have posted a green version of Shakshouka that was cooked with a more Mediterranean feel based on the herbs I used. I cook this a couple of times a year for a brunch, when we invite people over, and serve with a flat bread.
Western Africa Recipe
My favorite peanut stew topped with peanuts and sun chokes.
Salutations
Let me know of your favorite African or African-inspired dishes. I would love to learn more about the food of this great continent.
—Patty
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